Piece of junk or idiot? THAT'S the question!

[Remington]

A few weeks ago I was getting ready for work and went to warm up my 650L. Well after inserting the key and even rotating it to th on position upon pressing the starter switch nothing happened. It had power (lights were on) I checked the fuel valve (on).

It was cranking. But no usual pop cackle pop. So I checked the spark plug. It was unfouled but there was no spark. Less than three months old and NO SPARK!!!

I was becoming a bit iritated to say the least. So I began disassembly and tracing the problem. (warenty be damned). I had the tank, and seat off. Wire conector covers opened.

I traced that nasty lil glitch all the way to the...... kill switch. Yep the one that I left in the stop position and used for the first time the previous night.

Soooo feeling verry stupid I began reassembly of my bike. Sure enough with the kill switch in the run position; it fired right up.

Conclusion.... idiot I be.

[longie]

Well I see I'm not the only one....thnx.....

[WR TOM]

Don't you just love a story with a happy ending?

[martinfan30]

Welcome to TT, and don't worry.

Most of us have cranked, and cranked, and cranked, all the while people walking by smirking..

Only to find the eng. stop switch is on.?

[redrider606]

yes its imbarrassing but happened to me and my 125 with the spark plug cap after a rebuild i kicked and kicked and nothing

and after another 125 rebuild i had it together and was adding radiator fluid and found out i had forgotten a gasket so i had a top end flooded with radiator fluid ?

[honda dan]

At least the kill switch work's !!!

[flyin vee]

don't sweat it,,,, anybody that has been riding a motorcycle for a while has done the same thing

[EXxrldtgnow300dtg]

Not only have I done this on my L, I've done it in my fishing boat as well. That little lump in the back of your throat feels like you swallowed a boulder, when you're 10 miles from the fishing lodge, it's close to dark and looking at a headwind...and the lake has 81 islands to mess with your snes of direction.

[jonr3]

Idiot #2 - Case in point

I was leaving a Jeep club meeting one night to head to a local nite club, and got on my old restored Honda 350 Scrambler. It had a factory fork lock mounted down on the frame which I used every time I parked it. We were having a kind of Le Mans-style race to see who could get to the bar first.

I jumped on, jammed the key in the ignition, cranked her up, gunned it and went to do a u-turn to the left (which is the direction the forks were locked).

It worked great until it was time to straighten out. The bike kept going left and I went right - right in front of the entire jeep club.?

[Kenzo]

...actually u don't qualify as an idiot unless it happens twice ?

[Indian4]

Same thing happened to me the other night. I'd been fishing a semi-remote section of river and noticed the swtich AFTER I'd pushed it up a hill in preparation for a suicide bump start. ?

This is the first bike I've ever owned that would crank with the kill switch off.

[motobikem1ke]

I haven't done that one yet... but according to my riding buddies I am famous for turning on a turn signal and leaving it on for, say, a hundred miles or so.

I removed the blinkers on the L. I still flip the blinker switch when I turn out of habit, and I still forget to turn it off out of habit, but at least no one knows. BWaaa HAH AHAHA.

?

[XR650L_Dave]

...actually u don't qualify as an idiot unless it happens twice ?

AMEN!!

Dave

[30-A rider]

Everyone...Everyone has done the exact same thing as you! If they said different I would say they lie.

[Gassyphil]

Done it too! ?

[brichter]

I don't think I've eever gone as far as to tear into the bike to find the problem, but I've damn sure kicked myself into near exhaustion before realizing the kill switch was off. ?

[chakaxr650l]

Glad I am not the only one. Just glad I wasn't kicking.

[freezie]

i have done that too, luckily not to the point of tear down though lol..