Help: motorbike won't start

Lockstep

Any help appreciated, fairly stuck.

Drove my yamaha virago to Laois, it went grand, got here, parked etc.
Went away for a few hours, webt back to bike, it won't start.

The neutral light comes on but it makes a buzzing noise when i hit the start switch and doesn't turn on. Battery issue maybe?

Any advice appreciated as I'm a bit stuck in Laois otherwise!

Bikerguy

sound like a battery... not trying to be smart but if its an emergency try to push start the bike, if the alternator is working it should keep the bike on with no problems... if not then you need new battery + alternator...

edit: GL

Peanut2011

Yup, as above, battery!!

oirishman

could be the cut off on the kick stand.

oirishman

Starter stuck.....put it in gear and rock it to and fro.

R1_Pete

oirishman wrote: »

Starter stuck.....put it in gear and rock it to and fro.

Sounds like a dead battery. Could you have left a light/parking light on? When you turn on the ignition is there enough power to light the head light or glad the indos? If not its your battery.

As said try a push.

Wossack

battery dead imo

sounds like starter relay is barely closing - what the buzzing is methinks

Hotblack Desiato

oirishman wrote: »

could be the cut off on the kick stand.

Then the solenoid wouldn't energise at all. Buzzing solenoid always means the battery is discharged.

If the bike is rarely used, the battery might be OK just low. But you gave it a good spin so it should have been charging during that spin. Either the battery or the charging system are faulty.

If the bike is regularly used, if the battery is old it can die suddenly, e.g. disintegrating battery plates or a short circuit in a battery cell. But usually you'll have starting troubles before sudden death happens.

If the battery is the type that can be topped up, check the electrolyte level. Use ONLY distilled water to top up and don't overfill.

minidazzler

Check the simplest fix first try and see if the fuse is blown. If it is it's a cheap fix it can be done in seconds if not battery is discharged

Hotblack Desiato

If the fuse was gone, killswitch off, sidestand down, then the solenoid wouldn't buzz.

Solenoid buzzing means the bike is trying to start but the battery is too low to turn it.

Cedrus

Lockstep wrote: »

Any help appreciated, fairly stuck.

Drove my yamaha virago to Laois, it went grand, got here, parked etc.
Went away for a few hours, webt back to bike, it won't start.

The neutral light comes on but it makes a buzzing noise when i hit the start switch and doesn't turn on. Battery issue maybe?

Any advice appreciated as I'm a bit stuck in Laois otherwise!

The buzzing sounds like it could be the solenoid to the starter motor, the neutral light and solenoid don't need much juice but the starter current might not be available if the battery is shagged, which it shouldn't be if you've had a good run today.

Maybe you have fried the regulator/rectifier or the pickup coil? If it's the first you will have a shagged battery but you should be able to bump start it. If the latter, then your bike is staying where it is for a good while, get a bus timetable and a bike electrician.

Lockstep

Thanks for the help guys. If it's a battery problem, would jump starting from a car work?

Bikerguy

Lockstep wrote: »

Thanks for the help guys. If it's a battery problem, would jump starting from a car work?

push start it.. if the neutral light is on there is "enough" power i guess to get the initial spark ... if the alternator is good it will produce enough juice to get you home.

and yes jump start from the car should defo work - if the problem is battery. just jump start it and keep it connected for few mins then fly away. if the alternator is a problem you wont go to far i am afraid....

serious3

bet you a pound its your reg/rec thats gone, viragos are notorius for it. it wont run very far with a flat battery either from my experience

Lockstep

Tried jumping it but no luck. My insurance company sent someone to collect the bike. Apparently the generator is gone so it's not charging the battery.

Would generators be expensive to replace?

rolliepoley

How do you know its the gennie, did you get it checked out? i'd say its just a faulty regulator/rectifier.

Doing a gennie replace yourself no not expensive, but buying one and having a bike shop doing it, is a drifferent story.

Lockstep

rolliepoley wrote: »

How do you know its the gennie, did you get it checked out? i'd say its just a faulty regulator/rectifier.

Doing a gennie replace yourself no not expensive, but buying one and having a bike shop doing it, is a drifferent story.

Gennie problem is what the pickup man said it was. Said the bikes battery was fine but it wasn't holding charge and was a generator issue.

rolliepoley

A gennie very rarely gives problems, if it was a old bike i would understand, but not with modern bikes, do you know anyone with the same bike? if you do ask them for a loan of their regulator/rectifier and try it in your bike before you start anything with it. It could save you a lot of time and money and it would let you know where you stand.

serious3

serious3 wrote: »

bet you a pound its your reg/rec thats gone, viragos are notorius for it. it wont run very far with a flat battery either from my experience

*cough, again i bet you a pound its the reg rec thats gone:D viragos are known for this

Lockstep

THanks for the help, bike is arriving back in Galway today. My flatmate knows a lot about bikes so he's going to have a look at it for me.

Appreciate the help. A lot.