Zathos wrote:
P.S. how do you bump start a bike? I tryed it a few times on the old GPZ (duff battery) but never managed to get it to start.
Best to have someone pushing but can be done on your own. Main point here is to ensure the ignition is on and the kill switch is not on. Common embarassing fault that.
Essentially put the bike into say second gear and push as fast as you can with clutch lever in. Once you've obtained your maximum pushing speed, dump the clutch and simultaneously drop all your weight onto the seat. This helps prevent the rear wheel from locking up, more common on singles and twins than on 4's as there's a lot larger volume being compressed at any one time. Multicylinder bikes also have more firing strokes per revolution.
Assuming the wheel doesn't lock up continue to push until the engine fires up or you run out of puff. I would tend to leave the throttle alone until you hear it fire up. Otherwise there's a likelihood of it flooding. Once it fires, pull the clutch lever in and try to get the engine revving. If it stops firing, quickly dump clutch and repeat.
Obviously a lot easier with someone pushing, or down a steep hill. Just don't try the hill unlesss you're particularly confident it'll start.
If the back wheel locks up try another gear. I remember my old XT500 Yamaha was a right b@stard and would easily lock up; until that is I tried employing the decompression lever fitted to that machine. Used the same procedure as above but with decompressor lever also pulled in. Upon dumping the clutch, then engine would spin over without locking up to due to lack of compression. I would then continue to push for a short distance and once I had enough inertia in the engine I would jump ont eh seat and dump the clutch. Worked a treat.
In the good old days, motorcycle races were started this way. Classic races still are. Always good for an interesting start and subsequent race. Not possible in many classes today due to the high compression ratios. Takes a rear wheel driver to start the engine.
