Need Advice on my Dead Bike

[viking_rider]

Hey everyone! I was directed by someone to post here as I'm having some issues.

I just bought my first motorcycle last week after going through the MSF course and getting all my license stuff taken care of. Three days and about 20 miles later, she's dead. Needless to say I'm chomping at the bit to get the bike running again and disappointed at the same time as I don't have much money left to fix it as I spent it on the bike.

So here's what happened. Started the bike up Saturday and everything seemed fine. It wasn't until about 5 miles on the road at a stoplight I realize something is smoking. I park the bike at a parking lot and notice it's coming from the left side (see picture below). Now later on when I checked the area after it cooled, I did touch a small droplet of liquid near the fuel on/off valve and it did smell like gas. Whether or not that's what the smoke was I'm not sure. I'm color blind but it was white-ish. Maybe some blue, hell I'm color blind.

I decide to ride the bike home. Not but a mile later I notice the bike is losing power despite me not letting off the throttle. I don't remember hearing any weird noises or anything, just lost power until it fully shut off. It did appear the battery was dead at the moment as the horn would barely start.

I charged the battery overnight and just got back from an unsuccessful start. The horn now works so the battery is hooked up correctly. The neutral light will not come on despite being in neutral. The other dashboard lights do work though (turn signal). When I hit the starter button, I hear nothing.

Of course now I'm noticing all the motorcycles out there and its frustrating not being able to ride. It's also frustrating knowing my bike is on the side of the street a few miles from my house.

If you have any suggestions, PLEASE let me know. I want to ride!!!

By the way I have zero experience with motorcycles. If you do have someone that won't charge an arm and a leg to look at my bike, I will appreciate any referrals. I'm not really sure who I can turn to.

Thanks everyone!

Josh

[Ryan_c_F]

Head gasket?

[Disclaimer]

Check the wires from the stator to the reg/rectifier and from the reg/rectifier. I the wires and connections are good... it's the reg/rectifier, assuming the issue is electrical and not mechanical.

[ninjascott]

Hi josh, I can fix your bike give me a call at 614-424-0893

scott

[rusty 996]

take the bike to Paul he service my ducs.he will tell you whats wrong and how much you looking to spend before he charge you.hes shop is in dublin.cell # 614-588-3091,

shop # 614-734-7233

[Aerik]

Hey Josh, I'm the one who told you to try here (sorry my e-mail was all crappy, I was typing on my phone)- great bunch of people, hopefully someone knows how to answer your questions.

[Whitey1]

definately sounds like an electrical issue. Have you taken the seat off to loo and see if anything underneath looks melted or pinched?

[v65rider]

Start simple and check your fuses. If the problem is electrical that will give you a good indication as to where to look.

[serpentracer]

smoke, battery dead, loss of power, no more running and won't turn over.

first thing I think of is a bad regulator/rectifier and now battery. the liquid could be the battery acid from being over charged while you was riding. or just a coincidence and it's something else not related to the problem.

if the regulator/rectifier goes out the bike will run off the battery power until it dies. then you have nothing.

[viking_rider]

Thanks everyone for the responses. First things first, I gotta find a tow company to get my bike back home. I already feel like nervous leaving it where I did even though it's a quiet side street. Any good companies to recommend? It's only a couple of miles away from my house. That way I can at least work on it at home.

I've had a few people relate me to the regulator/rectifier. Based on what I heard I'm going to focus on this area next to see if its the problem as the smoke was definitely coming from around that area.

Anyone know what might be causing the neutral light to not come on? Just wondering if this might help me pinpoint what's going on. Will the starter not work with a charged battery if the rectifier/regulator is out?

[Aerik]

I might be able to get you some help-- a friend of mine works nights for a towing company, if he's not busy he may be able to help. What end of town?

[Whitey1]

I might be able to get you some help-- a friend of mine works nights for a towing company, if he's not busy he may be able to help. What end of town?

C'mon Aerik, it's only a few miles from his house. I want some pics of you doing it like when we were kids. Just ride your bike while holding onto his bars beside you.

[Aerik]

Lol. Hey, if he'd posted this earlier, I'd have just brought my truck out to do it. But now it's late and I have to go to bed.

I called my friend anyway, but he said he wouldn't be able to sneak away at all tonight, so it looks like I'm not much use at the moment.

[Whitey1]

Lol. Hey, if he'd posted this earlier, I'd have just brought my truck out to do it. But now it's late and I have to go to bed.

I called my friend anyway, but he said he wouldn't be able to sneak away at all tonight, so it looks like I'm not much use at the moment.

Still huge props for looking out for a fellow biker!

[viking_rider]

Thanks Aerik! I do appreciate all the help (from recommending this board to the towing).

If either of you are free today then I could do it anytime today up until around 7:00 PM. Hell, if your friend owns a tow truck company, I'd rather pay a friend of the forum than someone else.

I live in victorian village near 1st and Neil Ave. The bike is about 2 miles west over in Grandview on a side street.

I actually think it would be entertaining to see this done the old fashioned way!

[buildit]

Your bike is insured correct? After spending a night on a side street around Campus your engine problem might be someone elses engine problem now? If all else fails rent a uhaul truck with a loading ramp for half a day and get the bike back home.

[Aerik]

Yeah, unfortunately, he doesn't own the company, he's just one of their third-shift drivers. The company just doesn't really mind if he helps friends when there aren't any actual customer calls.

Hmm, I'm in class till 6 today-- if the bike's <500 lbs, we could probably lift it into my truck, but I wouldn't be able to get out there much before 7.

From what you said, I'm guessing you have to work around that time?

Anyone able to help him before that?

[ninjascott]

Just give me a call I have a truck and a ramp could come get it and tell you whats wrtong with it.

scott 614-424-0893

[viking_rider]

As much as I would like to figure everything out on my own, I think I'm going to go with Scott who said he can tow my motorcycle and he also has experience working on bikes so hopefully he can figure things out.

I'll definitely keep things up to date here for anyone who might have a similar situation in the future.

And thanks Aerik for the help and advice getting me to the forum. Let's hope I don't have to apply for bankruptcy just to get my "new" bike fixed.

[viking_rider]

I had NinjaScott tow my bike and take a look at it and I must say he was awesome to work with. He was quick to come get my bike, looked at it almost immediately, and got everything taken care of the same day actually. He's a nice guy as well so I'd highly recommend working with him if you need some help with motorcycle issues.

So what was the issue? It was pretty simple actually. I think I was overwhelmed with all the advice I got to be honest but I'm glad I had someone take care of this for me while I'm still learning the bike. I guess a grounding wire was loose which caused a fuse to blow which then probably drained my battery.

I rode the bike home and everything seemed to be working just fine so we'll see. I didn't notice any smoking. Talking with Scott, the smoking might have been some gas from the overflow. I did just fill the tank up the day before I started seeing the smoke.

Thanks everyone for the advice and thanks NinjaScott for getting me rolling back on the road!

[buxnut]

Welcome to the forum (or madness)!!

[Aerik]

Glad he was able to get you fixed up. Now come up to one of the bike nights and say hi. It's always good to have some people to ride with, especially if you're still a fairly new rider.

And nice job with the quick save, ninjaScott. Good stuff.

[magifesq]

Check the wires from the stator to the reg/rectifier and from the reg/rectifier. I (you mean 'if'?...sorry, couldn't help it

) the wires and connections are good... it's the reg/rectifier, assuming the issue is electrical and not mechanical.

Edit - typo lol

[viking_rider]

***Update*** Not sure what the problem was the first time I tried it but I tried again here and the voltage increased when I used the throttle up to about 14.2 volts. It did that several times so I guess everything looks pretty good here. If something happens I'll update the thread in case someone in the future has a similar problem.

Hey everyone! I hate to revive a dead horse here but wanted to update and perhaps get a few more suggestions. So Scott was great and got me up and going but I still found my bike dead days after riding it (was gone for the weekend). Invested in a multimeter and found out the battery was putting out 5 volts. Tried to charge the battery and the charger wouldn't charge it. Decided I needed a new battery so I got one today from Iron Pony, charged it up fully, took a wire brush and WD40 to my connectors to clean everything real well and hooked her back up. The bike started and the battery was putting out about 12.2 volts. I ready somewhere that when when applying the throttle, the voltage should actually go up to between 13.5 and 14.5 volts. Voltage did go up but only slightly to about 12.4 volts. The more I revved, the higher it went but it was very, very little. 12.4 was as higher as I got.

Is this normal or do I need to do some more diagnostics? Although I'm enjoying learning about my motorcycle, I'd rather be riding it.

Thanks for any advice!

Edited August 20, 2009 by viking_rider

[viking_rider]

Perhaps this verifies that I am crazy but I found out my battery was still losing charge while sitting. I did some more diagnostics and found out that the main fuse was drawing power from the battery. Found out it was coming from some wires going to the RR (when I unplugged the wires going to the RR, the AMPS leaking through quit). I removed the RR and the rubber on the back actually has been burnt through and the coating to one of the wires is slightly worn away. I'm guessing that the RR is bad as it was smoking when I started the bike again and I could see the regulator. It did get very hot.

Does anyone have any recommendations as to where I can get a good priced RR? Just so you don't have to look back, I have a 94 Virago xv535.

Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated. This bike is getting way more expensive than anticipated!