Your Battery Is More Important Than You Think

[Kijona]

If you've got a bike that only fires on one cylinder, won't run smoothly, or won't run at all...read this. This could solve your problem!

I went to start up my 07 "F" yesterday to go pick up some generic "Mucinex" from Wal-Mart. I wheel the bike out into the driveway, put the choke down, turn the key, pull in the clutch, and hit the starter button...

Nothing. Lights go completely dead and nothing works.

I think to myself "Ooookayyy...that's weird...". I shut the key off, wait a few seconds, and then turn it back on. Everything lights up and the starter decides to turn - albeit noticeably slower than normal. The bike does eventually start and even with the full choke, it sounds like it isn't running right - had a much more uneven tone than normal and had somewhat of a "loping" sound. Also, the idle was way down.

At this point you can imagine I'm pretty dang perplexed. After about a minute of fiddling with the choke and throttle but to no avail, I decide to shut the bike off and pull the seat off to check the battery leads. As I'm removing the seat, I start smelling gas. Not just a whiff - the kind of smell you get when you've got a gas leak. I look down and I realize there's a steady trickle of gas coming out of the airbox drain line and forming a nice spot on my driveway.

After a few curse words, and assuming the worst (my first thought was that one of the floats was sticking), it suddenly occurs to me that a faulty battery could cause ignition problems since the bike relies on the battery for the ignition charge. I couldn't figure out why it would only affect one cylinder, but nonetheless I decide to test the battery. Sure enough, 10.1v with the key off.

To make an even longer story short, I located a battery at AutoZone and had them check the old one. The battery dropped to less than TWO VOLTS when load tested.

After charging and installing the new battery, the bike still had some running issues, but I figured it was probably because there was still gas in the airbox. It took a bit to get it started but when I finally did, I took it for a spin and it cleared itself up. All is well now.

Moral of this story: if your bike isn't running right, even if you don't suspect it, it's best to test your battery - especially if problems seem to suddenly develop.

[SS Adrenaline]

Also check your spark plugs.  I had a bad one and it was giving me similar running to yours.  Took awhile to find what the problem was even thought it was simple.

[Kijona]

Also check your spark plugs.  I had a bad one and it was giving me similar running to yours.  Took awhile to find what the problem was even thought it was simple.

Spark plugs are <100 miles old. It was running fine the day before. It was absolutely the battery.

[SS Adrenaline]

Also check your spark plugs.  I had a bad one and it was giving me similar running to yours.  Took awhile to find what the problem was even thought it was simple.

Spark plugs are <100 miles old. It was running fine the day before. It was absolutely the battery.

Ohh I wasnt suggesting that your plugs were the problem, only that they can cause similar situations so that others reading this will know.
Cheers

[Twisted]

I went to start up my 07 "F" yesterday to go pick up some generic "Mucinex" from Wal-Mart. I wheel the bike out into the driveway, put the choke down, turn the key, pull in the clutch, and hit the starter button...

How many GS's you got Kij? I thought you only had the orange one?

[ohgood]

If you've got a bike that only fires on one cylinder, won't run smoothly, or won't run at all...read this. This could solve your problem!

.....

had a much more uneven tone than normal and had somewhat of a "loping" sound. Also, the idle was way down.
.......

I look down and I realize there's a steady trickle of gas coming out of the airbox drain line and forming a nice spot on my driveway.

.....

a faulty battery could cause ignition problems since the bike relies on the battery for the ignition charge. I couldn't figure out why it would only affect one cylinder, but nonetheless I decide to test the battery. Sure enough, 10.1v with the key off.

......

After charging and installing the new battery, the bike still had some running issues,

......


I took it for a spin and it cleared itself up. All is well now, or so it seems.

bad battery is a very definitive and easily fixed problem. you had TWO problems though.

the vaccum petcock and or floats are sticking, hence the puddle of gas, and poor running condition. it -seems- cleared up for now, but it's lurking. if it fills the cylinder with gas, it can hydrolock it, bend/ break valves, or contaminate the oil and ruin bearings. fix the float and/or petcock.

[Kijona]

I went to start up my 07 "F" yesterday to go pick up some generic "Mucinex" from Wal-Mart. I wheel the bike out into the driveway, put the choke down, turn the key, pull in the clutch, and hit the starter button...

How many GS's you got Kij? I thought you only had the orange one?

I got an 07 and a 97...97 is the orange one, obviously. The 07 is the last bike in my sig.

[Kijona]

If you've got a bike that only fires on one cylinder, won't run smoothly, or won't run at all...read this. This could solve your problem!

.....

had a much more uneven tone than normal and had somewhat of a "loping" sound. Also, the idle was way down.
.......

I look down and I realize there's a steady trickle of gas coming out of the airbox drain line and forming a nice spot on my driveway.

.....

a faulty battery could cause ignition problems since the bike relies on the battery for the ignition charge. I couldn't figure out why it would only affect one cylinder, but nonetheless I decide to test the battery. Sure enough, 10.1v with the key off.

......

After charging and installing the new battery, the bike still had some running issues,

......


I took it for a spin and it cleared itself up. All is well now, or so it seems.

bad battery is a very definitive and easily fixed problem. you had TWO problems though.

the vaccum petcock and or floats are sticking, hence the puddle of gas, and poor running condition. it -seems- cleared up for now, but it's lurking. if it fills the cylinder with gas, it can hydrolock it, bend/ break valves, or contaminate the oil and ruin bearings. fix the float and/or petcock.

Only one cylinder was firing because of the low battery. That's what comes of having electronic ignition.

Let me expound...it wasn't running well because of the low battery causing only one cylinder to fire. It was dumping the gas into the airbox and probably fouled the plug a bit. I just took it on a 70+ mile ride (today was beautiful). It's fine now. The gas stopped coming out shortly after I shut the bike off - petcock is functioning.

[Kijona]

Also check your spark plugs.  I had a bad one and it was giving me similar running to yours.  Took awhile to find what the problem was even thought it was simple.

Spark plugs are <100 miles old. It was running fine the day before. It was absolutely the battery.

Ohh I wasnt suggesting that your plugs were the problem, only that they can cause similar situations so that others reading this will know.
Cheers

Ohhh! Okay thanks for adding that.

[SS Adrenaline]

Also check your spark plugs.  I had a bad one and it was giving me similar running to yours.  Took awhile to find what the problem was even thought it was simple.

Spark plugs are <100 miles old. It was running fine the day before. It was absolutely the battery.

Ohh I wasnt suggesting that your plugs were the problem, only that they can cause similar situations so that others reading this will know.
Cheers

Ohhh! Okay thanks for adding that.

No problem buddy.
Cheers. 

[Kijona]

Also check your spark plugs.  I had a bad one and it was giving me similar running to yours.  Took awhile to find what the problem was even thought it was simple.

Spark plugs are <100 miles old. It was running fine the day before. It was absolutely the battery.

Ohh I wasnt suggesting that your plugs were the problem, only that they can cause similar situations so that others reading this will know.
Cheers

Ohhh! Okay thanks for adding that.

No problem buddy.
Cheers. 

[Twisted]

I went to start up my 07 "F" yesterday to go pick up some generic "Mucinex" from Wal-Mart. I wheel the bike out into the driveway, put the choke down, turn the key, pull in the clutch, and hit the starter button...

How many GS's you got Kij? I thought you only had the orange one?

I got an 07 and a 97...97 is the orange one, obviously. The 07 is the last bike in my sig.

Ah I turned sigs off lol.