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Push Start

jek_ict

New member
While standing next to my bike gearing up to go home after work yesterday, a co-worker's Harley wouldn't start. The battery had enough juice to turn the starter, but not enough to get the engine to catch. Since I didn't have jumper cables, and my battery is about 20 screws and 20 minutes to access, I suggested a push start. That should work, right? Just get enough speed and pop the clutch.

I'm really glad there isn't video of me pushing that lead sled of a bike across the parking lot. :banghead I typically run close to 20 miles a week, but trying to push that thing really took the energy out of me. After three attempts I was spent and he was getting ready to call his wife. Fortunately, another co-worker came by with jumper cables.

On the plus side, Harley batteries are under the seat and he only needed to remove three screws to gain access. With the jump his bike started and he was on his way home while I wandered back to my bike hoping my noticeably sluggish battery didn't put me in his boat.
 
Jason, have you ever been to the Falling Leaf Rally in October at Potosi, Missouri? It is sometimes referred to as the frozen leaf rally, and many a morning, with frost on seats and windshields, we push started Airhead BMWs so folks could go home.
 
On the plus side, Harley batteries are under the seat and he only needed to remove three screws to gain access.

On my 2015 R1200GS, the right side battery cover is held on by one screw. Remove that, and you have access to the negative terminal and a positive post, for easy jump starting or for charging the battery with a Battery Tender.

Harry
 
Have a battery giving it up on our 11S, had to push...actually roll and bump twice yesterday after realizing my situation.
Barely fired at fuel up, forgot at one stop and rookily dumped the clutch another...luckily on a hill. Headed home after second rolloff.
The S has a well tucked away battery, unlike Harry's new bike does. :banghead
I was solo and toolless anyways:violin

Have only successfully push started our 11R once by myself, I'm too old for that after a few tries:laugh
Have roll started several models if the dash had a glow and the hill steep enough.
 
Hope y'all trying this in 2nd or 3rd gear. :wave
Great, unwanted aerobic exercise.
OM
 
Hope y'all trying this in 2nd or 3rd gear. :wave
Great, unwanted aerobic exercise.
OM

Oh yeah, it's just hard to do on a larger bike... reaching needed velocity, getting on and doing the bump thing on a tall BMW is a bugger...and someone left the key off:banghead

I am not 14 and it is not a Honda 90 Scrambler:whistle
 
Oh yeah, it's just hard to do on a larger bike... reaching needed velocity, getting on and doing the bump thing on a tall BMW is a bugger...and someone left the key off:banghead

I am not 14 and it is not a Honda 90 Scrambler:whistle
And with these new-fangled commpueter comtrolleded engins, iffin' it doesn't see around 9.2 volts, a push isn't going to matter.

I remember when I could lift a Honda 90 into the bumper racks of Ma's car.....remember bumpers? :gerg
o:gergm
 
Oh yeah, it's just hard to do on a larger bike... reaching needed velocity, getting on and doing the bump thing on a tall BMW is a bugger...and someone left the key off:banghead

I am not 14 and it is not a Honda 90 Scrambler:whistle

Had to do it once at 16 on a Honda 160.:wave
 
And with these new-fangled commpueter comtrolleded engins, iffin' it doesn't see around 9.2 volts, a push isn't going to matter.

I remember when I could lift a Honda 90 into the bumper racks of Ma's car.....remember bumpers? :gerg
o:gergm
Those bumper racks look pretty iffy nowadays....we too had a set to get the bikes to the driver license office legally and a few rescues:whistle

And yes , if it's a faint glow of a neutral light, you are in trouble trying to bump/push

Had to do it once at 16 on a Honda 160.:wave

We started towing each other or pushing with a stiff leg on the rear peg after the bikes got up to 350's...stupidly bulletproof years we can laugh at now:lol
 
Hope y'all trying this in 2nd or 3rd gear. :wave
Great, unwanted aerobic exercise.
OM

In early June in 2009, on a trip home to Canada from from Alabama's Chicken Rally, I had to always park my bike downhill. Unfortunately, half the time, it would only start by bumping it in either 2nd or 3rd gear. I was truly lucky as once home, bump starting no longer did the trick. Had to take it to a BMW dealership where they said they'd work on it during their downtime over the summer.

On the plus side, my wife told me that there was no downtime for a bike shop in the summer therefore there'd be no riding for me that year. As well she pointed out that since I was so old, I had to find a second bike, because of my age, there weren't many years left for riding. I was told that with a second bike, there should always one ready for trips. I did protest, but finally gave in and picked up a second one.

Dealership had the K repaired in early September.
 
Lovely memories of push starting my fully loaded KLR twice in Arizona (Hopi rez, Second Mesa and then gas station at Tuba City). Luckily, it was only about 113F at the time. Loose battery cable was the culprit, which I fixed in the motel parking lot in Page at 6 a.m. the next day.

I've also push started my old '82 Honda CB750F Supersport about a half-dozen times in the three years I had it as it was parked in my apartment's carport. Dreaded those first attempts to start after winter.

Now, I will default to my BMWOA offered services as I don't want to even think about push starting my '09 GSA or my Ural.
 
I had a 1959 VW microbus...it could be push started by me on the flat landscape of Houston/Galveston. Run like crazy, hop into cab, slam into third...put-putt-putt- gone most times.

6 volt system and had a gremlin only when it was raining or I was in a hurry dressed for NOT pushing a bus...but I was 16:lol
 
Jason, have you ever been to the Falling Leaf Rally in October at Potosi, Missouri? It is sometimes referred to as the frozen leaf rally, and many a morning, with frost on seats and windshields, we push started Airhead BMWs so folks could go home.

Haven't been to that one yet, but it sounds fun.

Hope y'all trying this in 2nd or 3rd gear. :wave
Great, unwanted aerobic exercise.
OM

Hmm . . . I think my co-worker kept dropping it into first. Obviously, neither of us had any idea what we were doing.

The next day my co-worker was still laughing at the thought of him sitting on the bike as if he were cruising down the road while I was pushing the bike around. I, of course, laughed back with comments about the reliability of Harley Davidson motorcycles. :thumb

As a side note, I may end up push starting my bike before the year is out. My battery is getting more and more sluggish when trying to start the bike and I really don't want to replace it right before winter storage. I'm going to remove those 20 screws and check the fluid levels sometime this weekend. Hopefully it is just running a little low on distilled water.
 
Another method of push-starting a Harley is to bring your bike up to the Harley's left side, and place your right foot firmly on the rear of the primary cover to push it.

Belts and security cables can also double as tow lines; the "puller" should have it loosely anchored as close to center as possible, while the "pullee" (pulled?) can have ONE wrap around the bars near the center, with a hand holding it in place - and let it go as the bike starts.

Second gear seems to work better than first or third - easier to dump the clutch and the bike is less likely to get away from you.
 
I'm so glad YouTube wasn't around back in my younger days attempting bike push starts and tows as well.
For every 5 good ones was a massive fail of some sort.:ha nice to be able to laugh about it now.
I had some logic shy aquaintenances ,relatives and friends who couldn't quite grasp the sequence or the few big details. The older we got, the dumber some of the attempts became. Sitting here chuckling at many memories.

The pushing the H-D by the primary case rings a bell...and a story. :doh
 
My favorite was at the Falling Leaf Rally many years ago. An R90/6 or similar vintage Airhead refused to start on a frosty Sunday morning. We tried jumper cables. Then we tried pushing. At pushing speed the bike went into a death-wobble and was absolutely uncontrollable. We tried several pushers and several brave riders all to no avail. We finally got it started using jumper cables from a large diesel truck, but not by pushing it.

Once back to Kansas the owner brought it to my house. I found two problems. The starter problem was a binding starter due to a worn nose bearing. The wobble was caused by very loose steering head bearings.

I asked the owner how he could even ride the thing. He said that starting out it would wobble but he would just add power/speed and it was OK. Coming to a stop, he said, was a bit dicey so he would just grab more brake to stop more quickly.
 
...we push started Airhead BMWs so folks could go home.
Ugh... I had a garden tractor battery in my /7 (PO had installed it) when I was in college. The battery didn't have enough oomph to turn the engine over when it was cold out, but I couldn't afford a replacement at the time. I can still remember push-starting that thing every morning over the first winter I owned it in the parking lot of my apartment complex so I could get to work and/or school. Lots of banged shins for me with that operation... :hungover Ironically, I'd bought the /7 to replace my 750 Bonneville, which started first or second kick every time... (but, the Bonnie had other issues).:rolleyes
 
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Back in Oct'05, my wife and I were in WVa, on my '96 Trophy 1200. Bike ran/started perfectly on the way up and while we were riding around the area. On the morning we were ready to head home, I hit the e-button, heard a pop, then nothing. No lights, no start, nothing. There were 6 other bikes with us, and we attempted to jump it off. No luck. Next option -- find a new battery to fit. No easy task in small town WVa. Did I mention we were in the area near the radio telescope? No cell phone service! One of the group said he'd stay with us and help us find a new battery. I piled on the back of his Yam Seca 750 and we headed off. Went by a greasy, H-D repair shop. No one home. Borrowed a land-line and made a few calls. Nada. On the way back to the motel, we passed by a Husqvarna chain-saw repair shop, and I said, "What have I got to lose? Let's see if they have anything that might fit." The proprietor/owner/chief mechanic said he might have one -- did I have my old battery with me? Fortunately, I had the old one in the topbox. I put it on the counter, he measured it, disappeared into the back, and came back up front and put a new, dusty battery on the counter. It was the same size, size polarity. Only problem -- he had no way to charge it for me. I asked -- "You have acid, right?" Affirmative reply. I asked, "How much?", expecting to hear a number near $100, maybe more. He replied, "I've had that awhile (no s--t, I thought, looking at the dust). How about $35 & your old one?" I could have kissed him. I handed him 2 - $20's. He put acid in the battery. We headed back to the motel, where our wives were waiting. We put the new battery in the Trophy. Pushed it up to the high point in the lot, and we bump-started that sucker. It was fully loaded, of course, as we were ready to head south when the battery gave up. It started, and we headed south. I kept that bike at 5000 RPM (or higher) for a full tank of gas. The bike's alternator charged that battery very nicely. We made it back to Birmingham in 2 days w/o any further bike problems (it did rain on us for the last 200 miles, but so what?) That battery was still in the Trophy when I traded it in on a BMW F800ST in '10!

So yes, you can bump start a fully-loaded heavy-weight bike, IF it has a chargeable battery! (My failed battery apparently had a cell go bad, as it wouldn't take a charge, or light up the lights even hooked to another bike). And yes, we did bump-start it in second gear!
 
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