oops. dead.

[vacancy]

got an '80 xs11 two weeks ago. love it. everything's great. i'm riding home from poughkeepsie and i gun the throttle a bit. bike dies. i pull over into a strip club parking lot. turn the key, all lights work (except headlight which only turns on after the bike's started anyway). no start. not even a little desperate whimper. battery seemed good. kill switch isn't on. inspected the wiring harness leading to the ignition coils. i feel stupid, and my fn bike is on the centerstand in some gravel at the blue moon burlesque at 5:11 am, and i can't sleep.

???

damn it,
jon

[Dragonrider]

Check the fuses very carefully. If it still has the glass tube ones, they can be blown and look ok (kind of blown at the ends).

Check vacuum lines to the petcocks (or to the octopus if a special). Without vacuum, there is no gas flow. Try "prime" position.

Does the starter turn?

[pgg]

Jiggle the kill switch 6 plug connecter under the tank. Unfortunately, to see how to jiggle properly, you'll need to go inside the building.

[vacancy]

anyway

it was the ignition fuse. sure didn't look blown at night.

note to self: always bring a mini-mag light along.

xoxo
jon

[xssiveone]

Re: anyway

Originally posted by vacancy
it was the ignition fuse. sure didn't look blown at night.

Now might be a good time to upgrade your fuse panel as it is a known problem on these machines. Not just the glass fuses, but the fuse holders themselves, they get weak and still look good, but will sometimes break off at the touch. Check here, New fuse box , for one solution to this problem.