Hoping it's something simple.

[Joe King]

Ok, anyone following the thread about buying my first big bike will know it didn't quite make it home yesterday.

Riding over Leven Viaduct, in gale force side-winds and heavy snow the bike stopped firing. No seizure, electrics still functioning, just no spark.

Got it home and in the garage, I just want to check the obvious before I call in a professional.

Thus far...

Key in, lights up as normal. Press the electric start and it turns over, just doesn't fire. Had the plugs out, they're clean and the bike was MOT'd and serviced before I collected it. No, the killswitch isn't the problem.

Any more obvious things to check or try before I phone a friend?!

[merrykoala]

What's the bike?

Could be a faulty coil. You can test the primary and secondary winding resistance with a multimeter, also although the killswitch isn't in the off position the wire could have come loose/shorted, it happens.

[Joe King]

Got to bite the bullet. I was keeping the identity of the bike under wraps until Tuesday. It's a Triumph Speedmaster on an 04 plate. I know it's not the killswitch, as, when switched to the 'kill' position, it cuts power to the oil light and neutral light and won't turn over at all.

Whats a coil?

[Deleted]

On my bike it won't start with the bike in anything else but neutral or when you have the clutch pulled in, are any of these connections earthed out with water or something else electrical like that. From the sequence of events you described it is probably water shorting something out. What I would do is get a heater and put it on in your garage and wait until your bike dries out, you obviously are not a skilled mechanic so do the simple thing first. Tomorrow it might just fire into action when it is dry. The bike was o.k. until you drowned it wasn't it ?

[Deleted]

A coil is the interface element that converts the low tension curcuit electricity into high tension electricity which feeds the distributor which in turn feeds the spark plugs with the distributed High Tension spark.

[xathras]

Jan 11, 2015 17:08:12 GMT Joe King said:

just no spark.

You've checked both plug leads? And tried a new/different plug?

[merrykoala]

Jan 11, 2015 18:00:41 GMT Joe King said:

Got to bite the bullet. I was keeping the identity of the bike under wraps until Tuesday. It's a Triumph Speedmaster on an 04 plate. I know it's not the killswitch, as, when switched to the 'kill' position, it cuts power to the oil light and neutral light and won't turn over at all.

Whats a coil?

For the layman your bikes ignition is something like this.

As the engine spins it drives a flywheel on the crankshaft. The flywheel it self spins around a coil of wire generating an electric current. This current goes off to the bikes charging circuit and into the CDI unit. The CDI (Capacitance Discharge Ignition) unit builds up a charge and sends a current to the coil. The coil takes the low voltage on it's primary windings and induces that current onto the secondary winding producing a much higher voltage. That voltage is then sent down to the spark plug which is earthed by the cylinder block. When the piston for the particular cylinder reaches the firing point a pickup on the flywheel sends the pulse through the system causing the high voltage signal from the coil to arc across the gap of the spark plug and ignite the fuel/air mixture.

Put simply there are a whole load of electrical connectors that are susceptible to water ingress between the stator and the spark plug. And if the coil breaks down then you have no spark at all.

[Wheelnut]

How do you know there's no spark? Have you taken the plugs out and turned it over?

Is it carbed or fuel injected?

Has it got an immobiliser/alarm?

[Joe King]

Injected as far as I know. The carbs are fake and house the injection system. Tried to spark the plugs while out but there's not much in the way of bare metal to touch it against. No immobiliser / alarm that I was made aware of.

I think the heater might be my next tool of choice, see if that sorts it. As bowman says, it was fine until it got drowned in snow. For once I find myself hoping he's actually right.

xathras' suggestion of new plug(s) might be the next step. Then it's getting given to a professional.

Thanks to all for their input so far!

[Deleted]

Jan 11, 2015 20:30:17 GMT Joe King said:

Injected as far as I know. The carbs are fake and house the injection system. Tried to spark the plugs while out but there's not much in the way of bare metal to touch it against. No immobiliser / alarm that I was made aware of.

I think the heater might be my next tool of choice, see if that sorts it. As bowman says, it was fine until it got drowned in snow. For once I find myself hoping he's actually right.

xathras' suggestion of new plug(s) might be the next step. Then it's getting given to a professional.

Thanks to all for their input so far!

Here is wisdom, grasshopper - “If we learn to open our hearts, anyone, including the people who drive us crazy, can be our teacher.”

[200magicnumba]

Its a new bike to you, you may have been lucky in starting it the few times you have started it. Now it could be your sequence of starting it. Sit on the bike, switch the key on, make sure the neutral light is on and the kill switch is in the on postion, lift the side stand up so the bike has its own weight, pull the clutch in, and press the button. I hope this works and there`s no problems just a new bike to you.

the bike has little safety switches all over it to stop premature starting for safety, incase the bike fires up in gear and takes off with you. it has a switch sensing if its in neutral, plus has a switch on the clutch, and another switch on the side stand so it wont start up accidently while on stand, if any of these switches are faulty it`l possibly be the side stand switch as this is lowest to the road and will catch all the water, crud, and salt. good luck

[Mainjetmike]

Fuel ? Plenty of ?

[Joe King]

Deffo NOT fuel, or the starting sequence. I suspect the problem is whatever killed the bike in the snow. Possibly the kick-stand cut-out. I'm off out to scrounge up some heaters to try to give the bike a thorough drying-out.

[xathras]

Fuses?

[Wheelnut]

It'll be worth registering and sticking a post up on a triumph forum - odds are if you've had the issue someone before you will have also had it.

www.triumphrat.net/twins-technical-talk/

[Joe King]

Jan 12, 2015 9:43:35 GMT Wheelnut said:

It'll be worth registering and sticking a post up on a triumph forum - odds are if you've had the issue someone before you will have also had it.

www.triumphrat.net/twins-technical-talk/

Signing up for this. Searches I've done through Google have thrown back results from this forum so I was aware of it but the forum and it's sign-up process seem to run slower than my Lexmoto on it's way up Lythe Bank!

EDIT: and I'm not sure that the verification words are at all random. Submitted the username "JohnFromBoro", and the verification words it selected for me were "Half" and "Inch".

Is Middlesbroughs crime rate really that notorious?!

[Joe King]

Jan 11, 2015 20:49:09 GMT @bowman said:

Jan 11, 2015 20:30:17 GMT Joe King said:

Injected as far as I know. The carbs are fake and house the injection system. Tried to spark the plugs while out but there's not much in the way of bare metal to touch it against. No immobiliser / alarm that I was made aware of.

I think the heater might be my next tool of choice, see if that sorts it. As bowman says, it was fine until it got drowned in snow. For once I find myself hoping he's actually right.

xathras' suggestion of new plug(s) might be the next step. Then it's getting given to a professional.

Thanks to all for their input so far!

Here is wisdom, grasshopper - “If we learn to open our hearts, anyone, including the people who drive us crazy, can be our teacher.”

Here's some more. "If we learn to occasionally keep our mouths shut, we'll drive fewer people crazy."

[Deleted]

Jan 12, 2015 10:33:52 GMT Joe King said:

Jan 11, 2015 20:49:09 GMT @bowman said:

Here is wisdom, grasshopper - “If we learn to open our hearts, anyone, including the people who drive us crazy, can be our teacher.”

Here's some more. "If we learn to occasionally keep our mouths shut, we'll drive fewer people crazy."

je suis charlie

[knuckles]

Your bike has carbs not EFI, carbs were used upto 2007, 2008 onwards bikes have EFI.
have you a handbook for the bike? you can download a book from triumph.co.uk/images, you might be able find info there.

If you want to borrow a Haynes manual I can lend you one, I am up at Horden, PM me if you need it and we can sort something out.
Geoff

[Joe King]

Jan 12, 2015 11:30:18 GMT knuckles said:

Your bike has carbs not EFI, carbs were used upto 2007, 2008 onwards bikes have EFI.
have you a handbook for the bike? you can download a book from triumph.co.uk/images, you might be able find info there.

If you want to borrow a Haynes manual I can lend you one, I am up at Horden, PM me if you need it and we can sort something out.
Geoff

Thanks for the info and the offer, Geoff. Sadly, I think giving me a Haynes manual would be like giving a chimpanzee an AK47. As they say, a little information in the wrong hands is a dangerous thing. I'm going to try a few simple things that won't make matters worse, then seek a professional.

If there's someone you could recommend...?