400 bandit

[lancon]

Here is a question the motorbike mechanical masterminds. I recently bought the bandit and it has a few nicks and scrapes to sort out but there is one thing that puzzles the hell out of me. On occasion she refuses to start. The engine swings with a healthy note. When this happens I pop it into second gear, give a little push (4 or 5 steps) and pop the clutch. Its not far or fast enough to start like that but after that I hit the start button and voila she starts. I spoke to a few people who know their way around engines but they are stumped. Any help will be appreciated.

Kind regards

Lancon.

 

[eXisor]

Hmmm. Not sure if the same things happening to you, but the solution definitely rings a bell (had it happen on my bike and my car).
IIRC it could be either muck in the fuel tank clogging the line (this was the case of my bike, hence a push pulls it through so it gets fuel and starts), or a crack in the fuel pump, which is what happened to my car. The crappy pirate fuel pump had a hairline crack that, when it got hot, expanded and sucked in air. While running, the air was not enough to really interfere, but when you switch off, the air can displace the fuel so it won't start.
In either case it was a problem that affected the fuel system, so that's a good place to start.

 

[1nsane!]

Doesn't make sense in my head... As eXisor said, check your fuel lines and filter. This happened on my dad's car, never started the first time, 2nd time starts and runs fine. Turns out it was the o-ring on the filter that was cracked, sucking air into the system. So the first time you crank it, the pump pushes the air into the intake without any fuel. Then when you crank it again, the air in the fuel line is gone and the engine starts.

 

[lancon]

Thanks gents will inspect the entire feul system as soon as the missus allows me more than 1 hour to myself.