Why Motorcycle Won’t Start?

Last night my younger brother KTM wasn’t starting, and he had to walk around five miles with his heavy motorbike. And then I thought I should write a post about why motorcycle won’t start? 

According to experts, three of the main reasons your motorbike stops responding are a dead battery, a bad air-fuel mixture, and a faulty spark plug. And anyone can avoid this situation by frequent motorcycle maintenance. However, these three reasons aren’t the only reasons why your motorbike stops responding. 

Let’s look at what it means for you and what you can do about it. While writing this post, I leave no stone unturned so that no riders have a situation like my younger brother. 

Why Motorcycle Won’t Start?

Although there are many reasons why your motorbike stops responding, here I’m gonna discuss some most commonly found reasons. 

Don’t worry, in the later section I’ve mentioned some solutions for problems. 

Reasons why your motorbike isn’t starting: Signs: Details: 
Faulty Battery. Signs like sluggish light, problems in starting a motorbike then battery faulty could be the reason behind it. Faulty batteries won’t even produce single ignition. 
Spark plug.Your motorbike won’t produce spark. A faulty spark plug won’t produce ignition. 
Blocked air filters. Signs like a burning smell, not an appropriate air-fuel mixture, wear piston and cylinder. Blocked air filters cause inappropriate air-fuel mixture, which will cause your motorbike to stop responding. 
Malfunctioned stator. Whining sound while riding, or motorbike battery stops charging while riding.Malfunctioned stator won’t produce electric charge while riding. 
Dirty carburetor. Air-fuel mixture problems and if your motorbike starts to overheat suddenly. Dirty carburetors would cause a lean air-fuel mixture. 
Kill switch.Your motorbike won’t ignite the engine. The kill switch breaks the connection between the ignition coil and the spark plug.
Wrong gear. Your motorbike will move forward when you ever kick. Wrong gears or not neural will cause your motorbike to not start. 

 

Faulty Battery: 

A faulty battery can be one of the reasons why your motorbike stops responding.

And unfortunately, many riders do not pay attention to their motorbike battery which will make the situation severe.

If you see signs like sluggish light, problems in starting a motorbike, then battery faulty could be its reason. 

Generally, a motorbike battery goes down when there’s a problem with your stator or an electric charge-producing device, or you’ve installed devices beyond your motorbike battery capacity. 

Also, read my previous post where I mentioned how does a motorcycle battery charges. Click here to read.

Spark Plug: 

A bad spark plug is the second reason your motorbike stops responding to the kick and self-start button. 

A spark plug is a device that generates a spark causing your motorbike engine to ignite. 

Spark plug usually stops responding when its ceramic coating cracks, causing charge to choose the least resistant path. And it prevents the spark plug from generating an electric charge. 

Experts recommend checking the spark plug when igniting the motorbike engine. If you see a small spark, then your spark plug works fine and vice versa. 

Generally, the faulty spark plug is pretty standard when your motorbike is oil or if someone drops your spark plug before installing it in your motorbike. 

Blocked Air Filters: 

Air filter blocks dust particles from going inside your motorbike engine. 

If you do off-road riding a lot, then blocked air filters can be the main reason why your motorbike stops responding. 

If you see signs like a burning smell, not an appropriate air-fuel mixture, wear of piston and cylinder, then blocked air filter could be the main reason. 

Experts usually recommend checking your motorbike air filters every 3000 miles. 

Malfunctioned Starter:

Stator malfunctioning isn’t the typical reason, but still, we can’t ignore it. 

The stator is the device that produces an electric charge while you’re riding; the malfunctioned stator would not create an electric charge while riding. 

Although there’s no solid reason why sometimes stator malfunctioning, some experts consider installing too many electrical devices to the motorbike as the main reason. 

If you ever experience a whining sound while riding, or motorbike battery stops charging while riding, or if you experience sluggish light, then malfunctioning stator could be the main reason. 

Experts also recommend checking your motorbike electrical device every 10,000 miles. 

Dirty Carburetor: 

The carburetor is the motorbike device that helps the fuel and air to mix together for internal combustion. 

Dirt on the carburetor can be caused when you do off-road riding a lot or you don’t clean your internal motorbike parts.

Suppose you ever experience air-fuel mixture problems and your motorbike starts to overheat suddenly. In that case, a dirty carburetor could be the main reason behind it.  

Kill Switch: 

A motorcycle kill switch is a button that helps turn off the motorcycle within a second without touching the key. 

The motorcycle kill switch works by breaking the spark plug circuit, thus turning off the engine instantly. Most motorcycles have kill switches but at different locations. 

I personally had a bad experience when I thought my Harley engine malfunctioned. Later, I found my Harley kill switch was enabled.

And thus, it’s crucial to check if your motorbike switch is on/off. 

Also, don’t forget to see if your motorbike kill switch is malfunctioning or not. 

Wrong Gear: 

Beginners generally experience this situation when they enable the wrong gear while starting a motorbike.

If you’re a beginner, then it’s perfectly okay starting a motorbike with the wrong gears.  

If your motorbike ever moves forward when kicking, then it’s advisable to check your gears. 

Before starting a motorbike, you should shift the gear on neutral if your motorbikes stop responding. 

What to Do When Motorcycle isn’t Starting? 

We all know how much pain it’s caused when a motorbike stops in the middle of a highway, and that’s why you should know the solution to avoid any problem. 

Problematic Parts:Solution: 
Faulty battery.Charge your motorbike battery through tender. 
Spark plug.Replace the old spark plug with the new one. 
Air filter.Clean or replace the air filter with a new one. 
Stator. Hire a technician and replace the stator. 
Dirty carburetor. Clean the dirty carburetor without water thoroughly. 
Kill switch. Change the kill switch and hire a technician if the wire is broken. 

Faulty Battery: 

A faulty battery is one of the most common reasons why your motorbike might not start. 

If your battery is temporarily down, then you can charge your motorbike battery overnight through battery tender while you’re not using it.  

But before charging the battery through tender, you should connect the multimeter with the battery and put it on a 20 volt setting of direct current. 

Check the reading, and if the reading is close to 12, you need to charge your battery and try to start the motorbike after installing it back. 

And if the reading shows 9 or less than 9, you should go with a new motorbike battery as your battery is permanently dead. 

Spark Plug: 

Defect spark plug mainy causes when its outer ceramic coating is cracked.

Replacing an old spark plug with a new one is easy, and even you can do it yourself. Buy a new spark plug which would cost you around a dollar. 

Air Filters: 

Air filters are crucial for your motorbike, as mentioned above. 

But if your air filter is blocked, then you should clean it. You can clean it even in your home. 

And if your air filter is not washable or dust persists even after cleaning, then you should consider changing it. 

Additionally, don’t forget to oil your motorbike air filter with recommended oil after cleaning. 

Stator: 

Undoubtedly a stator is necessary to produce charge while you’re riding.

Experts recommend checking, and if something is broken, then you should consider changing it. 

You may do it yourself, that’s why it’s better to hire a technician. 

Dirty Carbeautor: 

A carburetor helps to maintain the air-fuel ratio in your motorbike. And if it’s dirty, then you should clean your internal motorbike parts through.

Avoid using water when cleaning the internal motorbike parts. 

Also, don’t forget to check other internal parts and if something is broken, buy new motorbike parts. 

Kill Switch: 

Kill switch can also be the main reason why your motorbike isn’t starting. 

You can easily disable the kill switch if it’s enabled, but if the switch is broken or the wire is broken, it’s better to hire a technician. 

Frequently Asked Questions:

What’s the main sign which you can experience if your battery is faulty?

Signs like sluggish light, problems in starting a motorbike then battery faulty could be the reason behind it. 

What can be the main sign of blocked air filters?

Signs like a burning smell, not an appropriate air-fuel mixture, wear piston and cylinder. 

What’s the main sign of a dirty carburetor?

Air-fuel mixture problems and if your motorbike starts to overheat suddenly. 

What should you do if your motorcycle battery is faulty?

If your motorbike battery is faulty then you should charge your motorbike battery through tender. 

What should you do if your motorcycle air filter is faulty?

If your motorbike air filter is faulty then you should clean or replace the air filter with a new one. 

Final Verdict: 

Why motorcycle won’t start?  According to experts, three of the main reasons why your motorbike stops responding are a dead battery, a bad air-fuel mixture, and a faulty spark plug. 

And anyone can avoid this situation by frequent motorcycle maintenance. However, these three reasons aren’t the only reasons why your motorbike stops responding. 

I’ve mentioned some problems and solutions above which you need to check if your motorbike isn’t starting.