Hello Gentlemen

So I just did my first motorcycle winter storage and now my bike wont start:

What I did:

Oil change, wash + wax, chain lube

Filled gas tank & added fuel stabilizer

applied battery tender.


OK so I go to start it today (bear in mind its about 2 degrees celcius here)

I hear the starter motor going, but bike will not start. I hooked it up to my car battery and got the same thing.

Any ideas on what I should do?

Thanks as always

James

Full choke and patience. How long were you trying to start her? Try 5 seconds on the starter button (killswitch on 'run'), then 10 seconds waiting. Repeat till it starts or battery dies. No throttle!

Pull the plugs and check the spark.

Have you set the petcock to 'prime' to prime the hoses and carb?

Check fuel lines, make sure they're full of fuel, no air gaps.

Drain the gas out of the bowls and refill, small quantity's of gas go to compost the fastest.

Put the petcock to prime position. 180° From normal. That allows the fuel to flow into the carbs. And wait some minutes after you have changed it to prime then start. if no luck, u can try putting in 2nd and pull clutch, run with her as fast as u can then let the clutch out, while pushing starter button. This schould work. Dont keep trying until battery dies! Not just because of ur battery, but your starter motor.

Just remember if you set the carb to Prime, set it back to on when you are done. I have hydro locked my bike by forgetting to do this after waking the bike up in spring. In fact I did it twice... because I'm an idiot.

To prevent hydrolock - take out the spark plugs and hit the starter button.
Anyway you may want to do that, then put it in prime for a few sec, then crank again ... make sure you get a light gas smell in the puffs of gas from the chamber but no liquid squirty splashy chuffs of gas ...
Oh yea, keep spark plug caps away ... that vapor can still ignite ... and needless to say, the liquid chuffs can burn your eyebrows and hair off ...
Then put plugs back in, choke on and try it ...
Cool.
Buddha.

Is hydrolock the same thing as vapor lock? I've had vapor lock when I was stuck in traffic and the engine was very hot and the gas tank was close to being switched to reserve. I had to pull over and I opened the gas cap because I wasn't sure what to do. (the vents were not plugged up) After I let it cool a little, it started up so I went to the nearest gas station and filled the tank guessing that might help. I think it did because I got home without anymore issues.

Hydrolock is when the gas seeps by the seals in the carbs and slowly leaks into the cylinders.  It then leaks past the oil seals and into the engine mixing in with the oil. It is locked because the gas in the cylinders prevents them from moving up or down. The gas in the oil will also cause it to lose its lubricating properties causing great risk to the moving parts of the engine. If you ever leave your bike set to prime for a long period be sure to smell the oil. If it smells like gasoline, its time to flush it. The carb is designed to prevent this, but the seals are easily contaminated or leak a tiny bit.

Hydrolock is specifically liquid in the cylinder/s in significant amounts. .. as the piston travels up and the liquid meets the still closed valves, everything stops..  you can't compress a liquid!

Not quite true that everything stops, con rods can bend ....,..............

 .. well yes!...  lol