Hello all, I am a brand new Rider and I purchased a well maintained, garage kept 07 bonnie (carbed) recently. I rode it 400+ miles and it started and ran perfectly. Last evening, I did a slow tight u turn at the top of a street on a hill and dropped it onto it's left side. I dont have engine guards but the only thing that was damaged, oddly enough, was the choke knob. It was pushed a bit to the left, disconnecting the knob from the actual choke. Bummer. However, after picking it up and parking it, I was able to start it again no problem after about 20 minutes to get myself home. I parked the bike at my house, there was a minor bit of rain, I cleaned and wiped everything down and covered it for the night. Today I have had issues starting it, and keeping it running. 1) I can still utilize the choke by pulling it out with my fingers/nails 2) The battery seems to have been drained by leaving the USB battery tender plugged in for the past few days I am charging it currently with a Noco Genius G1100 trickle charger, it took 4 hours or so for it to go from 25%-a blinking 50%. I tried starting it at blinking 50% and it started with the choke out idling at 1000 rpms. after 20-30 seconds i gave it gas, the exhaust popped and it died. I am curious if the drop messed up the carbs, spark plugs, or whatever or if it really is a circumstantial battery issue. Any tips would be appreciated. I plugged a USB 'Battery Tender' in with a chord earlier this week and never unplugged it until today when charging the batt.
Hi Rosser, and welcome in Can't help with your problem but there are plenty here who can, hopefully before too long albeit is 2210hrs over in the UK right now
I agree with DD check around the carbs as the dunt on choke lever/carbs may have dislodged something? if its original battery it may be worth binning it and buy a new one, my noco 1100 charges a fair bit quicker than you have found so may be a battery issue?
Welcome to the forum Rosser, I see D.D and Wishbone have already given some good advice, you've come to the right place.
Pretty impossible to tell from 3,000 miles away what you broke. Time.to look it over carefully. We cannot see it. You have to do the looking. You know the choke is broken. Get the parts, and fix it [or have it fixed]. If that does not solve it, then look around for anything else loose or broken. You have to look for the problem. I am not trying to be difficult. I am being realistic with you. There is no 5 min. instant internet fix. If you find something you are not sure about, THEN ask. We will try to help, but you are the eyes in this kind of situation. ...J.D.
If he doesn't have the time to check out the problem, why should I ? Just twiddle your thumbs on the internet for 5 minutes and expect an answer. Not realistic. ...J.D.
Got to give us more to go on than "I broke it". That is unless you believe god provides miraculous healing for motorcycles. [You know I am usually helpful DD]. I just don't mislead people with answers that are not available. ...J.D.
Well he has hardly been " beaten and robbed here ". Just asked him for more information. If he doen't want to supply it, there is not much I can do. Give me something to work with and my advice is always free ...J.D.
Thanks for the responses. I talked to the previous owner and they indicated they had thought the worst many a time when starting issues arose, but the battery was always the issue. 'I cant tell you how many times i thought something serious was wrong and it all came back to a weak battery' As mentioned in the post I had the usb battery tender and charger chord for my phone connected for the past few days, even after riding and when covered. It is currently at a blinking 100% and I will try and start it when the battery is fully charged. Attached is a picture of the choke damage. I can still engage the choke by grabbing it with my fingers; and I still have the spring. I will take it to the garage and bend back the chock knob and try and fix it that way. I guess i'll find out soon if it works but my concern was spark plug, fuel/air flow, or fuel supply issues after the drop. Again, it wasnt a 'BIG' drop just a little bit of a let down (literally and figuratively). The bike was down on its left side for maybe 45 seconds tops. And it started up when i picked it up and again when i left 20 mins later. Maybe it's all circumstantial and just a battery issue, but im sure you all can remember your first drop and how much it shakes you. If not, 1000 blessings. and if so, still, 1000 blessings. Bless
DD: No offense taken. I refrain from getting in to religion on sites like this. We all have a right to our own views. BTW DD: Isn't it past your bed time over there ? ...J.D.
Rosser: As you can see, you get harassed a lot on here, but all in good fun. I have a very similar bike in my "squadron" . She is a '02. Just replaced her battery this month. These are usually a very easy starting bike. I don't think you did any damage internally. Just make sure that hit didn't knock anything else loose. You need to get a real battery maintainer for motorcycles. 12volt not USB which is 5 volt. Get that battery fully charged before you try to start it again. Also, if it has a history of hard starting ?… Two things.I would check. How long.has it been since it's valves were adjusted ? Second is possible ignition issues. Being it is a '07…How long has it been since it got some fresh spark plugs ? Get back to us when you have more. Post on the tech thread or the bonnie or America threads. Happy hunting. ...J.D. BTW: Welcome from an old gearhead in California !
Yup the choke is just a sliding bar and if it pulls out and stays out should work, battery if charged on the Noco should be good although real test is what happens after you start it. For the price of a new one, if you think the existing one is OE, time for a change. Like JD has said, check the basics; Mmy Triumph twin also a 2007 Carb had igniter and coil problems and the best single thing I did was get the igniter remap from TTP.
I can see your problem. The sliding bar hooks into a plunger in each carb. The LH hook has detached. Consequently only the RH carb is getting enriched. Check it out.