After shipping...bike not starting..help!
 

Hi there,
This is actually a question about an XTZ750, but im hoping anyone can help me! We have just recieved our bike after shipping it fom Vancouver to Wellington. Prior to shipping, we did all the usual..drained oil and petrol, disconncected the battery etc. It was in freight for at the most 4 and a half weeks.
It arrived on the weekend, my partner put it all back together....and she wont start. The engine turns over, but just wont kick in. Weve charged the battery in a battery charger, but because we keep trying to start it over and over, the battey keeps dying and its juices are never really at its maximum.
We checked the spark plugs, the oil is full, full petrol.
Has anyone had this problem after shipping? And can anyone lend any advice on what this could be? It is an old bike, 1990, but the motor has been so strong. We had some problems in Mexico with the voltage regulator, so maybe this has had a lasting effect on the battery?? Has being on a boat in the sea water in the air have anything to do with it?!! anything?!
Please help!
Thanks.
CM

Drain the petrol out of the carbs. Do they fill if you open the tap? Is there a spark?

This may seem a silly little thing, but it has happened to me. Check the "kill switch". Is it on or maybe rusted in the sea air?

For the bike to run you need 3 basic elements... Fuel, Spark & compression. Compression is VERY unlikely to be effected in transit so its probably an electrical or fueling problem.

Take one of the plugs out and ground it to the frame then holding the HT lead (NOT the plug) hit the starter and check for a spark. If thats ok then you need to check for fuel. Losen the carb drain screw and see if fuel is coming out. If you've drained the fuel entirely then you need to pull quite abit through before the bike will start. To pull it through your starer motor will kill the battery so you need to use jumper leads to a car battery or another RUNNING bike. Remember to attatch the positive first to avoud shorts. Keep turning the engine until it starts spluttering to life. Let me know if it still havng problems after this..

exposure to salt air and a damp shipping crate would be a possible problem for any electrical connection.You might try spraying every electrical part with a shot of contact cleaner.On my bike the engine kill and headlight hi/low switches have rusted shut several times.

It does take a long time to suck fuel through with the vacuum fuel pumps.

Also the reg/rectifiers on the XTZ and Early mkI TDM's are notoriously unreliable. Though normally they will run the battery totally flat when they expire.

Hope you get it sorted. I tinker a lot with these engines, so if you need any parts I may be able to help (though in the UK).

Cheers
PK