Trouble Starting my Marauder

I have a 2002 Marauder 800. I am finding that if the bike sits for more than 5 days, I have a great deal of trouble getting it started. Right now it is sitting in the garage with a dead battery from trying to start it after it was sitting for a week. Has anyone experienced this same problem? If so, what did you do about it? Thanks!

not enought information...are you using the choke? fresh gas?

That's just not very normal for the Marauder. I have a 2002 Marauder and have really never experienced such a problem after 1-1/2 yrs. and 6,400 miles.

The last suggestion of making sure your choke is on full, and having fresh gas in the tank are good things to make sure of...and one other thing. Once you eventually do get it started and warmed up, you may wish to boost the idle a bit (the round adjustment knob under the seat). I've found that sometimes this may be set too low from the factory/dealer, and it can tend to cause troublesome starting on occasion, and even stalling when off the throttle and downshifting suddenly.

Aside from the suggestions above, you might want to use a trickle charger if you know it will be some time between rides. Will keep low voltage on the battery, so if you continue to have problems starting, you can at least rule one possibility out. Cold-starting with full choke is a must for the Marauder.

[HighwayHoney]

I have a 1999 Marauder and have always had problems starting it if it sits in the garage for more than a week. Summer time is not too bad but it still has to be choked. Cold weather is awful. I have replaced the battery and still had problems. Even stopping at a restaurant requires a full choke to start again. I have found that if I put a trickle charge on it at least once a month for 24 hours it is good to go when I am. My husband has a 1999 Marauder and his kicks off every time he turns the key and he is still using the factory battery. Go figure!

[jonny228]

there are several things that could be wrong, mind you I am a car mechanic, so some of my info could be questionable. REPLACE YOUR BATTERY!!! Its going bad, its clearly not holding a charge, I know this sounds simple and not the most complicated thing, but most likely it is whats wrong. 2nd, when you know your bike is not going to be used for a few days, what you can do is install a knife switch (remember those goofy looking switches you use to see in science experiments) near the battery, on the negative wire. Replace the battery first, I am almost sure this is your problem, but to give an idea, it could be several things: bad relays, internal power supply not going off, cold lines, poor ignition cables, or plugs, needs a new ignition, it might need a tune-up, low quality fuel, old filters, a switch in the transmission is broke, I won't go on into the really bad stuff. Replace the battery, if that does not fix it, take it to a mechanic, and make sure you stay and watch them, you will watch the price go down!!! Good Luck

[marano]

Mine does the same thing. Always has. I just choke it all the way. Get it cranked and give it some throttle for a minute. the mechanic where I bought the bike told me to ride it with the choke out for a minute and then push it in. I have done this sometimes and it works.

[Texas Jay]

We talked about this recently (sort of). Many people were having problems starting their 800cc bikes (including me). We must hold the choke out all the way for 2 to 5 minutes before letting it go, otherwise the bike stalls.

Most people said the air/fuel mixture is set too lean. I'm going to have mine adjusted at my first servicing next week.

[St0nkingByte]

I'll second what TexasJay is saying. I don't think this is normal at all. I start my 97 Marauder with the choke knob pulled all the way out and by the time I've got my helmet on the engine is idling fast even on 35 degree mornings. Once its been idling fast for a couple seconds I push the choke knob in and ride off. If its cold out I do ride easy for the first minute or two to let the bike finish warming up but that's it. Later in the same day I can usually start the bike w/out using the choke at all.

[axel_2078]

I have to keep the choke knob pulled out by hand for about 5 minutes before it's warm enough to run without it. If I let go of the knob, it pulls right back in and stalls the bike.