- This topic has 11 replies, 11 voices, and was last updated 15 years, 3 months ago by Jiriki.
Push starting a bike
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December 15, 2008 at 3:11 am #2407dcJohnParticipant
So, this really seems like the kind of real-world knowledge they should cover in the MSF course. But they don’t, so here you go…
This afternoon my buddy’s bike (Yamaha VStar cruiser) wouldn’t start up. He’s a new rider and didn’t realize that letting the bike sit on for several minutes without running was a quick way to drain the battery, particularly because (a) it was cold, (b) it was an old battery, and (c) he’d also just hooked up a 70 watt heated jacket liner.
We tried jumping it from my bike, but it didn’t seem to work (in retrospect, I think it would have if we’d stuck with it longer). Then we tried jumping it from a car (didn’t strike me as a great idea because of the power difference, but we at least just tried it quickly and without the car running). No go.
To set the stage here, we clearly looked like 2/3rd’s of the Three Stooges, parked in front of a coffee shop with a large audience of folks sitting outside, a few feet away, watching as we poked and prodded at the bike. To add insult to injury, we actually had a hell of a time even locating the battery on the Mercedes that someone pulled up to offer a jump from (in our defense, it”s a quirky setup in there).
Ready to throw in the towel, we called a tow service and were told it would be an hour or two before anyone could be there. So, at this point, we’ve got nothing but time and wounded dignity, so I suggest push starting the bike. Not that I’ve ever push started anything, ever. But from somewhere (bad old movies?) I kind of knew the gist of push, pop the clutch, and (hopefully) go.
And sure enough, it worked! And it was awesome. We had applause.
Recipe:
1. Curse a lot at the bike for not starting
2. Find a hill, or have a friend push you, or if dealing with a heavy 1100cc cruiser like we were, both of the above.
3. Make sure the ignition is on, kickstand up, kill switch off… your typical starting procedure
4. Put the bike in second gear, hold in the clutch and get coasting/pushing/both.
5. When you hit 10mph or so, pop the clutch
6. When the engine kicks over, quickly pull in the clutch a bit and give it some gas (so you don’t stall)
7. Ride, ride, ride. My understanding that it takes several (>10) miles for the battery to rechargeDecember 15, 2008 at 5:49 am #15270MunchParticipant*** APPLAUSE***
Yesterday is a memory, tomorrow is a prediction, but today…… is a Bi**h
December 15, 2008 at 7:54 am #15271SantaCruzRiderParticipantThis brought back memories — haven’t done this in years (and frankly, kind of forgot some of the details), but it’s one of those skills that separates the bike owners from the riders.
Cheers to you!
December 15, 2008 at 7:09 pm #15278Sangria7ParticipantLOL – If you can push a 600lbs+ bike with someone riding it to over 10MPH..all I can say is wow…
December 15, 2008 at 7:14 pm #15279Clay DowlingParticipantThat is slick. Hopefully I’ll never have to learn this skill, but it’s worth remembering.
December 15, 2008 at 8:24 pm #15280dcJohnParticipantGood point. In this case, the two of us lugged his bike up a small hill(ish) in the parking lot (not fun), and thinking back I think even with me pushing and him riding it down the hill it was probably significantly less than that. Whatever the mph, it was a moderate jog for me pushing.
December 15, 2008 at 8:55 pm #15283RobMParticipantDone it several times on my Ninja 250 when I first got it because: 1) forgot to turn on fuel switch and then ran battery down trying to start it (a senior moment) and 2) left ignition switch on after using kill switch. Luckly that light bike is easy to bump start. I also stand up on the pegs a little and use a little downward bounce on the seat when popping the clutch to minimize wheel slip with the pavement. This added step is left over from my dirt riding days as a kid. I guess learning this skill is another advantage of starting on a smaller cc light weight bike.
December 17, 2008 at 9:12 pm #15319RabParticipantI did this many times in my youth on crappy old stick shift cars in Winter.
Only tried it once on a bike. It was my last bike, a 560 lb Triumph Bonneville with a completely flat battery (left my grip heaters on all day at work).
As it was a Friday night and most folks had gone home, I made an almighty fool of myself romping it around the flat parking lot without even the slightest hint of the engine firing after I jumped on it and let out the clutch.
Oh well, I got some exercise I suppose
I ended up getting my Wife to drive the 35 miles from home to give me a jump start from the mini-van.
Jump-starting a bike from a car battery is fine, but leave the car engine off, as if running, you could damage the donor car’s and/or your bike’s electrical system I’m told.
I now carry a set of Yuasa motorcycle jumper cables for just such a future eventuality.
S’funny, I’ve bought a load of motorcycle accessories after I’ve needed them and never used them since purchasing
The best tool kit you can carry for most places is a fully charged cell-phone, towing insurance (e.g. AMA MoTow) and a credit card.
December 18, 2008 at 7:39 am #15329BenParticipantHaha, I had to do this to my wounded bike the other day to drive it to the mechanic lol the thing couldn’t shift to 2nd so we had to do it in 1st and it was a bit rocky haha. It did start up though
Ben
~Best Beginner Motorcycles AdminDecember 19, 2008 at 8:08 pm #15352LokiParticipantIve always wondered if you can do this in a bike. Thanks for letting me know. Good job
December 29, 2008 at 3:51 am #15457boulevardboyParticipantGlad to hear that it works on a bike, just in case I ever needed to do it. I used to do it all the time on an old stick shift car I had. In fact it got to the point where I would always park the car on a slope facing down hill just in case!
January 6, 2009 at 8:45 pm #15559JirikiParticipantI had to do this about 2 months ago… friend of mine who had been riding bikes for years suggested it and was kind enough to push… unfortunately the battery was so far gone that it didn’t help… but it sure was interesting the tachometer went haywire and would point straight down (which is way below 0). I think that the reason it wouldn’t stay started was because the headlight was sucking up all the juice that would otherwise be charging the depleted battery… I am thinking of adding a switch somewhere to be able to completely turn off the headlight.
if you are jump starting from a car (which does work), don’t turn the car on…. the car battery has enough juice to jump start the bike… but the car alternator will overpower the tiny motorcycle alternator and fry it (also, it just dumps excess power into your chassis, no point heating it up)
I had to come back the next day and take the battery out and plug it in… thankfully I work where there is a lab… definitely got some weird looks when I hooked up a battery to a power supply (not ideal, but if you apply the floating voltage to a lead acid battery it will charge)
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