Engine's dead. Need to get home. Help! (please)

[LPC2104]

I'm a bonehead.  I've been riding my bike for a few weeks and never had any problems with starting it.  I just filled it up this morning so I know it's not gas.  Anyways, I went to the parking lot to start it and it goes "click" "click".  I think maybe I left the back light on by accident.  My internet shuts down at 6 (server going down to reload) and I need to get home on the bike.  Can someone give me a quick how to to get my bike going?  Quicker the better, I know, I ask a lot.  Thanks

[Kerry]

Do you know how to "push start"?

[jixaw]

Leave it alone for as long as you can...you might have enough juice to get it started.....check you battery connections.....and your fuse......if you can verify that you left the rear light on.....its prolly a dead battery.....

in which case...you might have to bump start it.....put it in 1st...pull the clutch....get it rolling....release the clutch....it should start

[Mitch]

If you can find a hill get bike to the top turn on the key and shut off put in gear and pull the clutch.   get on and get some speed going down the hill.  DROP the clutch and let it start, give it some gas.

It's a FUN FUN thing to do.  I had to do it last weekend while running beside the bike in a jack in the box parking lot.

[Kerry]

Make sure you have the ignition and kill switches ON before you start pushing!  (Don't ask me how I know that.)

And ... you might want to try 2nd gear instead of first, depending on the slope, whether you have someone else push you, etc.  In first gear it's too easy to "miss your chance" by not timing your clutch and throttle just right.

[Kasumi]

You might be able to get it started with just pushing it when sat on it if you can get it up to some sort of speed but get a collegue or friend to push it while you sit on it, only thing to watch out for is when you drop the clutch you might get a bit of lockup or a big jerk as the engine kicks in. I would put money on it been dead bat.

[KYGS500E]

yeah.... its good to do in 2nd gear too... have the throttle open when you push start it to insure it will fire

[p0diabl0]

Just push start it, find any sort of slope that you can. Its amazing where you can find them when you have to look, not that I would know or anything 

[CirclesCenter]

Uhaul rents cheap if that doesn't work (don't ask, I have flashbacks every night) Like 25$ plus tie downs (and don't ratchet them too far or you'll be out like 150 - 200 bucks)

[WildBlue]

Or if there's some colleague around, you can jump start it with a car.  If you do that, keep the car's engine off and remember that it's best to connect the negative to the bike's frame instead of the negative terminal directly.  Good luck! 

Heh... probably too late for you to read this anyway. 

[LPC2104]

Many thanks to everyone that replied.  Sorry it took me so long to respond but I used the push start method and it fired right up and the second I got home, I had to mow and weedwack my lawn and hill because I was having company over for grilled pizzas and homebrew and the cubs game.  I managed to complete all of this with a whopping 3 minutes to spare.   

If anyone has any emergency questions on PSU basketball, the chicago cubs, or homebrewing, I am your man.

Seriously, thanks for the replies.

And my co-workers thank you for the entertainment I provided trying to run while straddling my bike. 

[Kasumi]

Hehe i was going to add something about you might want to do all this wearing a paper bag on your head but then i decided that would be too mean.

I remeber my battery going flat in a large town centre by the shops. I had to push it down the bike park to get it to start infront of all the holiday time shoppers it was not good 

[MarkusN]

I find that a combination of push and standard start works best for me when the battery is low.

Ignition on, 2nd gear, pull the clutch. Push as fast as you can, then, at the same time, drop the clutch and press the start button. Works much better for me than standard push starting which usually just gets the rear wheel to skid. Of yourse you have to be ready to pull the clutch as soon as the engine fires up.

[LPC2104]

OK I think I might have a bigger problem then 1st suspected.  Bike was dead again this morning.  I bet it ran for about 10-15 minutes yesterday after I did the push start thing.  It sat in the garage all night and this morning I went to fire it up and it give a little cough/start and then died.  This was proceeded by the click click sound.  I have a few questions. 

Is 10-15 minutes long enough to recharge the battery? 

If it is, do I have a bigger issue like a starter problem? 

Could it be the spark plugs?

I am clueless about motorcycle maintenance but I don't fear the wrench. 

I'm thinking I'll go for a long ride and see what happens tomorrow.  Any tips/advice is welcome.  Thanks. 

[MarkusN]

Is 10-15 minutes long enough to recharge the battery?

That's a wee bit on the short side if your battery was totally drained.

It obviously is a battery problem. (The click means that your starter solenoid activates but that the battery immediately folds under the starter current.)

Try to fully recharge and go from there.

[ajgs500]

Go out and get yourself a battery tender.  And leave it on overnight/all day.  It sounds like it maybe time for a new battery. 

Also check your fluid level and add some distilled water if it is not up to par.

[Kasumi]

It takes alot of power (respectivly) to start the bike. The battery is charged through the alternator as your running the bike and driving along. If your only going for short rides, like 5 miles or so then the battery won't regain all the energy lost from starting, this may sound stupid but as your going along you have your lights on i presume all these things reduce how much charge the battery gets on a journey. Coupling a low battery with this could be a symptom for your bike not starting. It happens on my bike every once in a while because i only make short journeys to school and back and my bike has a tiny battery and thus doesn't recoup enough and over week the battery level decreases. A good charge with a battery reconditioner (drip charger) should sort the problem and it will fire up like a new bike.

[LPC2104]

It takes alot of power (respectivly) to start the bike. The battery is charged through the alternator as your running the bike and driving along. If your only going for short rides, like 5 miles or so then the battery won't regain all the energy lost from starting, this may sound stupid but as your going along you have your lights on i presume all these things reduce how much charge the battery gets on a journey. Coupling a low battery with this could be a symptom for your bike not starting. It happens on my bike every once in a while because i only make short journeys to school and back and my bike has a tiny battery and thus doesn't recoup enough and over week the battery level decreases. A good charge with a battery reconditioner (drip charger) should sort the problem and it will fire up like a new bike.

That sounds like it could be my problem.  My rides are mostly 5-6 miles about 8 times a week.  Thanks for the thought. 

Any idea how long I need to ride to fully charge it?  The battery charger is cool but I'm a noobie so I'd love an excuse to get out for a ride.

[ajgs500]

ehhh go for like a 30-40 minute ride and keep your rpm's up.

[Kasumi]

Yea do some gentle twisties so you can get used to leaning and also it will force you to be in a lower gear so higher revs. Double bonus really, you get lots of practice and get to charge your battery at the same time. 30-40 mins sounds good to get the battery up.

If you decide to get a charger get a trickle charger which reconditions the battery, many of these come with some wires which you hook up to the posotive and negative of the battery and then poke through a styling vent in the fairing or under the seat, they have a connector on the end so you can just ride in the garage at night and plug it in using the special conector and it will charge your battery when its in the garage without having to take the seat off and clip on the charger everytime.