help me start my bike!

[cardboardHero]

i have a 2005 suzuki boulevard s40 that i just bought in january. it ran fine when i got it, and it was starting flawlessly up until recently. now i cant for the life of me get the darn thing to start. ive tried everything in the manual, and even my dad who is a seasoned harley rider cant figure it out. any suggestions would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks for the responses, i guess i should have been a little more detailed.
Heres what ive tried:
-charged battery
-set the fuel valve to "prime" (manual said to do this) and tried to start it, i did this under various combinations of throttle and choke
-set fuel valve to "reserve" and "normal" and tried various combination of choke and throttle
-tried to push start it in first
-i even set up a space heater to blow hot air on the oil pan so it would be a little warmer (manual said cold oil can cause the motor to not start)
-my dad thinks the spark plug is fouled, but on my bike the plug is inaccessible unless you remove the gas tank (frustrating) and i havent tried to get at it yet
-everything i tried was done with clutch in, kickstand up, and the kill switch wasn't in the "off" position

[mcgill]

have you tried changing the plugs...?

[Rickster]

We need more information, you say you have tried everything, but that can't be true, or the thing would be running. There must be something you have missed, and the only way we will know what that is, is for you to give us better details on what you have done already.

[c50tiger]

I can tell you my 05' C50 came from the factory with a bad cell in the battery, and the replacement was bad by the end of last winter even though I rode about every other week. 3rd battery has held up much better. But... still need a bit more detail on exactly what your's is (or isn't) doing.

[sinn]

Put up the kickstand

Just kidding...good luck with getting her started!

[Clint]

Originally Posted by Rickster

We need more information....

+1. List what you've done and we can suggest other options.

[peter-reebok]

I know you have probably tried it but....

Hold the clutch in when pushing the starter.

The simplest things we forget!

[omegajim]

don't forget the kill switch!

[ChicsterMG]

Originally Posted by sinn

Put up the kickstand

Just kidding...good luck with getting her started!

Not really.
It's happened before. If the bike is in gear and the kickstand is down, it won't start.
Just something you should look for.

[omegajim]

cardboardHero

i have a 2005 suzuki boulevard s40 that i just bought in january. it ran fine when i got it, and it was starting flawlessly up until recently. now i cant for the life of me get the darn thing to start. ive tried everything in the manual,

Somewhere, along the line you may have to list what you've tried.

Or, at the least let us know if you have spark, if you left gas in the tank for more than 4 months.

[GregR1]

does the engine even turn over at all but doesn't "catch"? or does the starter motor spin without making the engine turn over? or do you just get a relay clicking? or absolutely nothing?

[Rickster]

Originally Posted by cardboardHero

i have a 2005 suzuki boulevard s40 that i just bought in january. it ran fine when i got it, and it was starting flawlessly up until recently. now i cant for the life of me get the darn thing to start. ive tried everything in the manual, and even my dad who is a seasoned harley rider cant figure it out. any suggestions would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks for the responses, i guess i should have been a little more detailed.
Heres what ive tried:
-charged battery
-set the fuel valve to "prime" (manual said to do this) and tried to start it, i did this under various combinations of throttle and choke
-set fuel valve to "reserve" and "normal" and tried various combination of choke and throttle
-tried to push start it in first
-i even set up a space heater to blow hot air on the oil pan so it would be a little warmer (manual said cold oil can cause the motor to not start)
-my dad thinks the spark plug is fouled, but on my bike the plug is inaccessible unless you remove the gas tank (frustrating) and i havent tried to get at it yet
-everything i tried was done with clutch in, kickstand up, and the kill switch wasn't in the "off" position

I accidentally found that you added to your first post. Most of the time, I will just hit the "first post unread" button. I think it's the same for most readers, so in the future, instead of doing an edit to your post, you might want to just add your new comments onto the end, otherwise, most are going to miss them.

If the motor is not turning over at all, there is a good chance your kickstand switch is stuck. I'm assuming you have already checked your battery, and it shows a full charge, (about 13 Volts for a 12 Volt system.)Keep in mind, you should only use a trickle charger for a motorcycle battery, 1.5 Amps at the most.

If it's turning over, but not starting, you might have a plugged fuel line. Try shutting the gas off, and than disconnect the gas line from the bottom of the on/off switch. Keep a rag, and catch basin handy. Than hold the catch basin under the on/off switch, and open it to see if you have fuel flow. You can also try tapping on the side of the carb, this will sometimes release a stuck float.

If none of that works, the next thing I would do is pull the tank off and check the spark plug.

By the way, when push starting a bike, second, or third gear works better than first.

[Kropatchek]

Check presence of fuel from the bottom of the carb.
When hitting the starter button you should hear a click, that's the decomp solenoid operating . Then the starter relay should kick-in. If that's not happening I would check the battery teminals ( do that first).
Next ( if no start) remove seat and remove the 2 bolt holding the rear of the tank, now the 2 bolts of the chrome cover and you can reach the sparkplug. Remove and check for spark.
Greetz
Kropatchek

[omegajim]

My rank amateur opinion, you shouldn't have to have the fuel on prime but for 10 seconds to fill up the bowls on the carbs. Longer than that, and it's flooded, assuming that's not what's broken.

[92Notch]

push it into your neighbors back yard and kick some leaves over it ... its hopeless.



j/k I'd follow the advice of others in the thread. check for fuel, check for spark ... if no spark w/ a new plug i'd start looking at the switches... a faulty kill, clutch, or stand switch first.

[rathr-b-cruisin]

Did you ever get it running or what? What was the problem?

[Rickster]

Originally Posted by rathr-b-cruisin

Did you ever get it running or what? What was the problem?

He mus have gotten it running, he has only ever made 1 post, he's probably out riding.

[omegajim]

He mus have gotten it running, he has only ever made 1 post, he's probably out riding.

Either that, or he realized something embarrassingly simple. You never know.

So, how's the weather by you? It's just slowwwwwwwwwwwly starting to melt here in wisconsin.

[Rickster]

Originally Posted by omegajim

Either that, or he realized something embarrassingly simple. You never know.

So, how's the weather by you? It's just slowwwwwwwwwwwly starting to melt here in wisconsin.

44 right now, might hit 50 next week. I'm wating for the first rain to clean the salt off the road.

[omegajim]

MN, that might take a minor flood to clean the salt off.

Wonder if cardboardhero got his scooter figured out. W/out starter fluid preferably.