My bike left me stranded

[Fropa]

I finally rode the bike to work for the first time today. Everybody had to come out and look at it and tell me what a great deal I got on it. Well, I went out to start it at 11:30 tonight and it was completely dead. No lights and completely dead when I pushed the starter button. I tried it with the stand up and down and in first and neutral but nothing worked. All the fuses looked good so I'm stumped. Not the impression I wanted to make, having the bike sitting dead in the parking lot when everybody gets to work in the morning.

[Telesque]

Well, that's no fun.

Did you figure out what the problem was?

[Sev]

sounds like a dead or disconnected battery.
But then again, I pretend to know what I'm talking about so people think I'm smart.

[mustangski]

Did you use the handle bar lock? My old bike had a handle bar lock where you turn the key to the left and it stops the bars from moving. The problem is it also had a "park" position that was right next to lock. When you turn it to park the brake light stays on. I never knew about this until about a month ago and my battery would always go dead. That could be your problem. Hope this helps.

[Telesque]

Or maybe you just accidentally flipped the killswitch to 'off'. I've done that once or two.

[Nibblet99]

Or maybe you just accidentally flipped the killswitch to 'off'. I've done that once or two.

The killswitch is designed to confuse you as to why the **** ********* **** bike won't **** * ********* start.

But it does normally allow the lights to continue to work. As Skooter (Sev) and Mustangski say, check the battery is properly connected, and put a multimeter across the terminals to see if there's any voltage left in it.

[CentralOzzy]

Not the impression I wanted to make, having the bike sitting dead in the parking lot when everybody gets to work in the morning.

Yeah, but then again they might just think your being conscientious by 'Starting Early'

[Fropa]

The battery was replaced in 1998. I don't have the park position on the ignition so that wasn't it, but I did use the lock position for the first time. I did check the kill switch and moved it between it's settings a bunch of times. I'm going back with a multi-meter this morning and hopefully can figure something out.

[Nibblet99]

You'll find your bike runs better if you replace the battery every couple of years. May be worth thinking about replacing if it's lasted 7 years already

[Randy]

While I don't have extended years of riding experience, I noticed a definte improvement when I relpaced my battery. I hear they only last about 2 years.