Battery

[flynrider]

Say....anyone know if it's possible to pop-start a CB? (more specifically, a CB with a dead battery?)

It is quite possible. When I was stranded at the post office (see above), I managed to bump start it on whatever charge was left in the battery and get home.

No special procdedure. Ignition on, kill switch on, sidestand up. With the bike in 3rd gear I was able to bump start it after a short (but strenuous) push.

[Cormanus]

Do you need the fuel pump to be able to cycle? In other words, what if the battery is completely dead?

[flynrider]

If the battery is completely dead, you're out of luck. No fuel pressure, no engine computer and no spark.

When mine died, I could turn the key, the gauges cycled and the fuel pump came on. When I'd hit the starter button everything went dark and then recyled when the button was released. It doesn't take much juice to power the ECM and fuel pump, so for most dying batteries there should be enough residual power to get a bump start.

[Cormanus]

Thanks, Flyn. Presumably,once you get it going, the alternator puts enough juice into it to keep the ECM etc functioning.

[kmoney_imp]

Do you need the fuel pump to be able to cycle? In other words, what if the battery is completely dead?

Supposedly you need >=9v to run the ECU and pump, so if you have a totally dead battery push starting won't work.

I guess if the hill was long enough to get the alternator going to build voltage though...

[Cormanus]

Right. But, if you've enough juice to cycle the fuel pump, you'll be fine for a jump start.

Me? I'm impressed with Flynrider's athleticism. When Pterodactyl flattened his battery at a coffee stop one day, it took a couple of quite burley chaps to push it fast enough to get it going. If there weren't a downhill bit, I'd be in strife!

[flynrider]

I have to admit, it was not a piece of cake. The parking lot was completely flat and it was about 100 degrees out. My first few attempts were thwarted because I'd left the side stand down (I hate that safety switch).

If you use a higher gear than 1st, you can get it to turn over without having to build up a lot of speed. In first gear the rear tire will just slide unless you've built up some substantial speed. In third gear the engine turned over quite easily at just a few mph.

[Cormanus]

I was always taught not to use 1st for jump starting.

[Tezza_imp]

Whatever happened to the good old days when all motorcycles had one of these. My kawasaki Z1 has both kick and electric leg...Only because it had a habit of boiling the battery dry.
[url=http://s1200.photobucket.com/user/neilsot/media/IMG_03741_zps2y05xduh.jpg.html]

[kmoney_imp]

I will admit I kinda (okay, fully) wish that bikes still had kickers. There is something about kicking a bike to life vs just hitting a button that makes the man/machine interaction that much better. Yamaha made the new SR400 kick-start only, but other than that, I think the idea is dead.