My '97 Tourer left me stranded today...

[Bugslayer]

For the first time since I bought the bike in '99, my '97 Tourer left me stranded today.

We left town this morning for a full day of riding. No sign of any problems. We made several stops through out the day. We had roughly 200 miles in when I stopped at a road side park. When I tried to restart it, all she would do is spin. The motor would turn over, but there was no sign of starting. I had plenty of fuel, and I have a manual Pingel petcock. No vacuum.  I could not find any kinks in the fuel line.

I was kinda leaning towards the battery. It's at least seven years  old. When my wife came to the rescue, I jumped my bike with the (non-running) truck. The motor spun faster, but it never would catch. We got the bike home, and I checked the battery with my volt meter. It had 12.7 volts.  I tried starting it with another battery that's always on a Battery Tender and tested at 14 volts. It's off my XR650L. The motor turned super fast, but it just won't catch.

Where should I go from here? I've got my battery on the charger. I'll check it tomorrow and see if the voltage goes up.

Any suggestions are greatly appreciated!

[The emperor has no clothes]

I would start with pulling a plug and making sure you have spark. If so then I would see if your carbs are getting gas to them.

[Bugslayer]

Thanks. I'll start there and see what happens.

[bogator]

Sounds like a kill switch problem to me , clean it and spray some elect. cleaner in first.hope this helps.

[Chrisj CMA]

Sounds like a kill switch problem to me , clean it and spray some elect. cleaner in first.hope this helps.

The Valkyrie will not turn over if the kill switch is on "kill"

[Patrick]

Hmm, this seems like a strange one. These monsters are pretty bullet-proof, very few ignition issues.

Seems like its time to start reading a manual. Sounds like a generator or ICM connection problem. This is rare, but, there have been a few over the years.

I too would first look to see if there is spark and go from there.

My first thoughts were of a weak/bad battery, but, the attempt at jump starting statement kinda put an end to them.

[Skinhead]

Open A Drain On A Carb And See If You Are Getting Fuel.  If Not, Check Vacuum Line To Petcock And Diaphragm.

[Patrick]

Open A Drain On A Carb And See If You Are Getting Fuel.  If Not, Check Vacuum Line To Petcock And Diaphragm.

Hmmm, you need vacuum when using a manual Pingle valve ? I didn't know that. 

[Bugslayer]

So, my Valk is still in the back of the truck and it's pouring rain. I just got off work, and I'm on my way to a VERY much dreaded visit to the dentist. Just as soon as it quits raining and I can get the bike out of the truck, I'll take a look at the it. Probably tomorrow.
Thanks for the help! I'll post what I find.

[The emperor has no clothes]

So, my Valk is still in the back of the truck and it's pouring rain. I just got off work, and I'm on my way to a VERY much dreaded visit to the dentist. Just as soon as it quits raining and I can get the bike out of the truck, I'll take a look at the it. Probably tomorrow.
Thanks for the help! I'll post what I find.

Sounds good. Good luck

[Savago]

Dear Friend

Once I had a Honda Shadow (VTX 600) and it would turn on (i.e. lights on) and by pressing the ignition button, it would spin the engine but wouldn't start (i.e. idle).

Initially I thought it was fuel related, but it turned out to be the ICM (CDI box) that was defective. As suggested before by other forum members, check for sparks.


Regards


Savago

[BF]

I don't think it's fuel. 

If it was a fuel problem, I'd think that it would have at least tried to start, spit and sputter.

Sounds more like an ignition issue to me. 

[Skinhead]

Open A Drain On A Carb And See If You Are Getting Fuel.  If Not, Check Vacuum Line To Petcock And Diaphragm.

Hmmm, you need vacuum when using a manual Pingle valve ? I didn't know that. 

Missed that little piece of info.  You guys are pretty observant. 

[Bugslayer]

Bike is still in the truck, and I'm home from the dentist......... It'll be nice when I can feel my face again. 
Tomorrow, I'm going to call the Honda dealership, and see if I can use their shop ramp. Gotta get this bike out of my truck. Then I need to find a trailer........... Whata pain!

[salty1]

Wishing you a short and clear solution to the problem. Interesting issue, I'm going to learn from it.

[The emperor has no clothes]

Bike is still in the truck, and I'm home from the dentist......... It'll be nice when I can feel my face again. 
Tomorrow, I'm going to call the Honda dealership, and see if I can use their shop ramp. Gotta get this bike out of my truck. Then I need to find a trailer........... Whata pain!

How in the heck did you get it in the truck ?

[Punisher]

Bike is still in the truck, and I'm home from the dentist......... It'll be nice when I can feel my face again. 
Tomorrow, I'm going to call the Honda dealership, and see if I can use their shop ramp. Gotta get this bike out of my truck. Then I need to find a trailer........... Whata pain!

How in the heck did you get it in the truck ?

Like this? 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KnRS8f9QcrA

[Bugslayer]

Bike is still in the truck, and I'm home from the dentist......... It'll be nice when I can feel my face again. 
Tomorrow, I'm going to call the Honda dealership, and see if I can use their shop ramp. Gotta get this bike out of my truck. Then I need to find a trailer........... Whata pain!

How in the heck did you get it in the truck ?

Like this? 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KnRS8f9QcrA

WOW!

[Bugslayer]

Bike is still in the truck, and I'm home from the dentist......... It'll be nice when I can feel my face again. 
Tomorrow, I'm going to call the Honda dealership, and see if I can use their shop ramp. Gotta get this bike out of my truck. Then I need to find a trailer........... Whata pain!

How in the heck did you get it in the truck ?

We took the truck to the next town and bought some straps and a 2" x 12" x 8' board. Backed the truck in the low spot next to the road, and put the board across. The bike just rolled right in. 

[Crackerborn]

Have you checked the dog-bone under the right side cover? There is even a spare in the cover to the bog-bone.

[Rio Wil]

There is a 10A ignition fuse.....I haven't traced the wiring to see what all it supplies and whether it would allow the engine to crank if it was blown.....easy enough to take a look.

[gordonv]

We took the truck to the next town and bought some straps and a 2" x 12" x 8' board. Backed the truck in the low spot next to the road, and put the board across. The bike just rolled right in. 

Why not reverse the procedure?

I back up the truck to the driveway/curb, and it is usually only up about 6" when the rear wheel is in the curb of the road/side walk.

[Bugslayer]

We took the truck to the next town and bought some straps and a 2" x 12" x 8' board. Backed the truck in the low spot next to the road, and put the board across. The bike just rolled right in. 

Why not reverse the procedure?

I back up the truck to the driveway/curb, and it is usually only up about 6" when the rear wheel is in the curb of the road/side walk.

Very good idea. After work, I'll back the truck up and see if it looks like it'll work.

Rio Wil & crackerborn: I'll check those first... Thanks!

[IamGCW]

When in Fairbanks this summer I had a relay fail.  It turned on the driving lights and ran the battery down (hotel called me at 10 PM, they had been on for hours).  I pulled the fuse and went to bed.  Next morning I tried to start it.  It turned over, slower than normal but seemed fast enough for a start.  Eventually the battery started giving out and I gave up.  Charged it for a couple of hours using the hotel charger and it turned over faster, then started. 

Could be a weak/low battery.  These things like fully charged good condition battery's.

After riding it for an hour or so the battery worked fine.  I'm sure the trip home fully charged the battery.

Gil

[Chrisj CMA]

When in Fairbanks this summer I had a relay fail.  It turned on the driving lights and ran the battery down (hotel called me at 10 PM, they had been on for hours).  I pulled the fuse and went to bed.  Next morning I tried to start it.  It turned over, slower than normal but seemed fast enough for a start.  Eventually the battery started giving out and I gave up.  Charged it for a couple of hours using the hotel charger and it turned over faster, then started. 

Could be a weak/low battery.  These things like fully charged good condition battery's.

After riding it for an hour or so the battery worked fine.  I'm sure the trip home fully charged the battery.

Any time a motorcycle battery gets run down very low (like lights on) it needs a real charge.  If you just let the alternator do it, the life of the battery will be shortened.  I know because I did it once

Gil

[IamGCW]

Chris

Agreed best is to charge fully with a good charger, but conditions did not allow.   

You replied to my post with a quote and added your comments in the middle of mine.  Had to look carefully to see your comments.

For the original poster, pull the battery, get it load tested and fully charged.  Then give it a try. 

Gil

[Bugslayer]

Well, things are looking up.
I got the bike unloaded at the Honda shop, and trailered back to the house. I've had the battery on the battery tender for the past two days, so I put it back in the bike and checked each plug for fire. None of them were firing. The battery was only testing at a little over 12 volts.  

Here's the part that has me puzzled.  I took out that battery and put my other battery in (again). It tested at 13.5 volts. This time it started right up. I checked the voltage again with the motor running, and it was up to 14.35. So I assume the alternator is working ok.

Right now, I'm gonna chalk it up as a bad battery. I still don't know why it wouldn't start last time I switched batteries.  Or why it didn't start when I jumped it from my trucks battery??  ???

I'll get a new battery and just keep an eye one it.
Thanks for the help!

[BF]

Take your battery to someplace like Autozone and have them load test it. 

[The emperor has no clothes]

Well, things are looking up.
I got the bike unloaded at the Honda shop, and trailered back to the house. I've had the battery on the battery tender for the past two days, so I put it back in the bike and checked each plug for fire. None of them were firing. The battery was only testing at a little over 12 volts.  

Here's the part that has me puzzled.  I took out that battery and put my other battery in (again). It tested at 13.5 volts. This time it started right up. I checked the voltage again with the motor running, and it was up to 14.35. So I assume the alternator is working ok.

Right now, I'm gonna chalk it up as a bad battery. I still don't know why it wouldn't start last time I switched batteries.  Or why it didn't start when I jumped it from my trucks battery??  ???

I'll get a new battery and just keep an eye one it.
Thanks for the help!

Maybe it got flooded and didn't start with a jump because of that. The couple of times that I've flooded mine I've had to wait 30 minutes or so.

[Bugslayer]

Take your battery to someplace like Autozone and have them load test it. 

I'll do that. I'll let it spend the night on the charger before I have it checked.

[Bugslayer]

[/quote]Maybe it got flooded and didn't start with a jump because of that. The couple of times that I've flooded mine I've had to wait 30 minutes or so.
[/quote]

Lets hope that's all it was.

[Patrick]

You had fire with a 13v battery, but, not with 12v ? Hmmm.
Well, it'll probably go with a new battery then. Remember to really clean the cable ends. You might want to also do it to the engine ground [left foot peg].

[jimmytee]

I still think it's hopeless. You don't want to put any time or money into that old bike. I'll come and get it for you so you don't have to mess with it anymore. That's what friends do. You don't have to thank me.

   

[Bugslayer]

So, I took it off the charger a while ago. It tested 13.2 volts.  Took it over to Auto Zone for a load test. Their tester came back saying, "fully charged.... replace battery".

The new battery is on the charger.   

[icedrifter]

hi I`ve got a 98 standard  more or less happened to me it turned out to be the Ignition Pulse Generator it cost me around £140.00 ENGLISH POUNDS, problem solved hope this helps.

[Bugslayer]

hi I`ve got a 98 standard  more or less happened to me it turned out to be the Ignition Pulse Generator it cost me around £140.00 ENGLISH POUNDS, problem solved hope this helps.

That was exactly my problem. The Ignition Pulse Generator.  A fellow VRCC member made me a really good deal on a brand new, in the package IPG. It took a few hours to replace it, but she runs like a champ now.... 
Thanks for the reply!!