Three months in a damp shed, no-starter. Quick Tips?

[gherking]

My '91 Bandit 400 won't start after three months in a shed.

Battery is good, starter runs, but won't start.

Perhaps a bump start?

Cheers in advance!
G

[Robby]

If the starter is turning then a bump start won't help.

Carb jets will probably be a bit jellied. Easiest thing to do is hook up a jump start pack or a car battery, and just keep cranking. Leave the choke off for the first while or you'll just flood it. I wait until it's making signs of catching before using the choke to properly start it.

Exercising the throttle a few times will help too.

Once you've got it started either take it for a run, or let it idle until no more steam is coming out of the exhaust.

A lot of people may come in this thread telling you to strip your carbs, change your oil, spend 3 days checking your tyres, fit new plugs and HT leads, change the petrol etc. You shouldn't need to do any of this, just crank it for ages and it'll catch.

[Howling TerrorOutOfOffice]

Hi, 3 mnths standing is nowt really. If carbs were fine before the lay-off then they'll be fine now. The fuel won't be the problem, but any water will be (the tank was stored full wasn't it...condensation) Drain the carbs abit.
Check you've got a spark, and crank away.

Pat

Let us know how you get on
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[finpos]

Most likely the battery isn't as good as you think it is, it will have lost charge over 3 months. If it's been left to go flat then re-charged, it may be borked anyway.

Bump start may help - the ignition will work better without the starter motor sucking all the juice out of the battery. Better still, charge the battery then give it a boost off a car battery as well.

Doubt there will be any problem with the carbs after just three months.

f.

[gherking]

Hey guys,

Cheers for the feedback. I grab some jump leads to get more juice when starting the engine, and after a few coughs it began ticking over smoothly.

Big thanks!
G

[Ichy]

[the grim reaper]

[Robby]

Don't be such a pussy, 10 seconds is nothing. I'll crank my cagiva for over a minute, and it's known to have one of the weakest starter motors ever made.

Of course, I have a spare, but that's not the point. Stop pussyfooting around your bikes so much.

[Cigaro]

I personally find that when my bike has been stood for a while, the best way to get it going is this: crank for 10 seconds, wait 30 seconds, repeat until it starts.

If I just keep on cranking and cranking it won't start and it kills the battery.

[AndyGB]

I gave mine a quick squirt of eazy start after trying to get it going for about 2 hours and bobs your uncle.

This might not sound like much to those of you who regularly strip your engines and rebuild things, but for someone as mechanically inept as me being able to find and remove the air filter is a big step

[Ichy]

Absolute respect to you for not giving in at the first hurdle and sending it into the workshop. Just get yourself a manual and have a go at some other basic maintainance tasks. You will save a fortune. Anything slighty more involved, ask on here, better still, fill out your details including location and you might find someone close who is willing to help out.
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[superstacker]

[Robby]