Starting the cat after winter - Help

Hi guys, I hope you guys can help me, This weekend i will be starting the Cat after 4 months of storage(in the lounge so warm)

Before i put the bike away, i used to start it every weekend and it used to be fine. The week prior to me putting it away, it would tick over but no start (definitley not the battery) as there is power there. Since i am going to be starting it after 3 months, is there anything i need to do.

Few questions
1. As the tank is pretty much empty at the moment, so shoud i add SILKOLENE PRO FST with the first tank of fuel?
2. How do i determine if i need a battery, can i just charge the one i have in the bike ?
3. People have mentioned jumpstart, how do you jumpstart a bike ? (i know on a car)
4. I barely did any miles the last summer, do i really need an oil change ?
5. Any other steps i would need to take or do? bare in mind that it has been sitting in a warm lounge

any advice would be appreciate, really a noobie when it comes to bikes. I have the haynes manual,

It would turn over you mean? (ticking over is running/idling?).
If it's turning over when you hit the starter you don't need a battery, but it will go flat unless it starts (as you know  )
I've not tried it but the bike battery and a car battery are both 12 volts, so it should work fine. (I'd have no hesitation myself)
..same principle applies, attach jump leads to both batteries [+ to +] [- to -]...or [+ to +] and the negative [-] to a bit of bare chassis.

I don't think you'll need to change the oil, but check the level anyway.

Mine had been sitting in a cold lockup in Scotland for about five months since it's last start, with the battery removed, and it fired up pretty much right away when I fitted it again.
I did nothing special, just parked it up, disconnected the battery, and left it.

It occurs to me that the bike is already warm, so have you tried starting it without any choke?
(It's needed for cold starting and you could be flooding an already warm engine)


Evaporated fuel residue (with it sitting in the lounge) is on the back of my mind, but I don't know if that's a common problem, so someone more qualified (almost everyone in here tbh   ) will chip in and advise.   
..personally I've always just kept my thumb on the starter until I get a response from the engine..even a splutter and die is positive.   

When you jump start a car the donor car is running. Don't have the car running when jumping a bike, too much power will be supplied to the tiny bike battery & starter motor.

Paul.
U

Thanks Wooster for the advice,

Well turn over as in, When pressing the button it tries to start it but i believe its just the alternator trying to tick it over.

Any ideas on the SILKOLENE PRO FST for the first batch of fuel ?

Thanks for the great tip Yamahamad

btw what do u guys think of this
http://www.amazon.co.uk/Oxford-Professional-Motorcycle-Maintenance-Anniversary/dp/B0095I687W/ref=sr_1_3?ie=UTF8&qid=1395955406&sr=8-3&keywords=BATTERY+OPTIMISER

Not that it answers this topic . . . but forward planning and all that . . . have a look and read through HERE for lots and lots of answers and tips to Cat specific niggles you may encounter in the future.

Also, there may be a section on putting the Cat into and getting it out of storage in the Haynes ??? Have a read/flip through.

ttboy1988 wrote:Thanks Wooster for the advice,

Well turn over as in, When pressing the button it tries to start it but i believe its just the alternator trying to tick it over.

Ahh..  
That's probably the starter motor solenoid you hear.

You probably need to recharge that battery, or use jump leads.
If it just 'goes' tickticktickticktickticktickticktick when you hit the starter button, it's likely there's just enough power to fire the solenoid that throws the gear on the starter motor to turn the engine over, but no power to do anything else.
n.b. When you turn the ignition full on after a lay up, you'll hear a similar sound before you press the starter button, but that's the fuel pump priming the system. It stops after a few seconds.
(It's more of a grrrrticktickticktick kind of sound)

You could maybe bump start it (bung it in 2nd gear/full choke, hold the clutch in, run alongside it, then jump on and slam your arse onto the seat at the same time you release the clutch..with maybe a bit of throttle) but it's a bit of a learned art and best practised on a big empty road since you need to pull the clutch and stop as soon as it fires up.

Staring the bike and letting idle/run probably takes more out of the battery than you are putting in. A battery will lose charge naturally by standing, depending on its condition this could be swifter than expected.
I'd put the battery on a bike charger, even though the engine turns over there could be insufficient power to ignite the plugs, hence the turn over and not firing.

Regarding the FST, I wouldn't bother, unless you have the stuff - get it started and and ride to the garage and fill with fresh fuel then go for a decent ride.
The oil change, experts say once a year irrespective of mileage, maybe after your blast you can think about changing.

Other stuff, umm check the chain, tyres ..

When you thinking of heading out and to where, you only a hour or so ride away maybe ..

SteveCat wrote:Staring the bike and letting idle/run probably takes more out of the battery than you are putting in. A battery will lose charge naturally by standing, depending on its condition this could be swifter than expected.
I'd put the battery on a bike charger, even though the engine turns over there could be insufficient power to ignite the plugs, hence the turn over and not firing.

Regarding the FST, I wouldn't bother, unless you have the stuff - get it started and and ride to the garage and fill with fresh fuel then go for a decent ride.
The oil change, experts say once a year irrespective of mileage, maybe after your blast you can think about changing.

Other stuff, umm check the chain, tyres ..

When you thinking of heading out and to where, you only a hour or so ride away maybe ..

Sound Advice, I am gonna charge the battery then give a girl a start, this weekend looks great so might want to get the cat out and about. Not really heading anywhere but just wanted to go a ride over the weekend somewhere.

Petrol deteriorates over time, if possible drain out the old fuel and refill with fresh, whilst the tank is off, remove the spark plugs, and check for flooding and clean up. Earth out one of the plugs on the side of the engine just to make sure you're getting a spark.

I added a fuel additive to mine after this winter, purely because it had been sitting for longer than usual due to the crappy weather. Petrol gums up components when left, and it seemed to help with the starting process.
As others have said, starting and letting the bike tick over takes a lot of charge out the battery, and needs to be ridden to charge. Plus with the bike standing, it'll lose charge naturally.
I'd recommend a proper battery charger and keep it on charge over winter next time.

You'll know if you need a new battery because it'll keep losing its charge. Had to change mine this spring even though I had used it over winter. Would lose charge after a few days.

Regards

Mike