Bike will not start, please help

[mrphotoman]

Okay, I bought a 1996 katana 600 in december. It started right up and ran great. I left it in my gf's parents garage till winter was over and now here I am in May finally to get it (bike was 3 hours away from my home) and it will not start. I have cranked it over and got it to start for a few seconds then it died and will not start again. I added a gallon of premium unleaded to the gallon or so that was in it and that did not help.

Any ideas? Would a spark plug change help? Do you have to remove the entire fairing, mirrors, lights to get to the plugs? That is crazy if you do.

Any suggestions is appreciated.

also, is there something wrong with the forum? when i log in the site crashes and i have to go back to the home page to view the site. then if i try to search new posts or do a search it does not work.

[Zepp]

You should have put it in Prime first before starting. Also, the battery is probably low, it has enough juice to run lights but not enough Cold Cranking Amps (CCAs) now to start it. Charge up the battery and try it again

[mrphotoman]

i turned it to prime for about 30 seconds and i charged the battery some. i will let it charge overnight and see if that helps.

how long should it be on prime?

the battery was cranking the bike over pretty quick

[JBLUE]

your carbs might need to be clean or adjust (SYNC)

[mrphotoman]

What is the spark plug number for a 1996 katana 600cc?

[#1 Moses]

Go to NGK on line site to find your correct spark plug mine is a pre so I use a DR-8 ES Dont know about your Bike

[hot2000]

Sound Like Bad Gas , Or Carb Need To Be Cleaned Out, Try Flushing The Gas Tank Put In New Gas , That Worked For Me

[Court93kat]

Everything so far is good advice. Gasoline goes bad in a bike tank after about 3 weeks. It will also evaporate from the bowls leaving all the insides gunked up a little. Remember, there are small holes in there for the gas to get through.

Hook up the bike to a NON running vehicle for a jump. The extra amps might be what you need to kick it over.

You may have to clean your plugs, but you should be able to get it started even if they are a little dirty. If it ran fine when it was put up, the plugs should still be fine. IF you end up pulling them, you have to remove the seat and tank, and at least take out about half the fairing screws to get the room you need to pull the tank.

Keep us posted on how it goes.

[mrphotoman]

it was the spark plugs, they were just fouled/old. From the looks of them they appeared to be the original plugs or close to it. As soon as I replaced them the car started up on the first crank!

I had to get the rear passenger foot peg bars welded on today then we ran out of time. I will be back up to get the new tires on then I can finally drive it back lol.

[Zepp]

Glad to hear you got it running again

[Newbie2it]

it was the spark plugs, they were just fouled/old. From the looks of them they appeared to be the original plugs or close to it. As soon as I replaced them the car started up on the first crank!

Car??? Was that a freudian slip? LOL

[JBLUE]

thats always a sweet sound when your bike starts up after not starting for awhile

[mrphotoman]

Car??? Was that a freudian slip? LOL

lol sure was

we got the passenger foot pegs back on, looks good as new.

the road attack tires go on this week then it is ready to go!