Can't get my bike started.

[db274302]

My GZ has been sitting for about a month. Now I can not get it to turn over. I'm new to riding and was wondering if anyone had any ideas on my problem.

Thanks.

[dentheman]

Do you mean the STARTER won't turn over? If that is the case, the obvious place to look is at the battery. Motorcycle batteries are small and after sitting for a month without being charged it may have discharged enough to not work the starter. Try recharging it.

[db274302]

Thanks I will give that a try.

[dentheman]

From what I have read on this forum, a battery tender is a 'must have' item for a motorcycle. I don't have a battery tender (or a motorcycle yet) but have been looking into the things I will need when I get my bike. Do a search of 'battery tender' and you will find a nice one with that brand name, I am also looking at the Schumacher brand of 6-12 volt battery charger/maintainer. They are fairly cheap on Amazon.com, and there are some really cheap brands on-line that may or may not be any good.

[Easy Rider]

Originally Posted by dentheman

From what I have read on this forum, a battery tender is a 'must have' item for a motorcycle.

A low capacity charger is a must have. A tender is handy for long periods of storage but connecting a small charger every couple of weeks is just as good. The objective is to keep the battery fully charged.

For daily use, a tender can actually be worse......in practice......than just letting the bike take care of itself.

[Easy Rider]

Originally Posted by dentheman

Do you mean the STARTER won't turn over?

No offense intended but once again, it would appear that the person asking the question only understood PART of the answer.

The above question is VERY important. If the starter runs but the engine won't "fire", then that likely is a whole different situation.

[db274302]

Thanks again for the replies,
When I try to start the engine the starter is strong at first but gradually drops off as I try. The engine slightly fires at first but quickly stops as the attempt continues. Prior to this the bike was running great. Unfortunately I've had little time to ride.

Thanks

[dentheman]

Fuel problem?

Be sure battery is charged.

Be sure there is fuel in the tank.

Fuel selector to PRI.

Choke on.

If it starts, move selector off PRI, reduce choke as it warms up.

If it does not start, a carb cleaning may be in order or spark plug may be fouled.

Any other suggestions?

[alanmcorcoran]

Carb funk. It will start eventually, but maybe not before you run the battery down. You can get a charger for cheap that's useful to have anyway in the event you run the battery down. Not sure you really need to leave the petcock on prime or put it in prime for more than a few seconds. What's happened is the gas or additives or something have had a chance to clog up your jets/or some other part of the carb and the cure is to ride a couple of gallons of gas through the carb. All of us have had this problem to some extent. Best cure is to ride regularly, but outside of CA/FL not always possible. Search the threads - this is one of the top five topics on here. If you are gonna put it away for the winter there is a bunch of things you ought to do that are also on here in other threads.

[blaine]

Originally Posted by db274302

Thanks again for the replies,
When I try to start the engine the starter is strong at first but gradually drops off as I try. The engine slightly fires at first but quickly stops as the attempt continues. Prior to this the bike was running great. Unfortunately I've had little time to ride.

Thanks

Sounds like your battery needs a good charging.You should charge it on a 2 amp charger.If you are going to be riding very little you should invest in a "battery tender" type charger.You should also keep a good quality fuel treatment in the tank.