Dropped bike, now it won't start/How do I charge battery?

[Chim]

As much as I hate to be so rude as to immediately come asking a whole bunch of annoying questions before I've even introduced myself on the forum, I need help.

I'm a new rider, and to be honest, I'm really new to everything mechanical. I've been trying to learn about motorcycles for a while, and I feel like I've started to understand some of the basics, (and I mean BASIC basics. Like, "This is a sprocket! It turns with the chain!" basics.) but when it comes to practical 'how-to' knowledge, I'm lost, and I really don't have any experience with mechanics. I want to learn, but I've always just been scared I'm going to permanently damage something by messing with it. However, I finally own my own bike and the time has come that I just have to give it a shot, so, here goes... (gulp).

So, as you can see from the title of the thread, I went and dropped my bike (2003 Gz250) as a moron like myself is known to do (slow speed U-turn, yadda yadda. You know how us newbies are, always looking down when we should be looking up, grabbing at the front brakes instead of thinking.) So, I jumped up, got someone to help me lift it back onto its kickstand (dropped it on its right side, he was only down maybe 60 seconds or so), and cleaned up the gas that leaked from the cap. After a bit I tried to start it up again, but although it made the usual start-up sounds, it wouldn't hold. I tried to start it a bunch of times, checking the kickstand, cut-off switch, clutch, all that, and I couldn't get it to start. I wheeled it back into the garage, wiped up some more gas that had leaked from the cap, shut the garage door, looked him all over (pretty much just looking for scratches or anything bent, because I don't really know what else to be looking for) and went inside. Ten or fifteen minutes later, on a whim, I tried starting it one more time. This time, it actually did start up, but because I had shut the garage door (no more ventilation), after a bit, I turned it back off and went back inside.

A few hours later, I went out to try practicing those slow turns some more (one day I'll get the hang of it...), and my bike wouldn't start. Because, as I mentioned, I am a moron, I just kept trying to start him up, until he now no longer makes any noise at all other than a click, and his lights have gone dim. I asked around for advice, and it seems I'll have to charge the battery before I can do anything else, but as I mentioned, I'm new to all of this.

Luckily, I did think to order a battery charger a week ago or so, I'm just not entirely sure how to use it. (It's okay, you can laugh at me.) I've read the instructions, but it's really only made me more nervous now that I know doing this improperly could result in my burning my face off or blowing up my garage.

So, as I understand it, the situation is this: I dropped the bike and now it won't start. I drained the battery by trying to start it too many times. I now need to charge the battery before I can figure out what is preventing it from starting, thus how to fix it (again, gulp), thus getting my bike starting again.

In order to charge it, I need to remove the battery. I've managed to get the seat off and the side panel, so I am looking at the battery. How do I properly and safely remove the battery and charge it?

Thanks for wading through all that, and I appreciate any and all help you could provide! If all goes well with this leg of the journey, I'm sure I'll have a long and bumpy road ahead of me getting him starting again, but since charging the battery is the first step of this business, I might as well just focus on that for now. Again, thank you!

[blaine]

Welcome to the forum.When you dropped the bike,it flooded the engine making it difficult to start.That's why when you left it setting for a while it started.You don't need to remove the battery to charge it.Just be sure you hook the red (+) from the charger to the red (+) on the battery and the same for the black (-).charge at no more than 2 amps.Once you charge the battery,the bike should start.If you have more issues,we can address them than,so as not to confuse you.Good luck.

:cool:

[mgalactico]

I'm also just a newbie and do not know why your bike is not starting. I do know that you want to download and read the service and parts manuals under the Service and Parts Manuals section in the forum. Do it and you will se e that taking out the battery is very easy.

mgalactico

[greatmaul]

Right, I agree that you don't have to remove the battery, as long as the cord from the charger is long enough. Just clip the clippy things on the correct terminal (+ and -,) then make sure it's set to 2 amps max, plug it in and leave it probably overnight.

Did you take the rider training course (Motorcycle Safety Foundation) yet? It can help with all the little problems when you're new, and I'm pretty new (4 months) so I know. They start at the very basics and get you up to riding speed and it's a good time and they're very nice and it also is statistically proven to greatly improve your chances of surviving your first year, when you are most likely to get into an accident.

And... get and read "Proficient Motorcycling" by David L. Hough. It's the most wonderful book.

Welcome to the forum!

[Chim]

Thank you all for your quick responses (and the warm welcome )!

I guess I'll try charging it in the bike, then. I've looked over the instructions, and I just have one more question before I go out there:

Originally Posted by Instructions

4. For negative ground systems, connect the positive (red) alligator clip, or ring terminal to the positive battery post. Then connect the negative (black) alligator clip, or ring terminal to the vehicle chassis. Do not make the negative charger clip or ring connection to the carburetor, fuel lines, or thin, sheet metal parts. Make that connection to the engine block or a heavy gauge metal part of the frame.

So, all I'm doing is, not unplugging or altering anything with the battery as it is, just attaching the positive clip to the positive post and the negative to the chassis? Would one of the fins on the engine be a good place to clip it?

@mgalactico
Although I'd downloaded the owner's manual a little while ago, I'd somehow forgotten to grab the service manual as well! Thanks for the tip, I'll go download that now. (I've also ordered printed versions off ebay, but it will be a while until they get here.) Thanks!

@greatmaul
I did pass the MSF course about 5 weeks ago, and as you said it was definitely a good time and everyone was very nice! I only recently got my own bike, and have only had about a week practicing on it, and although dropping my bike is probably not the best indication of this, I know for a fact the things I learned there were invaluable. Because of the class I know why I dropped it, it really was just a dumb mistake to make, but at least I know what I really need to practice on! I'll be sure to check the book out as well, thank you!

[Water Warrior 2]

For best results clip onto the battery posts. Red/positive and black/negative.
Did you per chance get an actual bike charger. They will usually come with a wiring harness you can permanently attach to the battery and just have a connector hanging out to plug into. No side covers or seats to remove after that. Both of our bikes have them and they are a treat.
Oh yeah, welcome to the forum. We are a friendly bunch of all ages. Not everyone here still has a GZ but we keep coming back like a bad penny. :2tup:

[blaine]

The reason they tell you to attach the black (-) to the frame instead of the battery,is because the gas from a charging battery can be explosive.This is more of a concern when boosting from another vehicle,as the spark can be much stronger.When removing cables,remove the black (-) first,and than the red (-).
:2tup:

[Gz Rider]

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[Gz Rider]

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[Chim]

Thanks again to all the replies! I've finally plucked up the nerve to hook it up, and the red light came on my charger, so I guess tomorrow morning we'll see if it all worked out!

@Water Warrior
This is the charger I got. Turns out it did come with one, I just didn't know what it was! (I'm past the point of 'embarrassed to admit my lack of basic knowledge' right now, I just want to get my bike running again!) I used the alligator clips for now, tomorrow I'll figure out how to attach the harness. Thank you so much! Should definitely come in handy

And thank you blaine and Gz Rider for all the information! I think this whole 'explosive' thing is what's really got me on edge. I made sure to leave the garage door open to keep it ventilated in there while the battery charges overnight.

I heard of 'flooding the engine,' after all this went down (proud to utilize my limited knowledge of carburetors I'd recently acquired from a book. That is to say, I think I understand what happened, but all I know is what I've read about, and I haven't even read that much. ), and figured that made sense as the cause of the original (not starting) problem, I just wasn't sure what to do about it. Am I just supposed to let it sit and wait for the gas to evaporate? Is there anything else I'm supposed to do? Gz Rider mentioned changing the oil just to be safe. I guess once the battery is charged we'll see if he starts up or not...

Thanks again for everything!