'06 CBR1000RR Won't Start

[imortlfool]

Here's one for you armchair diagnosticians.

Met a new riding buddy.  Rides a 2006 CBR1000RR.  He makes it to my house with stories of rough idle and stalling at lights but otherwise strong running.  We go to take off, and his bike won't start again.

Information:
- Bike has sat for six months with no fuel stabilizer and no battery tender.
- It made it 10 miles from the storage location to my house and now will not start.
- Cranks strong.
- Battery tests out on the local Auto MegaWarehouse tester.
- Gauges don't do the "Sweep tach - Flash 000" thing they normally do (so he tells me).
- Ticking sound from left hand side fairing near gauges he's not heard before (relay?).
- Kickstand is up, kill switch is off  
- Bike has 3k on it and is not even dirty ( I'm working on him, folks).

I drove him home and went to ride my bike by myself.  Then I left his bike on a battery tender in my garage overnight.  Next day, no change.

I have a VFR which always starts and my other bike is naked and carburated, so I've never diagnosed an electronic FI beast before.

Also have some sympathy for myself who has someone else's megarocketbike in my garage and can't get it started  

Gentlemen?

[malbojah]

Well, start with the obvious: fuel, air, fire. Air being the easiest (sp?). Next, check for spark on all cylinders (probably not easy to yank the plugs) and you can check the plugs for gas on them.

[Fav]

NEST is the airbox ?  Sat 6 months where ?

I've known 2 Honda's that had demons.  01' F4i and 02' 954rr. Weird battery problems

[TuffguyF4i]

Start simple.

-Is there gas in it?  
-Does the exhaust smell like fuel?  
-Are the batt connections firmly attached with no corrosion?  Loose terminals will do what you describe, aside from the cranking.

[ray916mn]

Assuming it has gas and it is still the 6+ month old gas, since it started and ran, albeit poorly, I'd expect bad gas to be the problem. The first thing you should do is look at the owner's manual and find out how the gauges provide trouble codes (usually via a sequence of flashing part of the display). Make sure there are no codes being displayed. If there are no codes, I'd change the gas and maybe pull the fuel line on the engine side of the fuel pump and make sure there is clean fuel and high pressure. If this looks good and it still won't start then you're going to need to pull a plug and make sure there is spark and that the plugs are dry. If not, change the plugs. If it still won't start, my guess is the injectors have become plugged. For cars they have fuel injector cleaning machines which plug into the fuel rail and pump cleaner at high pressure through the system. I'm not sure if there is a motorcycle equivalent.

Varmint nest in the airbox is another possibility as mentioned by Fav. If this is case, you should smell gas from cranking the engine and the engine will be flooded. After you get rid of the nest, to start a flooded fuel injected engine, you need to hold the throttle wide open while you crank the engine till it fires.

[Tyrroneous]

Its a Honda.  It could very well be an electrical problem.  A lot of VFR's have had relays go bad and make that ticking sound.  So check the relays, check the Regulator/Rectifier and check all the ground connections.  

[falcofred]

Its a Honda.  It could very well be an electrical problem.  A lot of VFR's have had relays go bad and make that ticking sound.  So check the relays, check the Regulator/Rectifier and check all the ground connections.  

He stated it "Cranks Strong" so we can rule out the battery problem. That leaves Ignition (spark) air, timing (cam chain/compression) and fuel.
Since it sat so long, I'd start with fuel, and because it sat so long, I'd check the air box for an infestation of mice. I had a friend who bought a Brand New (left over) CBR900 year ago and found mice living in the air box.

[valdoo]

It's fcuked.   I'd just give it away.  It's finished.

Where can I pick it up...?

[atadaskew]

What bugs me about threads like this is that all this grief could have been avoided if the owner paid a little attention.
As for the bike in question.  It's junk anyway now that the all new 08 is out..
 

[bahwolf]

I'm voting for a varmint problem, too.

Nine bikes in my garage and I still manage to keep them all running through the winter. I just don't get when folks can't manage to take care of one -- and I don't care how far north you live...

[ray916mn]

I'm voting for a varmint problem, too.

Nine bikes in my garage and I still manage to keep them all running through the winter. I just don't get when folks can't manage to take care of one -- and I don't care how far north you live...

I don't know about keeping "them all running through the winter".

In MN and I'd expect the weather in Troy to be pretty much the same, you might be best off putting your bike away in late October some years and in mid-December other years. In terms of bringing them back out it might be as early as mid-March or as late as late April. Once you put a bike away, given the salt, sand and potholes on the roads, and the wear associated with starting engines which haven't been run in weeks, the likelihood of condensation and contaminating your oil, it is best not to run them. So best case you're putting a bike away for 3 months and worst case over 6 months. With such a potentially short riding reason it is easy to get caught not being able to put your bike away properly for the winter. From experience, I can tell you it takes some real motivation to winterize your bike in an unheated garage when the temperature falls below freezing. Tightening fasteners for plastic bodywork when it is below freezing is also a bit dicey.

I didn't get my Duc done (Dzus fasteners are great!) until January and only partially winterized my Honda then too. Pulled them out last weekend, but didn't get to ride. Forecast for this weekend is snow.....

[imortlfool]

I just don't get when folks can't manage to take care of one -- and I don't care how far north you live...

I'd agree with this.  I *just* pour in fuel stabilizer for the last ride of the season, and hook up a battery tender.  This seems to easily keep a bike for 3-4 winter months.  

If I feel ambitious I'll change oil.  Otherwise that waits 'till spring.  

I pulled plugs and fogged cylinders the first year, by the second year, the bike had many k miles on it and wasn't my baby anymore so whatever.

[Against The Wind]

 I *just* pour in fuel stabilizer for the last ride of the season, and hook up a battery tender.  This seems to easily keep a bike for 3-4 winter months.

That's what I do. The Honda started on the first turn.

[imortlfool]

Well, he put a new battery in it, and it runs like the day it was born.  Victory!

Thanks folks