I am a spannering god!

Yebbut its mid 20th century technology at a rock-bottom price. If he had
spent £2700 instead of £700 quid on it then there would be more grounds for
criticism.

 

Electric starts

<nods>

I like kick starting it though. I've got the knack, first kick every
time.

 

Weak spark innit. Big bore nordie is a bugger start on the button unless
the battery is absolutely fully charged. No kick start but it will start
if bumped. Motor not spinning over fast enough for the CDI to give a
good fat spark. A softer plug helped with that, plus cleaning up the
ignition sensor and setting clearance between sensor and the 'pip' on
the flywheel.

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The starter is a bit reluctant to even start turning the engine over at
times. I think the battery isn't the best in the world - and it's
possibly not fully charged (although my charger says it is).

I'm not worried - it somehow feels more appropriate to kick it than to
start it on a button anyway.

 

The Older Gentleman wrote

**** me, I am in total agreement with a fucking journo, I am going to
slit me wrists.

 

Whilst I'd generally agree, how many people have experienced a
crate-fresh, never been run before, new bike?

I mean, most people who buy a new bike have had it put together and PDI
checked by a dealer, not screwed together a bike straight from the crate
- IME of rebuilt engines, they can be a tad funny about starting up
until stuff has bedded in a bit - even if this is only by starting them
up several times in the workshop.

 

I bought a new XR400 once delivered in a crate. It went together
without any grief, but point blank refused to start. It took several
hours of kicking, poking, prodding & head-scratching, but I eventually
figured it out - the idle screw was set too low...

--
Krusty.

http://www.muddystuff.co.uk
http://www.muddystuff.us
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'02 MV Senna '03 Tiger (FOYRNB) '96 Tiger '79 Fantic 250

 

I'd be inclined to not only clean but polish every electrical
connection and terminal involved in the starter circuit and make sure
any nuts and bolts are torqued correctly, then spray them with silicon
grease. For good measure I might also check the ends of the starter
motor brushes to see how big the contact area is.

 

You might be, but I'd be inclined to start it using the kickstart
instead.

 

SteveH wrote

Muppet.

 

Me, several times. And anyone who's bought a new bike.

That has eff-all to do with them being built up out of the crate by the
purchaser.

Many dealers I've encountered use the company tea-maker and
floor-sweeper to build up new bikes anyway.

 

**** me fucking ragged, but you're being thick.

Price has eff-all to do with it. It's crap. It's only £700, but it's
still crap.

 

Eh? Price has *everything* to do with it. It's called value for money.
It costs less than a fifth of the competition, so obviously you can't
expect it to be as good. But a stripped thread & a starting problem
that's common amongst many Austrian, Italian & Spanish equivalents
costing five times as much doesn't make it a bad purchase. It may turn
out to be one at some point in the future, but it's not based on what
we know so far.

--
Krusty.

http://www.muddystuff.co.uk
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Off-road classifieds

'02 MV Senna '03 Tiger (FOYRNB) '96 Tiger '79 Fantic 250

 

Well, to put this into perspective.

Looking at Autotrader, for roughly similar money, I could have a DT125
that's of questionable history (advert says 'off road use only') or an
absolutely ancient Honda XL200.

OK, so it's a bit of a hassle that I have a stripped thread and that I
appear to have a problem with the electric start (although I'm convinced
this is down to the shite quality battery rather than anything else) -
but it's of *far* better quality than I expected, and I'm definitely
happier with it than I would be with some 25 year old shagged out XL200.

 

This has *definitely* never, ever, been run before I did the other day.
The fact that it came in so many pieces and that I had to connect up the
fuel pipe would suggest this.

 

Just out of interest, did the battery come with the bike, & filled with
acid? (I'm assuming it's not AGM).

--
Krusty.

http://www.muddystuff.co.uk
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'02 MV Senna '03 Tiger (FOYRNB) '96 Tiger '79 Fantic 250

 

Yes, the battery came with the bike, but it was dry and I had to fill it
from the little bottle of acid supplied.

 

If it's there it should work.

 

You're right, of course.

However, before I do that, I'm going to get a multimeter on the battery
and give it a couple of hundred miles to bed in and see if it makes any
difference.

It just feels as though the starter isn't spinning the lump quickly
enough to start it or it's draining too much power from the battery to
get a decent spark.

 

Ah... did you follow the instructions? I presume it said to fill it,
then leave it for a few hours before topping up & capping? Even if you
did, I'd still dump it & get a Westco. You can't beat AGM, especially
for off-roading.

--
Krusty.

http://www.muddystuff.co.uk
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Off-road classifieds

'02 MV Senna '03 Tiger (FOYRNB) '96 Tiger '79 Fantic 250