New bike sat all winter--won't start

[deserteagle]

Ok so I bought a brand new 09 FZ6R in December. I only rode it a few miles before I had to put it up due to the weather in Utah. Since I don't have the means to siphon gas, I put in fuel stabilizer and filled the tank before putting it in my friends garage. I also hooked it up to a trickle charger (battery tender jr.). Now the weather is nice and i want to ride, but no matter what I've tried it won't start. It just turns over and over and doesn't ignite. Any suggestions?

 

[flyingminno]

It could be a number of things. It sounds like there's a lack of fuel getting to the cylinder. Firstly, try fully opening the throttle for half a minute or so, to allow the present fuel to exit the throttle bodies, then try starting it.

 

[deserteagle]

Hmm, I've only been giving it a little throttle while I try to start it. Any other ideas in case that doesn't work? The bike sits in my friend's garage on base, so it's really only practical for me to go there once a day.

 

[flyingminno]

Well, without being able to listen to what the engine is doing, that is the only simple solution I can give. It could be another of other things ranging from bad fuel clogging the injectors, bad spark plugs, to an off air fuel mixture.

 

[deserteagle]

Thanks for the help, I'll try that tomorrow. The best I can describe what the bike sounds like is that its simply turning over, and every ten or so turns it gives a little gurgle of ignition that gets me nowhere.

 

[dart1963]

drain the fuel, put new in... even with stabilizer, it's possible the fuel was "bad" to begin with...

Did that with my generator, put stabil in, it sat all Summer, then when I went to get it ready for winter storms, it just wouldn't start... bad fuel. And that's the first time it's happened to me, used to be able to store fuel for several years and it would always fire up, not this time though.

 

[deserteagle]

Ok. Is there any way to siphon gas without getting a mouthful of it? I only know the old school technique...

 

[DragonBlu]

Any Auto Parts store should have a gas siphon. It's a squeeze bulb in the middle of a hose that gets the siphon started. I use both the old method and the store bought method. The new gas just don't taste as good as the old leaded stuff used to.

 

[PWJ]

Yeah I'm willing to bet that it's bad gas. Especially since it is a new bike there is no reason for anything else to be bad. Also double check your spark plug wires to make sure everything is connected and the remaining or the electrical system associated with the ignition system.

 

[e.blackadder]

Well, without being able to listen to what the engine is doing, that is the only simple solution I can give. It could be another of other things ranging from bad fuel clogging the injectors, bad spark plugs, to an off air fuel mixture.

When I got my FZ6R, it was new (2 miles on the ODO), but it sat for a few months in the store. It had starting problems when hot. I had to open up the throttle a bit and crank longer than usual. The bike was new, so I took it back to the dealer. They couldn't find anything wrong, so they just replaced the spark plugs, saying that they could go bad just sitting. Problem gone afterwards.

The V Star I had before I bought used and it sat in for many, many months with some gas in the tank. It got filled up when I got it but the bike was lifeless with rough idle and had to be rev'd fairly high up to take off without stalling. It took me good 2-3 fill-ups to flush that situation. Was normal afterwards.

If you lift the tank, you should be able to disconnect the fuel lines and drain that way. This might be messy and time consuming.

 

[dart1963]

Ok. Is there any way to siphon gas without getting a mouthful of it? I only know the old school technique...

get a friend to do it.... :rof: :justkidding:

or look for a "kerosene" siphon, as they are probably still out in the local home depots/lowes near the kerosene heaters.

 

[JSP]

I have those little road side emergency kit things and they have little gas siphons in them... Not sure if I have seen them separate though.

 

[Newmason]

This same thing actually just happened to me. Last day of riding was December 31st. Put 93 and fuel sta-bil and threw her on the charger until yesterday. Went to fire up, battery was good just would not start. Had to give it gas while thumb on the starter to finally get her going. Its a fuel issue within the fuel injectors. If when you put your bike away you put the fuel sta-bil in and didnt run it for a few miles, then this will have been your problem as the gas did not have time to circulate within the fuel system. Thumb on the starter and giver her gas open and close till she blows! Might idle rough for a few miles, but welcome to bike ownership and the joys of winterizing :banghead:

 

[Bigevildoer]

I put in fuel stabilizer and filled the tank before putting it in my friends garage.

Did you run the bike after putting in the stabilizer? It's best to ride the bike for about 5-10 miles after putting in the stabilizer. The fuel sloshing around in the tank will mix it up nicely.

If you didn't run the bike, the gas in your fuel lines and injectors/throttle bodies will go stale. Gas turns into a sticky varnish like goo if it sits too long. If this happened (which I doubt, it hasn't been sitting long enough) you will need to open up the injector/throttle body assembly and give it a thorough cleaning.

My guess is that the gas has gone stale - if you get it going, put in some injector cleaner ASAP. Might even want to put it in now. Better yet - drain/syphon the gas, refill with good gas and a healthy dose of injector cleaner.

Later!

 

[Stephenfz6r]

Ok. Is there any way to siphon gas without getting a mouthful of it? I only know the old school technique...

Put a three foot length of siphon hose into the gas tank and put your thumb other one end of your siphon hose keeping it lower than the level of the tank, pull the hose out of the tank until its near the top of tank then switch direction and reinstall the hose with you thumb off the other end. Do this in a rapid motion a few times and a flow of fuel should start.

Hose in -thumb off
hose out-thumb on

Tank end of hose should never go above the fuel.

 

[Marthy]

Not something I can test here in Florida to double check. (80F today) But any one tryied tocycle the ecu 2-3 times (turn the ignition key on/off) Those bike have a pre-program enrichment for startup, but if the fuel line is not prime full of fuel because it hasn't start in a while... add the fact that it's probably way colder that what the ecu has been program too. Maybe it's something that sould be consider to try. There's is 2 wayto "choke" the old school way to limit the amount of air goingin, or adding fuel. Some of you probably never had a car with carbs. But some of us remember the old days... Stab the gas pedal 3-4 time (squirt fuel), pull the choke, then start and feather the pedals. ($hit! I sound like an old man now... ah well)

 

[Stephenfz6r]

Not something I can test here in Florida to double check. (80F today) But any one tryied tocycle the ecu 2-3 times (turn the ignition key on/off) Those bike have a pre-program enrichment for startup, but if the fuel line is not prime full of fuel because it hasn't start in a while... add the fact that it's probably way colder that what the ecu has been program too. Maybe it's something that sould be consider to try. There's is 2 wayto "choke" the old school way to limit the amount of air goingin, or adding fuel. Some of you probably never had a car with carbs. But some of us remember the old days... Stab the gas pedal 3-4 time (squirt fuel), pull the choke, then start and feather the pedals. ($hit! I sound like an old man now... ah well)

HI Mathy, the fuel is sent via an electronic injector, opening the throttle will just increase the amount of air going in the engine. This maneuver would be good when the engine is flooded. Turning the key off and on a few times might give it some extra fuel, it really depends on how the system is set up but would be worth a try.

 

[BluePill]

If the bike was started and not fully warmed up the last few times, the spark plugs may be carbon-fouled. What happens is that the carbon that is formed on the spark plug insulators during cold running builds up and is not burned off by the heat of a fully warmed up engine. The carbon conducts electricity, effectively "short circuiting" the spark plugs so they cannot create a "Hot" spark to ignite the fuel.

Badly fouled plugs need to be removed for cleaning or replacement, which is not as easy on this bike as on some older and simpler models.

The good news is that you can sometimes get the bike started by just cranking it with the throttle wide open. As stated above, this adds more air to the fuel/air mixture. If you can connect a battery charger - no more than 10 amps - it will give you a faster crankng speed as well as higher voltage at the spark plugs. Don't run the starter for more than 20 seconds at a time. If you notice that the engine sounds like it's cranking faster and is "trying" to start (the rythm is getting faster), that is usually a good sign. If it hasn't started after 20 seconds, stop cranking and give the starter motor 2 minutes to cool down, then repeat.

One last thing. The engine is more likely to start if it is warmed up first. You can do this by aiming an electric space heater or high wattage work light at the top front of the motor for 15 to 30 minutes. Make sure that it's not too hot - it could melt the plastic.

 

[Uno979]

Or use a torch to burn off the excess carbon as long as it isn't to bad. But only use torch on a low setting but hotter than a lighter of course.

PO mans way of getting by.