starter cranks, engine does not start. - solved

[RonW]

My starter motor cranks, but the engine flat out refuses to roar to life. Battery voltage with key OFF is 12.7v. With key On, battery voltage is 12.4v. Pressing the start button drops the battery voltage to 10.5v. If the battery voltage dropped below 10 volts, I would assume the no-start issue was related to the battery. As it is, the battery should have enough heft to power the starter motor and provide adequate electricity to the plugs. Also, the battery was charging for a week.

All the carbs fuel bowls have fuel. I opened the drain screw and gas trickled out of the drain spouts for all 6 carbs. I guess this leaves the ignition as a possible culprit. However, I can't imagine all the coils would fail at the same time. I haven't checked the ignition fuse yet, but since the ignition wire supplies electricity to the start button, that is, shares the same fuse, and the start button works okay, the ignition fuse must be good. I did pull the plugs for hydrolock, and no gasoline sprayed out of the cylinders. But I could hear the engine whirling as the starter motor turned it with the plugs out. Bike's been sitting for a month. It's almost as if I gotta prime the engine. This isn't the way to start off the weekend.

[Bone]

I would jump it off of a good auto 12v. priming wouldn't hurt.

[Chrisj CMA]

+1 jump it, I bet it starts. If so new battery time

[Hook#3287]

I would jump it off of a good auto 12v. priming wouldn't hurt.

a non running auto.

[pancho]

Just what the others have said,, it is not uncommon for our bikes to act like that, seemingly plenty of juice to spin the engine that you would not expect the battery to be the culprit,,,,,  but it is.  A car battery will tell the story in a few seconds.

[Bighead]

Yep battery. Been there done that.

[WintrSol]

This is why I keep one of these handy; in the saddle bags on trips: https://shop.antigravitybatteries.com/productline/micro-starts/

[indybobm]

If it is the battery, sometimes it will fire just as you release the start button.

[Bighead]

If it is the battery, sometimes it will fire just as you release the start button.

Rarely.

[Jess from VA]

If it is the battery, sometimes it will fire just as you release the start button.

Happened exactly like that for me several times.

Plenty of juice to turn over, just not quite enough juice for the electronics to let the bike actually start.

[Willow]

If it is the battery, sometimes it will fire just as you release the start button.

Rarely.

Not so rarely.  It will regularly do that as the battery nears end of life.  It is only rare for those of you that always replace the battery in a timely manner.

[Bighead]

Carl I have owned my Bee for 22 yrs now and only had it start on release once that I can remember.
I wish all batteries lasted as long as the one that came in it. Got 9 years out of it. I replaced it about two yaers ago and only lasted about 6 months. Wouldnt hold a charge. Alt checked out good. A crap shoot  I guess.

[RonW]

Apparently I have a zombie battery? Well, I worked a lot of hours lately dollar wise, and it's sure better to experience a no-start at home then somewhere else. Don't remember how old the battery is. I usually put a piece of tape on the battery and write down the month & year but neglected to do this with this battery.

[RonW]

*.... turns out the engine needed priming. The bike has been sitting from 10/6/19, 10/6/18 the day it didn't pass the safety check due to a leaky fork. I kept the receipt. I was previously unaware of the leak, but now a known issue, parked the bike for the past months until I got around to changing the fork oil seal this week. Anyways, I pulled the plugs, funneled some gasoline into the cylinders, and after a few tries, the bike started up. Same battery charged overnight.

Now, I have had the bike sit for a year and never had to prime the engine. Anyhow, thanks in advance.

[Bighead]

*.... turns out the engine needed priming. The bike has been sitting from 10/6/19, the day it didn't pass the safety check due to a leaky fork. I kept the receipt. I was previously unaware of the leak, but now a known issue, parked the bike for the past months until I got around to changing the fork oil seal this week. Anyways, I pulled the plugs, funneled some gasoline into the cylinders, and after a few tries, the bike started up. Same battery charged overnight.

Now, I have had the bike sit for a year and never had to prime the engine. Anyhow, thanks in advance.

Man that is weird still 8 months til the time you parked it
Never heard Of having to prime the engine. The way you describe what you did seems
Loke a perfect way to Hydrolock the engine.

[RonW]

lol, mis-typed, only parked from Nov. last year. I only added a few teaspoons of gasoline into each cylinder.

[pancho]

I only added a few teaspoons of gasoline into each cylinder.


Dude,,,,  I guess you just don't understand how lucky you are!   Might try the choke next time.

[..]

I only added a few teaspoons of gasoline into each cylinder.


Dude,,,,  I guess you just don't understand how lucky you are!  

[RonW]

?? why in tarnation would a few teaspoons of gasoline into each cylinder detonate the engine. Asides from an asteroid hitting the planet at the same moment. And not table spoons. Teaspoons. It's not a potential hydrolock issue obviously since there's enough space in the cylinder heads at TDC for a teaspoon of liquid gasoline. The engine was cold so the possibility of pre-detonation on the wrong stroke is nil. Yea, should have sprayed starter fluid, but I would have to make a run to the store to buy that. Britman, Pancho, if you don't mind, would you elaborate further. Don't interpret this as me dismissing your advice, but you're depreciating and ruining my bliss.

[pancho]

Hey RonW,, don't want to depreciate and ruin your bliss. I'm glad you are up and running and I'm sure you are too.

What you did was not an ill advised risk, it is actually worse than that,, you stated,  I only added a few teaspoons of gasoline into each cylinder.. As I'm sure you know, gas or any liquid is not compressible, and our bikes are KNOWN to be susceptible to internal damage from a hydrolock, and there is no quicker way to make one happen.  Nothing else needs to be said.

It's your bike, but think about it,,,, I'm glad everything is OK.


Is your enricher/choke assembly working properly??  If it is applied completely, it should be all you need to start a dead cold bike.


Look, even if one was using a syringe and knew the volume of the heads and was administering 1/10 of that amount in carefully drawn increments,,, I don't think I would tell anyone.

[The emperor has no clothes]

?? why in tarnation would a few teaspoons of gasoline into each cylinder detonate the engine. Asides from an asteroid hitting the planet at the same moment. And not table spoons. Teaspoons. It's not a potential hydrolock issue obviously since there's enough space in the cylinder heads at TDC for a teaspoon of liquid gasoline. The engine was cold so the possibility of pre-detonation on the wrong stroke is nil. Yea, should have sprayed starter fluid, but I would have to make a run to the store to buy that. Britman, Pancho, if you don't mind, would you elaborate further. Don't interpret this as me dismissing your advice, but you're depreciating and ruining my bliss.

don't let anybody harsh your mellow. (I think that's how the young kids talk nowadays) But, they are right. That's way too much per each cylinder. It's too much work doing it that way to begin with, but I wouldn't go over a 1/4 teaspoon per cylinder.

[RonW]

I tried and tried the choke to no avail. Anyways, have a nice week.

[BINOVC]

RONW, another thing that is not unusual on these bikes is a choke lever that is very stiff, to the point that even though you might think it is fully on, it isn't.  This happened to me when I first got a Valk, and to my brother-in-law,  and I have seen it reported on this forum.  I had a devil of a time starting it, and little did I know that my choke lever was only  about 2/3 or so on.  After I realized the problem, I never had a problem starting when choke needed (in my case below 50F or after not starting for several weeks).
Just throwing that out there in case it's helpful.

[RonW]

thanks, BINOVC, but I'm acquainted with the choke thingie. After numerous tries rotating the choke lever fully on and off, the bike didn't start. Btw, my choke lever ain't stiff. I periodically rotate it with the engine off to keep it from freezing up. On my other bike, the choke cable froze so bad from non-use, I had to replace it.

[indybobm]

If your choke lever does not get harder to push at a certain point, then maybe you are not pushing it far enough. Look at the enrichers on the carbs to see if they are being activated as you push the lever down.  You should see them being pulled out.

[pancho]

If your choke lever does not get harder to push at a certain point, then maybe you are not pushing it far enough. Look at the enrichers on the carbs to see if they are being activated as you push the lever down.  You should see them being pulled out.

Just what indybobm said RonW,,  if the choke lever moves easily through it's motion, I don't think you are applying it.  LOOK at the valves on the carbs when moving the lever and continue pressing it until the valves pull completely out.....  there will be resistance when you are actually activating the mechanism. On a dead cold bike, continue to push until they are fully withdrawn. There is quite a bit of movement of the lever and cable before it takes up the slack.

[RonW]

it does have friction but not like how it was when you felt like you'd damage something if you rotated the lever any further. But now it's the smooth-est choke lever on any Valk produced. Undisputedly. Hey, I'm just glad the bike's running.

[pancho]

Hey,                  I'm not going to harsh your mellow

[RonW]

Lol,

[Savago]

Never heard of a Valkyrie needing priming with gas to start...


My I/S was parked for exactly 1 year (got Stabil Marine in the gas, followed the advice of one of the forum members) with a battery tender, and it was able to start on the 2th try by using the choke (that it seems to be really an 'enricher', but we are getting out of subject).

Anyway, I would consider getting a new battery + making sure that your alternator is working fine.