Miggs7170
Wannabie Member
So last week my dumb ass left the choke open on my bike. I had gone out to warm it up for a night ride and ended up having to do some other (far less fun) stuff instead, so I popped out to the garage and shut off the engine. I wake up the next morning and get to the 650 in all my gear - ready to roll - and it just kinda "one turn" barks at me when I hit the ignition switch. "Fuel or fire." Checked the fuel. Good to go. I glance over at the choke and drop my head.
Some quick googling soon confirmed stupidity, so I went about trying to fix it without having to pull the spark plugs. I started by putting the bike very gently over on its side (don't ask my why I had a spare mattress lying around in the garage) and let the excess fuel drain out. I was surprised how little it took to cause the issue, but there was a small puddle of it none the less. Then I propped it back up and let it stand in full sunlight for about 10 hours.
Turned the key, hit the switch, and it roared back to life. Apparently the sun/heat helps to dry out the plugs (not always). I got lucky. So if you ever flood your engine, give this a shot before you start pulling things apart.
All was not lost. Luckily the weather held out Sunday for a nice ride down to Cape Point. I managed to shoot my first "bike music video" although the roads were so shot I was only able to use a bit of the footage. All and all, lesson learned and a decent ending to a terrible 24 hours. Hope that helps someone at some point.
Some quick googling soon confirmed stupidity, so I went about trying to fix it without having to pull the spark plugs. I started by putting the bike very gently over on its side (don't ask my why I had a spare mattress lying around in the garage) and let the excess fuel drain out. I was surprised how little it took to cause the issue, but there was a small puddle of it none the less. Then I propped it back up and let it stand in full sunlight for about 10 hours.
Turned the key, hit the switch, and it roared back to life. Apparently the sun/heat helps to dry out the plugs (not always). I got lucky. So if you ever flood your engine, give this a shot before you start pulling things apart.
All was not lost. Luckily the weather held out Sunday for a nice ride down to Cape Point. I managed to shoot my first "bike music video" although the roads were so shot I was only able to use a bit of the footage. All and all, lesson learned and a decent ending to a terrible 24 hours. Hope that helps someone at some point.
