Bump Starting Actually Works

[sectorsight]

Never had this happen before, but I left my lights on. Went to lunch as was rushing to get back to the office for a meeting and left the key in the ignition in the ON setting. If I backed it into the spot like I usually do I'm sure i would have caught it before going in the building. I come out of work and go to start it, lights are on just fine but it wouldn't start. i get a ride home and promise myself I'll deal with it after the little ones go to bed.

I take my truck back to work to see if I can bump start it. I've read about it, but never done it nor heard of any friends doing it. My workplace is near a firly steep hill. If it works great, but if not, there is NO WAY I could get my bike to safe parking.

I turn the bike on, shift it into second, and start rolling. I roll on the throttle a little and off the clutch...no dice, crap. gain a little more speed, try again, nothing.

I'm running out of road at this point and getting frustrated. Try it again and the bike ROARS back to life. Fan freaking tastic. I ride it home, turn it off, start it back up to make sure it's recharged...no problems at all. I get a ride from a friend to retrieve the truck.

I hope this is one of those mistakes I shame myself into never repeating.

[sanford]

Originally Posted by sectorsight

Never had this happen before, but I left my lights on. Went to lunch as was rushing to get back to the office for a meeting and left the key in the ignition in the ON setting. If I backed it into the spot like I usually do I'm sure i would have caught it before going in the building. I come out of work and go to start it, lights are on just fine but it wouldn't start. i get a ride home and promise myself I'll deal with it after the little ones go to bed.

I take my truck back to work to see if I can bump start it. I've read about it, but never done it nor heard of any friends doing it. My workplace is near a firly steep hill. If it works great, but if not, there is NO WAY I could get my bike to safe parking.

I turn the bike on, shift it into second, and start rolling. I roll on the throttle a little and off the clutch...no dice, crap. gain a little more speed, try again, nothing.

I'm running out of road at this point and getting frustrated. Try it again and the bike ROARS back to life. Fan freaking tastic. I ride it home, turn it off, start it back up to make sure it's recharged...no problems at all. I get a ride from a friend to retrieve the truck.

I hope this is one of those mistakes I shame myself into never repeating.

glad it started, I guess sooner or later I will likely do same... I guess the risks if any trying to get a jump start outweigh possible vandalism...

[Kiwi Steve]

Works for a carburetted bike, but doesn't work on one with EFI - did exactly what you did and I know that.

[Goliath616]

Originally Posted by Kiwi Steve

Works for a carburetted bike, but doesn't work on one with EFI - did exactly what you did and I know that.

it will for a very short time....I had to do it to my '08 Suzuki C50 once....after I got it started I made it about 2 miles before it died out again....but it was just far enough to coast home down a small hill and get the charger put on it


Sectorsight, I would advise you to get the battery on a trickle charger soon and make sure it's charged, running the bike will charge a battery, but a short run won't charge it full up and it may die on you again soon....

[Lurch77]

My XT350 is kick start only. No electric start. Sometimes it makes me look the fool as I kick and kick, but I'll never have to worry about a dead battery.
I had an old Nissan car many, many years ago. The starter went out on it, and as a poor kid, I couldn't afford to repair it right away. I drove it for about a month and made sure to park it on a hill or somewhere else where I could push it and bump start.

[markk53]

Originally Posted by sectorsight

Never had this happen before, but I left my lights on. Went to lunch as was rushing to get back to the office for a meeting and left the key in the ignition in the ON setting. If I backed it into the spot like I usually do I'm sure i would have caught it before going in the building. I come out of work and go to start it, lights are on just fine but it wouldn't start. i get a ride home and promise myself I'll deal with it after the little ones go to bed.

I take my truck back to work to see if I can bump start it. I've read about it, but never done it nor heard of any friends doing it. My workplace is near a firly steep hill. If it works great, but if not, there is NO WAY I could get my bike to safe parking.

I turn the bike on, shift it into second, and start rolling. I roll on the throttle a little and off the clutch...no dice, crap. gain a little more speed, try again, nothing.


I'm running out of road at this point and getting frustrated. Try it again and the bike ROARS back to life. Fan freaking tastic. I ride it home, turn it off, start it back up to make sure it's recharged...no problems at all. I get a ride from a friend to retrieve the truck.

I hope this is one of those mistakes I shame myself into never repeating.

I wanted to tell you - Put your battery on a charger to get it up to full charge again. Motorcycles have marginal charging systems compared to cars and never quite charge the battery up to a full charge. (Some tourers may have better alternators.) This may keep you from the same fate again.

If you have space you can also make up a set of smaller gauge wire jumpers that you can store on your bike, to enable you to jump start it off of a car (engine of car not running - excessive current output of alternator) if you need to do so.

Bump starting is common in some forms of racing, like flat track and some road racing (usually vintage or small bore). It's a good practice to know.

Some motorcycles like certain Hondas require at least a bit of charge in the battery to run and may not bump start. I had that with my 700S and an old 350 twin. Had to have a bit of battery power to run the ignition, even if it wasn't enough to run the starter.

[sectorsight]

Originally Posted by markk53

I wanted to tell you - Put your battery on a charger to get it up to full charge again. Motorcycles have marginal charging systems compared to cars and never quite charge the battery up to a full charge. (Some tourers may have better alternators.) This may keep you from the same fate again.

If you have space you can also make up a set of smaller gauge wire jumpers that you can store on your bike, to enable you to jump start it off of a car (engine of car not running - excessive current output of alternator) if you need to do so.

Bump starting is common in some forms of racing, like flat track and some road racing (usually vintage or small bore). It's a good practice to know.

Some motorcycles like certain Hondas require at least a bit of charge in the battery to run and may not bump start. I had that with my 700S and an old 350 twin. Had to have a bit of battery power to run the ignition, even if it wasn't enough to run the starter.

I think that's a good idea to run wires, my battery is not accessible unless it's dropped, which requires me to jack the bike up. I have a charger but didn't put it on for that reason. Bike started right up this morning and has so despite my frequent short errands today. The Intruders are heavily dependent on the battery, so it starting at all is very good news.

[FLBandit]

I used to have an old RD 250 that I had to push srart more often than not. When it starts make sure you don't let the clutch out before you get on the bike, it can be ugly!

[markk53]

Originally Posted by sectorsight

I think that's a good idea to run wires, my battery is not accessible unless it's dropped, which requires me to jack the bike up. I have a charger but didn't put it on for that reason. Bike started right up this morning and has so despite my frequent short errands today. The Intruders are heavily dependent on the battery, so it starting at all is very good news.

Get some heavy wire, 12 or 14 ga.,, a couple of ring type connectors, a male/female connector set, and a pair of alligator clips big enough to clamp on a car battery terminal. Wire up the ring and female connector to put on the battery and tuck away on the bike. Wire up the male connector and alligator clips to make a "jumper set" to put away in a saddle bag or something like that. Then if you need a jump you plug your jumper into your battery, clip on the battery of a car battery car not running or a motorcycle battery on a bike that is running, and start your bike. It is the same concept as the deal that Battery Tender uses for bikes that have batteries tucked away.

[WintrSol]

Originally Posted by sectorsight

I think that's a good idea to run wires, my battery is not accessible unless it's dropped, which requires me to jack the bike up.

My Suzuki is the same way, but has accessory terminals at the fuse box, which is where I connected the cable for my Battery Tender. I now have an AGM battery, which really doesn't need the tender, but I use it over winter, anyway.

[smooth1]

I've got the cable for my battery tender connected directly to the battery on my s 83. If you do this make sure that you do something to keep the cable away from the back wheel- ask me how I know. I'm on my 2nd set of cables. I used black cable ties to tie the cable up to keep it out of harms way. I keep mine plugged in mostly all the time - especially in the winter. I've heard that keeping the battery charged helps it las longer.

[Badlands-4-2]

I have tried to bump start bike. Never successfully. Not enough hills around here and I tire to easily while pushing it.

[Eye_m_no_angel]

"I've heard that keeping the battery charged helps it las longer."

You are correct.

[sanford]

I bought one of those mobile battery with the charger cable's it went dead and useless after a short time only... but on my car it has had the same battery since 1998 it never seems to wear out?