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Firestorm fell over on the right side in my shed and now wont start... :(

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Old Feb 27, 2019 | 12:01 PM
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Firestorm fell over on the right side in my shed and now wont start... :(

Howdy!

I was working on my 1998 firestorm over the weekend and it fell over in the shed on the right side. Before I could push the bike back up, a small amount of gasoline leaked on the shed floor. I had just removed all fairings, given the bike an oil change and replaced the front tire before the bike tipped over. When the bike didn't start I used my battery tender to give the bike juice overnight. The engine turns over but will not start. What have I done? Any help would be great appreciated.

Thanks!
Old Feb 27, 2019 | 01:07 PM
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check the kill switch on the handlebar
Old Feb 27, 2019 | 01:13 PM
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Thanks for the response. Kill switch is in the correct position.
Old Feb 27, 2019 | 01:40 PM
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Do you have spark at the plugs? Just curious if a wire came loose/pulled out of the handlebar wiring harness.
Old Feb 27, 2019 | 01:45 PM
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Hi Rick, No spark, I will be home within the hour and will have a look at the handlebar wiring to see if anything looks amiss. Anything specificially I should look for other than a blatant loose wire etc? Thanks in advance.

One other thing I noticed was a 1/4" loose hose on the right side that wasn't connected to anything but I just figured it was an overflow hose...

Last edited by CustomESP; Feb 27, 2019 at 01:48 PM.
Old Feb 27, 2019 | 02:36 PM
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Just got home... the bike tries to turn over when I push the starter regardless of whether the kill switch is on or off and I smell gasoline after a couple starts...
Old Feb 27, 2019 | 03:09 PM
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If it smells gasoline,you may have flooded the spark plugs, did you use the chock? Have you been pulling on the throttle while starting?
How is the actual crank going? Is the engine turning fast enough, maybe the battery is too weak, that could definitely confuse you, I would connect it to a car battery without running the car-(you may fry some circuits if the car is running), let some longer cranks with the additional battery and it should clear the fuel if it's flooded, plus you may find that the battery is just not strong enough.
Old Feb 27, 2019 | 03:40 PM
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The sound the bike makes is identical to the noise this bike makes at the 1:00-minute mark in this video... but it just won't start

Old Feb 27, 2019 | 07:11 PM
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Very different bike though... Did the bike ran before you started the oil change?
Old Feb 27, 2019 | 08:55 PM
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Hi NHSH, yes the bike started right up two weeks ago when I last took the bike for a spin.

I will try the car battery jump in the morning... fingers crossed.

Last edited by CustomESP; Feb 27, 2019 at 09:01 PM.
Old Feb 28, 2019 | 11:55 AM
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Hope you've got this sorted by now. If not it may be worth checking the neutral switch wire has not become dislodged (down low on the right side clutch cover) as that may prevent sparks. Does the neutral light come on as normal?
Old Feb 28, 2019 | 03:49 PM
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Hi Cadbury, I will check the neutral switch wire. The green neutral light does come on.

I tried using a car battery but no luck, and I also tried my portable jumper and I got the same result... It dawned on me to check the fuse box and lo and behold the starter fuse (10) was shot... I switched the horn fuse into the starter position and tried using what power I had left (25%) from the portable battery charger... There was a loud backfire as the engine tried to turn over, but I didn't have enough juice to get the engine going I will try again in a few hours once I have recharged my battery and jumper pack.
Old Feb 28, 2019 | 07:53 PM
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Okay, you getting close it seems, let us know..
Old Mar 1, 2019 | 07:22 AM
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Bike roared to life on its first try!!! Was extremely loud with no mufflers... but she is back!!! Any reason that the fuse would of blown by falling over or just a coincidence?
Old Mar 1, 2019 | 08:19 AM
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Originally Posted by CustomESP
Bike roared to life on its first try!!! Was extremely loud with no mufflers... but she is back!!! Any reason that the fuse would of blown by falling over or just a coincidence?
Sounds like a freak accident to me :-)
Old Mar 4, 2019 | 12:35 PM
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Originally Posted by CustomESP
Bike roared to life on its first try!!! Was extremely loud with no mufflers... but she is back!!! Any reason that the fuse would of blown by falling over or just a coincidence?
Which fuse was it?

On my trainer bikes its not uncommon after a student crashes them a fuse burns due to a wire getting pinched.
Its also possible it was just the shock transmitted to the fuse from hitting the ground broke the fusible link. Could definitely see that if it was an older fuse, perhaps been heated close to burn point a few times over the years
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