Bike Troubles

Luimni

Hello all,
Well im getting used to my first bike now after a month with little trips in the evenings But a few problems are starting to creep in which i probably need to take back to the dealer but before i go in, i would like to have some idea of what is wrong so i dont end up not diagnosising the bike incorrectly or looking stupid:) .:p

Firstly when i start the bike, does the engine need a few minutes to warm up before i can take off as i have to keep revving it for a long while before she idles fine.
Then when i put her into first and with the clutch fully in she cuts out.

Occasionally when i start the bike she revs to max even when i let go or turn the throttle back so i have to hit the kill switch asap hopefully before the engine explodes!!! (throttle sticking???). It only happened once on the road, changing from 1st to 2nd and the cut off had to be switched before i ended up in the ditch.

The clutch is very clunky and "clunks" into place during gear change and i often find it difficult finding gears.

The throttle dies often as i pull away even when i increace the throttle it still dies.

The bike may not be the best in the world and i know i am very new to biking so a lot of it may be down to me but the questions i really need to ask you alll. is
1) how responsive is a throttle generally, if you change gear and accelerate does the throttle die a good bit even when you accelerate nothing happens for a second or two.
2)Is is normal for a bikes gears to have a clunking noise as you change.
3)Can you start a bike and hop on a ride or does it need time to warm up.

I dont know anyone who rides bikes except for my local dealers who are sound lads but i would just like another opinionsbefore i take their word as gospel about a bike they sold me!!

I know i must get some lessons very soon but i dont have time at the moment. I know i know!!!!

Any help at all would be great. All lectures about being a crap biker, not getting lesson & buying a better bike greatly appreciated.

Thanks a million!!!

madrab

1)Depends on the bike, but yeah you would usually have to increase the revs when your letting in the clutch (just as you would with a car)
2)All bike have a natural clunk when they change gear (hondas are known for their loud clutch's) so i wouldnt worry too much about that unles it was verry loud & there was a a grinding/crunching sound.
3)Bike engines need to warm up before riding to prevent any unneccessary wear & tear to the insides. The best thing to do is start the bike with the choke on halfway & let it tick over, before putting on your helmet & taking off the locks, & by the time you get your helmet & gloves on (5-10 mins)you should start to hear the revs dying down slightly, this is a good indication that the bike engine has warmed up

ps what bike is it?

wb

Hi Luimni. I got my first bike 3 weeks ago, so I can relate to some of what you are saying.

Firstly when i start the bike, does the engine need a few minutes to warm up before i can take off as i have to keep revving it for a long while before she idles fine.

Its much better to let the engine warm up. I turn on my enging and let it run for 4-5 mins while I'm putting on my helmet and jacket etc.

The throttle dies often as i pull away even when i increace the throttle it still dies.

I had the same problem, but it turned out that I was a little scared of giving it too much gas Take it to a car-park, early on a sunday morning and practice for an hour or two. Also, try to find somewhere very quiet with a hill and practice hill starts as much as you can. I finally have gotten a feel for it, but I had cut out a load of times, including on the mad cow roundabout!! (Which was not a lot of fun)

I know i must get some lessons very soon but i dont have time at the moment. I know i know!!!!

I got my lessons on a sunday!! You really need to MAKE time, it is well worth it. In fact, it is pretty essential IMO

Best of Luck!!

Luimni

The bike i have is an Aprilia 125 Classic. Nice enough bike but parts are hard to come by and due to welded struts and panels, parts are very hard to access. But happy enough with it.

I probably need some more time on the bike to get the throttle positioning sorted. I dread to think of a hill start just yet...

Right i must get the training thing sorted this week.....

Nice to get a bit of reassurance from time to time, thanks

art

Luimni wrote:

... Firstly when i start the bike, does the engine need a few minutes to warm up before i can take off as i have to keep revving it for a long while before she idles fine.
Then when i put her into first and with the clutch fully in she cuts out.

You probably know these but just in case, especially seeing as you said you were new and all that, ... when you say you have to keep revving the bike when you start it, are you using choke okay? Leaving the choke out far enough so that keeps up the revs etc? And the second thing just to mention, again just in case, are you putting it into gear whilst occasionally having the side stand still down?

Luimni

art wrote:

You probably know these but just in case, especially seeing as you said you were new and all that, ... when you say you have to keep revving the bike when you start it, are you using choke okay? Leaving the choke out far enough so that keeps up the revs etc? And the second thing just to mention, again just in case, are you putting it into gear whilst occasionally having the side stand still down?

The bike usually needs to be revved a good bit whether choke is in or out but i have a feeling that there could be a choke problem as on saturday as i was going down the gears to make a turn, the engine went died when the cluch was pulled in and only came back when i engaged the gear and as i hit second gear she cut out completely. I tried to re-start but nothing was happening and it seemed as if it was flooded to i took out the plug cleaned it and she fired up. Same thing happened again about a half hour later.

I am assuming it was flooded as it only started after i opened and cleaned the spark plug. To be honest i didnt even know that you could flood an engine while driving but a lad i know said it could happen if there was a problem with the choke (which was definately in).

About the bike cutting out when put in first, I definately had the stand up every time but i will check the wiring just in case there is a fault. Never thought of that so maybe thats it.

Wheter its me or the bike, there are too many things wrong with the bike so she is going back to the shop for a check up. I have to get a bit of confidence back in the bike as i am avoiding taking it on any bit of a trip now as im just waiting for something to go wrong and get stranded.

She needs a good looking over at least for a bit of piece of mind..

subway

have you drained the carbs?
that could be causing the bike to cut out and lose revs.

with the revs staying up - is the throttle rotating back on its own or does the grip stick open?

Luimni

The throttle rotates back on its own generally but the problem only occurs twice a week or so when starting
For example
Im riding, I pull over and with engine idling and not in gear, i turn off the bike (kill switch and then key)
Then I turn on key, bike in neutral,(with choke off) I hit the starter and then even before i have a chance to give a bit of throttle, she just revs to maximum as if i just twisted the trottle fully and held it. I switch off machine by the kill switch then i turn kill switch off, hit starter and starts grand.????
Haunted Bike maybe?????

bushy...

Few things i can think of that might do it , if the throttle cable isn't in very good nick(no kinks,stiffness,routed the wrong way) it may cause it , there may be a small split in the carb rubber ( black rubber yoke that joins the carb to the engine) .
As far as the clutch goes it should be fairly smooth especially when its warmed up a bit , it probably needs adjustment ( there is an internal adjustment too on them, but set it a bit too tight and you will kill the clutch release bearing ). Even though it looks like it has enough play at the handlebar lever , it may be out of its sweet spot at the clutch end.

Luimni

Did a good check on the throttle and clutch cables to see if i could see anything but everything seems fine except the clutch cable might have been a bit tight so i loosened it a bit. Cheers lads for the help but there are just too many things going wrong with the bike so back to the shop she goes this weekend.
Buying the cheapest(ish) bike in the dealers yard wasnt the best move by yours truely. I have a shopping list of complaints at this stage for the dealer so im kinda glad i didnt take the bike straight back as i would be up and down to him every weekend. But at least im getting to know the bike a bit better.
Who knew a bike would be this much work!!! OK well probably everyone but me.
'I am young but i will learn'

Hotblack Desiato

Luimni wrote:

i turn off the bike (kill switch and then key)

Do not use the kill switch except in an emergency.

The more you use it, the more chance that wear/dirt will cause problems. You have to use the ignition switch anyway (which is designed to stand up to constant use) so what's the point?

Also if you forget to turn off the ignition you will run down the battery, and possibly overheat/melt the coils. Obviously leaving the key in the ignition is a major theft risk. There's no advantage to using the killswitch and it's a bad habit to get into.

This doesn't apply to you, OP but...
A few fuel-injected bikes (e.g. Triumphs) can actually run badly if you use the kill switch - the ECU relies on sensor values read from the engine on shutdown to initialise itself on startup. Killswitch cuts the power to the ECU so it's like pulling the flex out of your PC instead of shutting it down properly. Not a fault as such, but can cause rough running until the engine is shut down normally. Triumph say in their manual to never use the killswitch except in an emergency.