ROOKIE MOVE.....

[wr_tree]

....so my buddy calls me up and says he wants to come over and check out my new bike (01 WR426) so I say of course, cruise on over. Before he gets there I go out and give it a kick. Nothing. Kick some more. Nothing. He finally gets there and I tell him the bike is a little tempermental but it will go. I kick some more. Nothing. 30 minutes of kicking, waiting, all the usual "I think it's flooded" garbage and kicking some more. Buddy (who rides an XR400)starts giving me cr@p "It won't start cause it's blue", "If you put red plastics on it I bet it would start", "Maybe you should go touch your old Honda and then try to start it", blah, blah, blah (I would expect nothing less from a good budy that I have known since 2nd grade and you bet I would be doing the same!) So anyways, he leaves (bike never did get started)and I go inside. Come back out about 2hrs later and do the normal starting routine. Nothing. Go back inside. Come back out last night and start kicking. Nothing. Pissed all night.

Thinking I fouled a plug I come out this morning to pull the plug. Take the seat off, no problem. Take the gas tank off - small problem. It is really light. Yep, big time rookie move: hard to start a bike when there is no gas in it ?

I'll be hearing about this one for a while....

[ddialogue]

It happens to the best of us...not that I'd ever admit to anything like that. ?

[Hamish]

At least with no gas you couldnt flood it. I'm glad I'm not the only one who creates his own problems ?

[Butta]

I'd have to say that he owns half the blame for the rookie move.....what good is a buddy if they don't back you up??? I would have asked, even though a stupid question, "does it have any gas?"...'course, experience makes us smarter...

?

[uncledirt]

I had a similar experience this weekend. I just finished installing the baja designs street kit and wanted to take it out for a run, but it would not start (Figured I flooded it). Came back in the morning and nothing. Took everything off to check the plug and find it is getting no spark. turns out that the new controls (the one htat has lights , turns signals, & kill switch) was the issue. The first position on the lights switch turns on the ignition) oops, I guess I should have read the whole paragraph in the instructions.

[ETP]

Great story. You should fabricate a explaination for your buddy that a rat in your garage chewed through some electrical wires on the bike. Then the bike and you save face. And you are a hero for figuring it out. (Not that I would do something like that....) ?

[beezer]

When I was a kid I used to drive a tow truck. I had gas on the truck and would ask people if they were out before I hooked them up. There were very few takers. Many people I towed in were simply out of gas.

Doing dumb things and admitting to them keeps us humble.

[Chris_from_Oz]

Don't worry about it, we've all done stuff like that. I've seen guys at work try and start new bikes for the first time, with no fuel in the tank. Sometimes, with street bikes, I have had them come to me with a bike with a flat battery (one that was OK ten minutes ago), and tell me there's something wrong with this stupid bike etc. So, I ask if it has fuel in it..... Of course it does, what sort of an idio....hang on, maybe I didn't....DOH. These are guys who have worked on bikes for years, so, we all have a brain fart now and then. Just be glad you didn't really foul a plug while you were riding, and not carrying a spare, have to push your bike about 3 miles home.... Not that I did that ??

[StreetbikePimp]

My worst move is turning my gas off right before the start of a race because there have a "rider's meeting" and then not turning it back on.

A hell of lot a good it did to get the hole shot, when you stall out 1 minute later because you run out of gas. ?

[bikepilot]

Hey! No wonder you deleted the other post!....

I've been a motorcycle mechanic for 15 years and I still do the "rookie moves" every now and then too. ?

[wr_tree]

Yep, nothing like not having gas in the bike to make you have trouble starting it.

If you can't laugh at yourself....

[simch]

Changed the main jet and tweaked the pilot on mine and the weekend, and it just would not run in the shop aftrwards. I checked for gas, and it had some in, I stripped the carb out again, everything seemed fine. I was stumped.........it felt like it was running weaker despite richening it....!

.....then, it suddenly clicked with me........the reserve tap....! Turned it to reserve and it ran perfect! It must have been just on the mark when I put it away last!

There's always a simple answer! ?

[Fryboy]

?

Let me guess, you were a DRZ rider before right? LMAO

Fryboy

[wr_tree]

Used to ride a Honda and my buddy, who still has his Honda, has been giving me crap about switching to Blue ever since. You can just imagine the crap I was getting when the new "blue" bike wouldn't start. Merciless!

[Indy_WR450]

I wonder if Hondas start without gas. ?

[The_Missile]

memories, memories........all the below include endless minutes of increasingly furstrated kick start attempts/or pushing until realisation dawns(except the last one)

- no gas..done it

- reserve..done it

- gas off...done it

- no spark plug cap...done it

- forgetting I have a kick start on my XL600LM electric start when the battery was dead and trying to push start it for 15 minutes before realising...done it

- refitting fouled plug...done it

- trying to kick start my XL600 with the ignititon key in my pocket...done it

- pushing my bike for miles because I forgot to tighten the gear shifter properly... done it

need I go on ??? ?