2009 Buell xb12ss Won't Start

[1776Brigade]

So, I put her away for the winter in the garage. Had some gas in it and I added Sea Foam. Kept it on a trickle charger from time to time and started it up every couple of weeks.

But, last month it won't turn over. battery fully charged. She just chugs and chugs. It did kick over one time, ran for about a minute and then died again.

Any thoughts? She was running ok up until the winter storage.

 

[34nineteen]

Ok, I’m confused. How does it chug and chug, and kick over to start, but not turn the motor over?

My first guess is that the battery is shot. Get it load tested at an actual battery shop. Not a Walmart or auto parts store. Either way, let’s make sure that is good before moving on to the next step.

 

[1776Brigade]

Had it on a trickle charger and fully charged. But I can't vouch for its veracity. I'll have to take it to a shop then.

 

[chief_of_smoke]

Definitely get the battery tested. Replace if needed. If that is all good, add some fresh gas to it. My want to check the the plugs. It you have been starting it from time to time, depending on how long you let it run, the plugs could be gummed up a bit. If you don't think your getting spark, check the plug wires for cracks and chew marks. Mice will get into just about everything.

 

[njloco]

Yes by all means get the battery load tested, if good clean all your grounds no matter what they look like, also apply a good anti-corrossive on them. Let us know what happens.

 

[Cooter]

Honestly the major problem is:

from time to time and started it up every couple of weeks.

I can almost guarantee you that your plugs are fouled from doing that. Buells run extremely rich when cold. Thats why you only ever start them if you are going to ride it for 10 miles at least (idling doesn't count). Otherwise the rich fuel mixture is putting acids in the oil that will corrode everything badly.

Luckily the 2008-up DDFI-3 bikes have a spark plug cleaning procedure you can easily find in the manual. It might save you from having to replace the plugs. Give it a shot. Hope it works out.

 

[1776Brigade]

Thanks Cooter. I'll get battery checked this week, and run the spark plug cleaning procedure. I thought I was doing the right thing by starting it up a couple of times. Go figure.

 

[Cooter]

The Master has spoken. Heck, Lunatic was the one who taught me about the spark plug cleaning feature in the first place

 

[1776Brigade]

New NGK DCPR8EIX spark plugs. She starts up. Rode around neighborhood to get the wheels turning.

Now, I noticed the throttle gets a bit stuck around 3/4. I assume I just need to adjust the throttle cable a bit.

Thanks for the guidance everyone.

 

[1776Brigade]

So after getting frustrated I realized the new bar-end mirrors I put on are binding up against the throttle grip. Took one off and the throttle isn't getting stuck as before. So yeah. Now what? Do I have to trim off the end of the grip so it doesn't get bound by the bar-end mirror?

 

[34nineteen]

Thats what I would do.

Actually in my case, since I put Renthals on all of my XB's, I wind up filing down the nubs inside the controls, so I can just position the whole control wherever its needed to be.

Your bar end mirror looks a bit different than the usual eBay junk ones (that I buy)... where did you get yours?

 

[1776Brigade]

34nineteen:
Bikemaster from a local shop - Performance Cycle. Work really well. I can see everything in my blind spot and they don't shake at all. Kind of tricky to get them to hold in position. Had to play with tightening them down so they wouldn't come loose.