S4 cold start help? & Dave Wood Racing 10/10

[Thumper]

I started a new job yesterday and its really important I actually keep this one!

So this morning Daffodil had a hissy fit because I left his blankie off and he was sporting a white coat of frost a few millimetres thick.

After an entire hour of swearing, kicking, bump starting and wishful thinking I gave up. The battery was dead, the starter clutch was making horrible noises and I was now 10 minutes late for work :worried: Even worse was my desperation to start it had landed me all the way down my road bump starting it... oh yeah, the road is a very steep hill. Like feck could I even push it back up 2 foot :banghead:

My boss was gonna go mental. He hated the fact that my transport was a motorcycle. He thinks I will go and break myself everyday because "its a bike", so this was the perfect reason for him to go mad and probably fire me.

I phoned Dave Wood Racing and spoke to Dave, see if he could offer some tips to get DaffyDuc going.

"Give me your postcode I'll be there in 30 minutes"

:eek: :hail: :thumbsup:

The bike had a new battery 2 weeks after I bought it, Dave checked the charge and all was fine, Daffy eventually started off a powerpack and I got into work 1 hour late.

Quite how Dave managed to get from Aylesbury to MK in 30 minutes I dont know but I owe him the biggest drink ever!

I didnt get fired but I do have to work a double shift Friday to make up for it :gay: My boss had the cheek to ask me if this was going to be "a daily occurrance" pffffft.

Daffy took ages to start when I left work, was worrying the same was gonna happen again.

Dave suggested I put an optimate on him.

Anyone else got any ideas?

[LouSCannon]

Hmmm not too sure when it comes to a bike being left for short periods. I know all about standing a bike up over winter for long periods, two main killers being the battery and condensation in the fuel.

Thing if you're riding Daffodil regularly then neither of these should be an issue...

However, just in case it is cold enough to effect the fuel on the carb you could try a hair dryer or a small heater?

Couldn't be a problem with immobiliser if it started ok from a boost I don't think.

[Thumper]

Daffys fuel injected. The carb icing was the reason I sold Pinky for Daffy, couldnt bear it and it was costing me jobs!

I think its just an exotic bike thats used to exotic weather and has panic attacks in the british winter. Stubborn bastid it is :flamed:

[Scotty]

your new boss sounds like a cock but i cant realy advise on that

errm yeah cold weather could be the problem batteries don't like cold weather and don't perfmor quite so well which is bad from the S4's point of view you realy need the battery in tip top condition to start the beast as such i always have the lights off and the clutch pulled in to reduce the load on the starter/engine

im suprised you couldn't bump it going down the hill though

as said above regular use will see it working better (even a day off has made a difference to mine in a little more reluctance to start in the past)

my favourite is to have a beefy car battery to jump the motor off if its not started after a few attempts

[Thumper]

PMSL @ Scotty :mand:

I ride the bike everyday so its never left without being used.

Heres what the frost was like, I am hoping it was a 1 off because the frost was really bad, photo doesnt do it justice, was about 3 mms thick and I left the cover off.

http://www.thumperzone.co.uk/images/Ducati/frostys4.jpg

Giving me evils at work :chuckle:

http://www.thumperzone.co.uk/images/Ducati/unhappys4.jpg

Bump starting just wasnt happening. I put every ounce of strength into getting good runs up, was trying all different choke/throttle/gear combinations but all it did was lock the back wheel up and slide. Went steaming down the hill 1 last time and the back spun so violently I stopped trying or I was gonna drop it.

I am going to count some pennies out and invest in a booster pack me thinks. Did the job this morning so gotta be worth it!

Thanks for the advice as always :)

[Capo]

Take it a dealer and have them adjust the mixture

[Scotty]

bump start technique , a good sprint, use 2nd and thumb the button whilst dumping the clutch

uh I never use 'full fast idol' it wont start like that ever i use about half way

[crust]

bump start technique , a good sprint, use 2nd and thumb the button whilst dumping the clutch

uh I never use 'full fast idol' it wont start like that ever i use about half way


once you've put it into second rock it backwards and forwards a couple of times to free the clutch

then let the clutch out and pull it backwards until it hits compression, then pull the clutch in and bump it.

this will let the motor rotate a little before hitting compression and give it a bit of extra momentum.

If it was mine I'd have an optimate and a booster, if it was going to be really cold I might even take the battery into the house and leave it on charge overnight.

:)Crust

[Scotty]

useing a bike every day the 'novelty' of having the battery on and off every day soon wares thin and you end up hunting about for the screws and bolts in the rain in the dark ( had a bit of practice for about a month with a fooked reg/rec)

umm i never thought about a kick start type prep of the engine position, would it not be better to knock it just past tdcc ? (not that you actually can without great difficulty)

[crust]

useing a bike every day the 'novelty' of having the battery on and off every day soon wares thin and you end up hunting about for the screws and bolts in the rain in the dark ( had a bit of practice for about a month with a fooked reg/rec)

umm i never thought about a kick start type prep of the engine position, would it not be better to knock it just past tdcc ? (not that you actually can without great difficulty)

for me it would get old really quickly and I'd get a scooter or some cheap POS but if my job depended on it, nah it would still get to me

:) Crust

[GULLY]

Hi
Sorry i can not give you addvice on your bike,but good luck with the new job.

[fatbloke]

Quite how Dave managed to get from Aylesbury to MK in 30 minutes I dont know but I owe him the biggest drink ever!



never ever ever get in a car with Dave I'm surprised it took him 30 mins he
probably stopped for fuel!!!
I've been in a car/van with him many times and each time I thought I was going to die!

[David Matthews]

If you put some short tails from the battery, clipped to a convenient point on the frame, you could leave it charging with an optimate overnight. It would save messing around connecting the battery on cold dark mornings. A thick blanket under the cover would help keep the frost and damp out. Hope you get it sorted.

[JerryXt]

Bad news MsT. I'm glad it's sorted tho.

My optimate came with a plug thingy that is always connected to the battery and the charger just plugs in.

[Saint aka ML]

Why all of you assume it was the battery? If he used it every day battery has nothing to do with it. One or two days of brake should not affect it. I have a M750 with 1 year old battery which never seen optimate or buster or any charger. Starts first time every time with half choke and a bit of throttle help in very cold mornings. I do not cover the bike as well and my daily commute is 6.5 miles. I work 4 nights on to 3 off so now as it is cold bike waits 3 days to start sometimes and no issues. Oh yes it is a 6 year old carb 750 but no icing problems as use Silkolene Pro-FST.

[SJR999r]

This mite **** ppl off,but ive had 2 ducati's and thinking about getting another one,there is a lot of 'dos' and 'donts' with ducati's

Do's:D
ride on sunny days
ride when its not goner rain
ride when theres no chance of the temp going below 15 degrees!
ride on dry days
keep it in a garage
pose
make everyone envy u
make alot noise (with ur race pipes)
ducati's are cool FACT

Donts:thumbsdown:
ride in the rain
ride when its cold (ur nipples go hard and balls get smaller)!!!
ride when its not sunny

as u can see the 'do's' are more than the 'donts'!!!!!!!!!!!!!:drunk:

just one last thing, its Italian,they will never ever ever be a jap bike!;)

if u wanna ride/start in **** weather,eg frost/damp/rain/cold
buy a jap bike:thumbsdown:

[Nonnie]

Hope it starts for you this morning Thumper. It's below freezing here with fog and frost.

x

[AndyG]

Agree with SJR, Ducatis don't make for ideal daily transport, (and i too love my 620 but lets be realistic). Buy a jap bike, save the Duc for the good times

[Will]

I started a new job yesterday and its really important I actually keep this one!.............

Anyone else got any ideas?

:idea: Buy a Honda.

[Saint aka ML]

My previous Honda died on me more then Duc. One of mechanics in Daytona MC has done 15k in year on his monster all weather, did not miss a bit like mine. Key to it all use it every day. The longer I do not ride the harder it is to start. What is the problem off riding Duc in bad weather, electrics are from honda (granted put together by italian), engine is not full of holes and bike is not made of sugar.
Ride, Ride, Ride.

[madhatter]

I regularly go to the "Firkin O'Bitter" Bike Rally, which is held the first week in February, so inevitably involves camping either in snow or very cold temperatures. last year it went down to -6 at night and my S4 looked like a Belgium Bun in the morning, I had to get it jump started and the battery never recovered afterwards, letting me down several times before I gave up and replaced it.

"Daffy" is quite right getting uptight about you not putting the "blankie" on at night...how very dare you!:eek:

[Thumper]

Kinda pointless now but thanks everyone for the info much appreciated. I'll bear it in mind when I buy another to replace Daffy ;)

[Nickj]

SJR You forgot cold diruesis ... Go Kidneys Go LOL
Shame no one told me these rules!!! Then again I go along with ML If they're too frail to cope then we're all barking up a bike evolutionary dead end.
Cold Rallies, tried the Elephant once when suffering from terminal yuff. Gone off riding in very very stupidly cold since.

[Thumper]

Thats why you need all the heated clobber I've got!

I have a Klan heated waistcoat (keeps yer kidneys toasty) and some Klan heated inner gloves... mmmmm even more toasty! :)

[madhatter]

Thats why you need all the heated clobber I've got....Klan heated waistcoat....Klan heated inner gloves...

If they did Klan heated "Superman Pants", I know an S2R rider in Newport Pagnall who would be on the website with his Barclaycard like a shot!!! :mand:

[Thumper]

hehehehehe they do heated longjohns, you could easily stitch over a pair of superman pants to them :chuckle: