Honda Service Manager Can't Start Beemer...

[Effervescent]

Day off. Go to get the S inspected.

 

Honda dealer can't figure out where the start button is...hee hee.

 

So I rode 10,000 miles in the past year. Tires have 9k on them and he says the rear is just 40% worn. We're looking at 20k on the Metzelers 6's!

 

Also by delaying it 2 months (it was really due 11/05) I managed to skip over the 06 sticker all together.

 

-Eff

[Illini]

That's because on Honda's the word START appears on the magic button. What's up with the circular lighting bolt on a red switch? Doesn red mean Blood, Death, DIE???

[RokRide]

Also by delaying it 2 months (it was really due 11/05) I managed to skip over the 06 sticker all together.

 

-Eff

 

Speaking of Inspections.. I got about 7K on the RT and havent got my inspection done. I bought my bike in another state, so I had to take care of the DMV stuff myself.... I will have to o get my sticker one of these days...

[RFW]

That's because on Honda's the word START appears on the magic button. What's up with the circular lighting bolt on a red switch? Doesn red mean Blood, Death, DIE???

That is the standard marking for a start button in Europe where they believe in using symbols instead of writing things out longhand (in several languages).

 

Here in North America, we believe in writing a paragraph, just to ensure people get bored while reading and fall asleep.

 

To diverge a little, an amusing example is the Warnings we see on various products (that are so long, no one reads them). On one inverter I saw, there was an entire paragraph warning about the dangers to the user, because the device generated the exact same power that is anyone's home. That was the English part. The German part had only 3 very effective words:

 

Vorsicht ["careful"] Hochspannung ["high voltage"] Lebensgefahr ["mortal danger"].

 

Maybe that gives the lawyers a loophole, but it seems to get the user's attention a hell of a lot better.

 

But as I say, I am diverging!

 

Bob.

[SWB]

That's because on Honda's the word START appears on the magic button. What's up with the circular lighting bolt on a red switch? Doesn red mean Blood, Death, DIE???

 

I almost fried my starter the other day, when I instinctively hit the start button instead of toggling the kill switch (or using the key, as I normally do), to turn the bike off. After years and years of riding dirt bikes, "button's on the handle bar" are always the "kill" switch; it'll be a while before my subconscious sees it any other way.

[RFW]

I almost fried my starter the other day, when I instinctively hit the start button instead of toggling the kill switch (or using the key, as I normally do), to turn the bike off.

 

If the bike uses the usual one-way overrunning "sprag" clutch to link the starter to the motor, then you would not have done any damage at all. All that would have happened is that the starter would have spun harmlessly.

 

Besides, most BMWs lock out the starter electrically when the motor is running.

 

Bob.

[John]

Besides, most BMWs lock out the starter electrically when the motor is running.

 

They did on the K series Bob, but not the R1100. Trust me, I know

[No_Twilight]

Besides, most BMWs lock out the starter electrically when the motor is running.

 

They did on the K series Bob, but not the R1100. Trust me, I know

 

Yep, it's easy for me to lay my wrist on the start button when adjusting the sattelite radion I have mounted on the triple tree. Makes an ugly noise.

[No_Twilight]

Also by delaying it 2 months (it was really due 11/05) I managed to skip over the 06 sticker all together.

 

-Eff

 

I guess that works in NY. In CA if you go in late you pay big penalties. In some states all you do is sign a statement saying you haven't been driving on the street. In CA, you have to sign this BEFORE the license is due and have it on file with the state. There is a fee for it and you have to renew it every year. So it is important to make sure before you buy a used bike that it is currently licensed. When you find that wonderful old beemer project bike that has been sitting in a barn somewhere for 10 years for $200 you may find there are $3000 worth of penalties due to get it licensed. Happened to a friend who bought an old trailer.--Jerry

[Doom]

Well, about a year ago I took an 1150RT (first time on a non Japanese, non American Bike) out on a test ride. The Salesman started the bike for me. I managed to kill the engine in the middle of a fourlane road. I could not find the Start Button for the life of me. Finally pushed the darn thing out of the road, opened the box and found the Owners Manual. It would have been embarrasing to have had to call the dealer for instructions. I bought the RT anyway and love it. Oh, and the one time I had to hit the Kill Switch, I hit the Start Button. Gotta love the Germans!

[RFW]

Yep, it's easy for me to lay my wrist on the start button when adjusting the sattelite radion I have mounted on the triple tree. Makes an ugly noise.

 

Interesting. That appears to mean that they use a Bendix mechanism instead of a sprag clutch to connect the starter to the motor. I have never owned a bike that didn't use a sprag clutch, so I have never given any thought to the possibility of causing damage if the starter was activated when the motor was running.

 

Bob.

[RFW]

I guess that works in NY. In CA if you go in late you pay big penalties. In some states all you do is sign a statement saying you haven't been driving on the street. In CA, you have to sign this BEFORE the license is due and have it on file with the state. There is a fee for it and you have to renew it every year. So it is important to make sure before you buy a used bike that it is currently licensed. When you find that wonderful old beemer project bike that has been sitting in a barn somewhere for 10 years for $200 you may find there are $3000 worth of penalties due to get it licensed. Happened to a friend who bought an old trailer.--Jerry

 

That is just plain idiotic! Other than being a cash cow, what is the point? And I thought the licensing autorities up here in BC were stupid!

 

Bob.

[ShovelStrokeEd]

Cash cow is the point! You want draconian? CT collects property tax annually on your vehicle based on its purchase price! DMV is nutz everywhere. Here in Florida we pay our tag fees through the county tax collector, at least they are honest about it.

[Green RT]

Well, about a year ago I took an 1150RT (first time on a non Japanese, non American Bike) out on a test ride. The Salesman started the bike for me. I managed to kill the engine in the middle of a fourlane road. I could not find the Start Button for the life of me. Finally pushed the darn thing out of the road, opened the box and found the Owners Manual. It would have been embarrasing to have had to call the dealer for instructions. I bought the RT anyway and love it. Oh, and the one time I had to hit the Kill Switch, I hit the Start Button. Gotta love the Germans!

Before I bought my RT, I took it for a test ride. I couldn't figure out how to cancel the turn signals. Rode the whole time with one or the other turn signal flashing. Guess it pays to have the salesman go through the basics before taking a different bike for a test ride.

[Bob Palin]

When you find that wonderful old beemer project bike that has been sitting in a barn somewhere for 10 years for $200 you may find there are $3000 worth of penalties due to get it licensed. Happened to a friend who bought an old trailer.--Jerry

Actually a CA DMV agent has the discretionary ability to reduce the charges in cases like that, they won't volunteer but if pressed they can be helpful. Strictly speaking they can also force you to pay up so be nice.

[Shawnee Bill]

That's because on Honda's the word START appears on the magic button. What's up with the circular lighting bolt on a red switch? Doesn red mean Blood, Death, DIE???

 

After years and years of riding dirt bikes, "button's on the handle bar" are always the "kill" switch; it'll be a while before my subconscious sees it any other way.

 

I thought you killed dirt bikes by holding the front brake and dropping the clutch