After having not ridden my ('66 plate) TBird Commander for several months (since I think it was serviced in November), it's really not happy about starting up. It'll eventually splutter to life after turning over for ~30 seconds and with some play of the throttle. Once it's started and run for a minute or 2, it'll then start easily. Anyone know what could cause that? I've tried cycling the ignition to prime the injectors several times over, it doesn't help. My only thoughts are: The fuel has gone a bit bad sitting for a few months (but it is only like 3-4 months) The oil is somehow bad and when warmed up is fine (but it was serviced in November by a main dealer) Sparkplugs maybe?? A friend has recommended a can of Bradex Easy Start squirted into the air filter. I'll give that a go, but if it works, I'm not sure if that helps indicate what the underlying issue is. The fuel is quite low, so when I next take it out, I'll fill her up with fresh fuel regardless. I'm wondering how much I should drain what's in there before doing so though, and not sure what grade I should use. I typically put in premium, but perhaps 95 RON will ignite more easily? Suggestions welcome!! Dave
I would if possible drain the tank and put some fresh fuel in along with a good fuel additive to clean the system out as you go, I find if you lay a bike up for even a short spell a fuel additive saves a lot of issues, " works for me" As far as easy start I would not use that anywhere near a machine of mine having seen what easy start does to diesels after long use it makes them knock [bottom end trouble] and they can become addicted to it, just my observations.
Hi David, here's a few random thoughts on your starting issue : 1. Does your bike have a push/pull start control on the LHS of the bike? Have a look in your handbook to check. 865 Bonnys have them but I'm not sure if your does have one, but if it does, use it. 2. During your attempts at starting the bike, NEVER EVER touch the throttle. If you do, you will be giving messages to the ECU that the start program is not necessary, hence making starting actually more difficult. 3. The batteries on most bikes are really quite small so don't react well to turning the engine over for 30 secs or more, at a time. If she doesn't start within 5 secs, something is wrong. You don't say if the engine is turning over at normal speed or more slowly than normal, but the first place I would look is the state of the battery, and connecting another known-good battery via jumper cables. With the ignition turned off, and using a voltmeter check the voltage across the battery terminals - if it's less than 12.6v the battery is suspect/needs charging/needs replacing. Hope that helps, Dave
Cheers for the suggestions. My old speedmaster had the idle modifier (kinda like a choke, but not), but the commander doesn’t. My first thought was the battery, but I do keep it on an optimate, and it does seem to turn over fairy normally, perhaps a little sluggishly. So it could be the battery, the optimate is reporting it’s fine, but I can check with a multimeter later ... and it’s worth saying that despite always using the optimate, the battery on that bike has had to be replaced once already. I’ll take it for a spin later, and fill up with premium, and probably put a fuel supplement in too (any suggestion as to which?), and then let it cool down and see how it goes after that.
I had a problem with starting and the running of my 2002 trophy 1200 last year around now. I was starting using it again after a couple of months in slumber. I spoke with my local garage and they mentioned how quickly they'd seen fuel deteriorate of late. So I ran the fuel through with some redex (but mine is carbs unlike yours), then filled up with esso premium which around here is not supposed to have ethanol added. After a few hundred miles it was fine. However I also bought some forte moto power from them on their advice (1 I think, not 2 although they said I could use both together). Dropped the lot into the fuel in November and took it out for a run to get the stuff through, before it had a couple of months rest. When the bike was warm the idle had increased by about 200 rpm, so I dropped the idle back down. I took that to mean it had cleaned the carbs out better than the redex. Started it this year again after a few months rest (with premium esso and the forte stuff), with none of last years issues. I'd be interested to hear if anyone's tried the forte stuff in fuel injected bikes... This is the stuff https://www.forteuk.co.uk/product/moto-power-i
I did avoid the Bradex under the advice of you guys. I drove it around a while to drain most of the fuel, grabbed a bottle of Wynn's Total Action Petrol. I hit the station with about 20 miles left in the tank and filled up putting in the the whole thingy (which says it can be used on as little as 20 litres, which is the size of the tank anyway), and then rode around for another 20-30 miles. I came home and waited for the bike to cool a bit, and checked the oil. I don't know much about it, but the levels looked fine, perhaps it seemed maybe a little dirty to me, but I really don't know - it wasn't cloudy or anything. I just went to try and start it up, it's still slightly warm, but thought I'd give it a go, but there's some new issue ... the injectors don't fire, and the engine oil light stays on (and the ABS light is blinking), nothing else - even the neutral light isn't on. When I hit the starter, it doesn't even turn over. It's not happy. Could I have done f'ed something up in checking the oil? The dipstick is back in and tightened. UPDATE Urgh, epic facepalm ... I had the engine stop switch activated. So the bike starts, but like I say, it's still very warm to the touch, so I'll try again much later, and/or in the morning.
Had to cut mine already. I kept finding something taking a dump on my lawn. I have invested in a Nature Cam and discovered I have foxes and badgers wondering around my lawn. FFS I live in Bath, Somerset. Bath surrounded by countryside. Why can't they go there? I have yet to catch anything having a dump and it may even be my neighbours dog. Watch this space. Alfie
Oh, I forgot to mention that when I got to the petrol station, I think when I undid my fuel cap, it was actually loose. I've got the locking cap, and not only did I not have to unlock it, but it felt almost half-undone. So if fresh fuel has done the trick, I imagine all the juicy bang-bang molecules had evaporated out.
I have been on the internet using my interweb confuser thingy to work out what it is. They say that fox crap has a twisted end and full of nuts and seeds. I will send SWMBO to investigate. Alfie
Right, I think it's good. Stone cold this morning, and she started with only mild reluctance! I suspect the primary issue was the fuel cap being loose for a few months over winter. I guess some of the more volatile components evaporated from the tank, or some ambient moisture got in, or both. But I think the system cleaner that's in there will help going forward too, and improve the system generally anyway. Thanks for the help guys!
