Wont start when hot

[ibcormac]

Hi! New to the forum and relatively new to MC maintenance so appreciate the help and patience. Searched the forum and did not find anything already here that helped. I am 2nd owner (I think) of a 96 RSTD with about 45K miles I have owned for about 1 year. Previous owner made a lot of stupid mods I am still discovering and fixing. It is my commuter bike and drive about 60 miles round trip daily.

 

For the last week I am having trouble restarting when it is hot. The lights on the speedo fade out when trying to start and I have to open the throttle all the way for it to start. Also starts a little easier when the brights are turned off. No temp gauge but feels like it is running hotter in town but okay on hiway.

 

Also, noticing a rythmic and rapid "flashing" of the speedo lights but this is inconsistent and only occurs at hiway speeds. Cant say whether these two issues are related since this started before the starting problem.

[Peder_y2k]

The flickering speedo lights is an indicator of a bad/poor/loose battery connection. Check the battery terminals first for clean tight connect, then check the ground connection at the frame.

Also check the main fuse as it should be quite snug, and if loose, then the fuse block connections need 'tweaking'.

-Pete, in Tacoma WA USA

[Yammer Dan]

Have battery checked. A weak battery can do this.

[V7Goose]

Most of your symptoms are indicative of a bad ground connection for the battery. Pull the cable off and scrape the connection on BOTH the cable and battery post with a knife blade. ALSO do this with the other end of the cable where it attaches to the engine.

 

The hard starting when hot is most likely a problem with the carbs (and made worse by low cranking voltage from the bad ground). Sounds like it is running rich. With the age of the bike, I'd pretty much bet some of the idle jets are gummed up and that is being compensated for by cranking up the idle stop screw. I'd start by running SeaFoam in several tanks of gas to try and clean up the carbs a bit, but then you are going to need to start checking the carb mixture adjustments to verify the pilot circuits are working properly. That is probably more than a 'new' mechanic is ready to tackle without some assistance, so start looking for a good shop or local help.

Goose

 

(If you wanna ride it out here to New Mexico I'd be happy to help!)

[ibcormac]

Thanx a lot for the help! Really appreciate it. Just stripped a bunch of non-stock stuff off the battery - uknow those supposedly cool LED lights that go under frame/tank. Sure looks a lot cleaner under the seat. Had battery tested and I will replace it today. Going for ride to Cayucos on Monday. Will see if this takes care of the problem. Thanx again.

[ibcormac]

Well, it was the battery. New battery took care of the problems. Just got back from Cambria and no problems. And, OH MY WORD! Nacimiento-Fergusson Rd from Fort Hunter-Liggett to Hiway 1 is wicked! Thanx again for the help.

[GeorgeS]

If get over near Sacramento, stop in and see " Condor " !!! :cool10:

[Hucklecatt]

Be sure to check your voltage regulator. It is the finned device sitting under your radiator, pointing forward to catch cooling air. Work back from the unit via the wire to the plug block, and unplug. What do you see? Any corrosion? If so, clean thoroughly.

 

Open your fuse box (under the rightside panel) and pull and replace all flat fuses there to remove any inherent corrosion. Check to be sure all spare fuses are in place.

 

Start the bike and, with the headlight facing a wall, rev and watch light - does it dim, brighten, dim at all? Some is usual, a lot is not. This goes back to the regulator.