starting problem
 

Hi i have just bourght a second hand 04 450 fse with very little use, i have rode it once then wash it the day after then tryed to start it some 9 hours after but it just back fires though the air filter & the exhurst,i:ve tryed drying all the electrical connections but no success,can any one help,Cheers???

tbm
 

try asking triailbikemag.com there very good ,
not mutch ther technical guru dosent know.

I'm just guessing here, but it could be that U are pressing the start button for too long a period. I've had same symptoms doing this. With bike in neutral, turn key to on and You'll hear the circuits and sensors come on. Without any throttle press the start button till it turns over. If it doesn't start right away, let up on the start button and wait a bit and press the button again. It doesn't say this in the owners manual, but I always turn key off and then back on to recycle the circuits before I try to restart. That is how I was instructed when I bought it at the dealership. My '05 Fse takes two try's when it's cold every time. If you've flooded it then start it with throttle fully open. Hope this helps and I'm not completely off base with diagnosis.
These are great bikes.

Did Microsoft make this starting procedure? Sounds just like the "Ctrl+Alt+Delete" :D

Sorry, I couldn't resist.

I have heard that you have to turn the key off and wait for some period of time for the EFI to reset - I forget the amount of time necessary.

BTW - comparing "knocking the power cord out of the wall" to "ctrl-alt-delete" - I find both to be equally effective. ;)

jeff

To answer Matt's question, yes, I believe this is a MicroMagneti product and as Jeff states, works quite well. :rolleyes:

I had massive starting problems with my '03 FSE 400 until the guys in Florida gave me the "secret decoder ring". Ignore the warning label on the right tank shroud about not giving the bike any throttle. There is a sweet spot for starting cold at about 1/4 to 1/3 of the throttle's total rotation. Now it never takes me more than three (usually two) stabs at the magic button and this has worked at temperatures as low as around 20 degrees F. Short stabs at the button are also important....no more than 3 or 4 seconds per stab. Cycling the ignition (key) switch an extra time also sometimes helps prime the EFI. By the way, this procedure is usually unnecessary once the bike is warmed up. My success with the kick lever however is NEVER!

Mine has done that while starting the bike in gear. Is it in neutral? I also idle the bike for a while after washing to hopefully steam off any water that could be on any sensitive elctrical areas. After that you could try a defrag and updating your antivirus...:rolleyes:

EFI reset procedure
 

The '03 400 manual does outline the starting procedure and states if it doesn't start to turn the key off for 15 sec to reset the EFI. Seems to work for me but on cold mornings a slight twist of the throttle solves more problems than assisting it with the kick start. Like many others the cheesy kick has never worked in my favor.