How To Start and Move a Motorcycle

Tuesday, 16 January 2007

This feature gives descriptions and pictures of the steps required to move a motorcycle by starting it. I'm not talking about shipping a motorcycle. I'm talking about simply moving a motorcycle a short distance. An example might be a case where the rider of a bike has parked it in the garage amidst considerable adjoining boxes, crates, ladders, and other accumulated stuff that might be contained in a garage. Let's say the rider is out of town or even serving in the armed forces and the spouse needs to move the motorcycle to complete a repair to the house. The rider cannot be reached. The job must be done. What is the spouse to do? Another case might be a new rider who has just purchased a motorcycle and wants to get to know the motorcycle better. Now, bear in mind that I highly recommend that such a rider enroll in a Motorcycle Safety Foundation (MSF) course and learn the fundamentals the correct way. That's certainly the way I learned, but I did have my own motorcycle at the time which I did not know how to ride. I also wanted to get to know the motorcycle better before I took the course. I had all the basic questions all newbie riders have. I wanted to know how to start the motorcycle, get it in gear, and ride short distances in first or second gear -- at least to the end of my driveway and back. This article gives you a step-by-step procedure to move a motorcycle by pressing the start button, putting it in gear, and moving it under its own power. Remember at all times that a motorcycle is a machine that responds quickly to human commands made by the hands or the feet. You should learn basic operations slowly and safely. These are best left to the experts as they teach you in the MSF course. Steps given here are done at your own risk. There is always the chance that the motorcycle will fall over or you will not be able to control it. Turn On the Fuel Supply Some owners lock their machines with padlocks to the wheels. Some even attach them with chains to anchor points. If you can't disable these locks, consult a locksmith before continuing. Remember that a motorcycle is a machine that responds quickly to human commands made by the hands or feet. Steps given here are done at your own risk. There is always the chance that the motorcycle will fall over or you will not be able to control it. To begin, assume you are already on the motorcycle with it resting on its side stand. Reach down and locate the petcock, also called a fuel shutoff and turn it to the ON position. Some bikes have automatic petcocks so this step is not necessary. Pull Out the Choke Locate the choke knob somewhere in the engine area. Actually, it may be a lever on the handlebars. Some motorcycles may not even have a choke. For the most part, you will find a choke and you need to pull it all the way out as shown in the picture, below. Turn ON the Ignition Turn on the ignition by inserting the key and turning it to the ignition position. Other terms may be used. Usually, the headlight of the motorcycle comes on to indicate that you have been successful in turning on the ignition. The ignition can be located many places on the motorcycle. If you can't find it, consult your owner's manual. Otherwise, keep looking. The picture shows an ignition located on the left side of the motorcycle just below the gas tank. Set the KILL Switch to RUN Make sure the KILL switch is in the RUN position. The engine won't start unless the KILL switch is properly set. The KILL switch is usually near the right handlebar grip. You do have to be careful when riding that you don't accidentally trip the KILL switch and cause the engine to die. Always check the KILL switch first if you suddenly lose power. Depress the Clutch Lever The clutch lever is located on the left handlebar grip. Grasp the left grip with your left hand wrapping your fingers around the clutch lever and using your thumb as pressure on the grip as shown in the picture, below. Depress the clutch lever all the way to the grip and hold it there. If you are attempting to ride a much older bike, you may find that the controls are different from those described here. Motorcycle manufacturers have standardized the controls so they are the same on almost all modern motorcycles. Consult an owner's manual if you have non-standard controls. Shift Into Neutral Finding neutral can be easy or difficult, depending on the bike. Most modern motorcycle transmissions have first gear one-kick-down from neutral and all the other gears one-kick-up from neutral, one at a time. Kicking down is done with the bottom of the boot and kicking up is done by placing the toe of the boot under the gear shift lever and sharply kicking up once. Each upward kick places the transmission in the next higher gear. Thus, to go from first to fifth requires four individual upward kicks each preceded by a clutch action. For our purposes here, we're only concerned with finding neutral and shifting into first gear. When a bike is parked, it usually is left in first gear although it could be in a higher gear or even neutral, depending on how the rider handled the shifting as he or she stopped the bike. So, you have no guarantee as to what gear the bike is in. If when you turned on the ignition (Step 3), the green neutral light was lit, the bike is already in neutral. If it wasn't lit, you have to kick down the gear shift lever to get it into first gear. Then you can gently lift up on the bottom of the gear shift lever with your toe and watch the neutral light to see if it turns green. If it doesn't, you are probably in second or a higher gear. Keep kicking downward on the gear shift lever to get it into first. Sometimes rocking the bike forward or back is required. Step 7 shows the green Neutral light that appears after you get the transmission in neutral. Check the Neutral Indicator Light When you finally get the transmission in neutral, the Neutral Light comes on, as shown in the picture below. Some motorcycles come with a gear indicator on the instrument panel. This makes it easier to get the transmission into neutral. Start the Motorcycle Make sure you kick the side stand up to its rest position. Most bikes won't start if the side stand is down. You'll need to balance the bike so it will not fall. If the motorcycle is inside a garage or in a place where it can't be driven out forward, consider backing the bike out by paddling your feet on the ground. Keep your head up and the handlebars straight. Turn the bike as necessary and use the front brake to stop but not when the wheel is turned -- the bike may tip over. Then continue with this procedure. With the transmission in neutral and the clutch fully depressed, put your right thumb on the Start button located on or near the right handlebar grip and start the engine. See picture, below. The engine should fire up immediately. Sometimes it will fire and then quickly die. Just try again. Let the engine warm up a bit. The engine will be racing initially because the choke is out. You can release your grip on the clutch and let it out since the transmission is in neutral. After a couple of minutes you can begin to release the choke and will hear the engine speed decreasing until it finally gets to a low idle with the engine running smoothly. Put your right hand on the right hand grip (the throttle) and slowly rotate it toward you. The engine speed increases. Relax your grip and the speed decreases. To get the bike to move, you'll need to get it in first gear and then use the throttle and clutch together to slowly move the bike. See the final two steps. Shift Into First Gear The motorcycle is now running smoothly and still in neutral. Depress the clutch lever all the way to the left hand handlebar grip. This separates the engine from the transmission and allows you to shift the transmission into first gear. Place your right hand on the front brake lever to keep the bike from lurching forward when the gear shift is made. As shown in the picture, below, use the bottom of your foot to depress the gear shift lever down one kick to first gear. The picture purposely shows the foot over to the edge of the gear shift lever so you can see the lever for purposes of this Step-By-Step procedure. Don't do that. When you actually do a gear shift, position your foot centered over the gear shift lever to make gear changes. Once in first gear, the motorcycle is poised to move. If you twist the throttle, the bike will move so BE CAREFUL. The final Step shows you how to get the bike moving -- for a short distance. Move the Motorcycle You now have the bike in first gear with the clutch lever fully depressed to the left handlebar grip. You are ready to ride the motorcycle straight for a short distance. You now have to be able to coordinate the right hand on the throttle and the left hand on the clutch lever to slowly move the motorcycle. If the surface is level, you may be able to slowly let the clutch out until the bike begins to move (see picture below) and then let the bike continue to where you want to stop, all the time paddling your feet on the ground. Then depress the clutch all the way to the grip and apply the front brake slowly. Don't turn the handlebars. If you intend to actually ride the bike, you need to learn many more skills. They involve checking around you for oncoming traffic, slowly releasing the clutch to the point of movement and simultaneously applying a small amount of throttle to gain some speed. Then you need to quickly get your feet up on the pegs and balance the bike. If ever you get into trouble, keep your wits and quickly depress the clutch, release the throttle, and start applying the rear brake while keeping your head up and the handlebars straight ahead. The actual skills to ride can not be covered here. It's best that you take an MSF course to learn all the steps to be a safe rider. The steps given here are for emergency situations when a bike needs to be moved under its own power. Riding a motorcycle requires many acquired skills. You need to learn them all. Related Articles: MCN Reports Honda Cruiser Will be Turbocharged Horsepower Limits Raised For 2006 Parts Canada Superbike Championship The Sportbike Engine of the Future: Camshaft Design How-To: Set Chain Tension Buell Motorcycle Chairman Outlines Industrial Design Vision at think3 Motorcycles emit more polutants 33rd Tokyo Motorcycle Show 2006

Last Updated ( Thursday, 10 September 2009 )