Turned key on, nothing happened

[alpacaguy]

Got the Spyder out of the garage and washed all the pollen off and discovered that it is still blue, not yellow. Went for a short ride to blow off the water and then my wife and I went to eat dinner at a local Mexican restaurant. After eating and waddling back out to the parking lot, we climbed back on the bike, I turned the key on and waited for the computer to do its thing. Cleared the screen, pushed the start button and silence. Nothing at all. Flipped the emergency switch on and off a couple of times and still nothing. Turned the key back off and let it sit about 5 seconds and turned it back on. Followed the normal start-up routine again and it started right up as usual. Not sure what happened, but was kinda scarey since I was way too full to be walking five miles home. Plus having a mad little ol' white haired lady beating me about the head and shoulders with her purse wouldn't be too much fun either. Thank goodness it got over it's little hissy fit and decided to cooperate. Any ideas what happened?

[Silvervette05]

Check and clean battery connection , my first thought

[Cruzr Joe]

Kind of like the rest of us, it forgot what it was supposed to do

cruzr joe

[SPYD1]

Check and clean battery connection , my first thought

My thoughts too...after the Mexican food you know he had enough gas...LOL

[Rob Rodriguez]

You had it in 1st gear. First time you tried to start it you didn't have the brake depressed. That's why it did nothing. The 2nd time you did have the brake depressed, so it started?

[Wiredux]

You had it in 1st gear. First time you tried to start it you didn't have the brake depressed. That's why it did nothing. The 2nd time you did have the brake depressed, so it started?

That's is what I was thinking too.

[Bob Denman]

It takes all of us a while to blow all of the cobwebs out...
Check the battery terminals (just to make sure), and try to re-develop your starting routine... with the right foot; firmly on the brake pedal.

[alpacaguy]

It takes all of us a while to blow all of the cobwebs out...
Check the battery terminals (just to make sure), and try to re-develop your starting routine... with the right foot; firmly on the brake pedal.

Checked the battery and all is good. Don't know what is up with the remarks about the brake being on. When it was cold back in the winter, I would start the Spyder while standing on the ground next to her and then go back into the house to let her warm up before taking a ride. I just went out to the garage to try it again. Standing on the ground next to the Spyder, hit the start button and she cranked right up. Parking brake was ON, and in neutral, but never touched the brake pedal. I think my original post was possible just the result of a fluke. I have cranked it several times since the event with no problems at all. Key is getting a little hard to insert into the ignition switch, so may need a little lube in there to make sure things are working properly inside the switch.

[cyclelover63]

I think what people are saying isn't that you have to have the brake pedal depressed to start it..BUT,if you inadvertently left it in gear when you shut it off,then pressing the brake pedal will override the neutral switch and allow it to start..There's not a Spyder Ryder alive with an SE that hasn't been caught by this..Its possible that what happened to you....Its been a long winter for all of us!

[SNOOPY]

I think what people are saying isn't that you have to have the brake pedal depressed to start it..BUT,if you inadvertently left it in gear when you shut it off,then pressing the brake pedal will override the neutral switch and allow it to start..There's not a Spyder Ryder alive with an SE that hasn't been caught by this..Its possible that what happened to you....Its been a long winter for all of us!

I thought the same thing, but his sig says he has a manual trans. Not sure if they act the same or not.

Do the manuals revert back to neutral on every cut off?

[NancysToy]

Checked the battery and all is good. Don't know what is up with the remarks about the brake being on. When it was cold back in the winter, I would start the Spyder while standing on the ground next to her and then go back into the house to let her warm up before taking a ride. I just went out to the garage to try it again. Standing on the ground next to the Spyder, hit the start button and she cranked right up. Parking brake was ON, and in neutral, but never touched the brake pedal. I think my original post was possible just the result of a fluke. I have cranked it several times since the event with no problems at all. Key is getting a little hard to insert into the ignition switch, so may need a little lube in there to make sure things are working properly inside the switch.

If it was inadvertently left in gear when you had the problem, it would have done what you experienced. What they are saying is that it might have been left in or bumped into gear, requiring the brake. You may have instinctively stepped on the brake the second try. If it hasn't happened again, don't sweat it.

[Ctcc73]

Some one might have sat on your Spyder to while you were eating and might have put in gear. That happened to me on a test run at a dealer the other day.

[lightman02]

I thought the same thing, but his sig says he has a manual trans. Not sure if they act the same or not.

Do the manuals revert back to neutral on every cut off?

Nope, they do not revert. If you leave the bike in gear it will not start unless you hold in the clutch. If you have the bike in neutral the bike will start without making you hold in the clutch. However the brake position on the manual trans does not matter for starting, it doesn't care weather the brake is depressed or parking break is on it will still start, at least on the 08 not sure if they changed anything since. I've done the same thing myself, went to start my bike which was in gear and got nothing, then realized I forgot to hold in the clutch. I have several manual vehicals and holding in clutch is like second nature, however every once in a while you have an off day.

[alpacaguy]

Nope, they do not revert. If you leave the bike in gear it will not start unless you hold in the clutch. If you have the bike in neutral the bike will start without making you hold in the clutch. However the brake position on the manual trans does not matter for starting, it doesn't care weather the brake is depressed or parking break is on it will still start, at least on the 08 not sure if they changed anything since. I've done the same thing myself, went to start my bike which was in gear and got nothing, then realized I forgot to hold in the clutch. I have several manual vehicals and holding in clutch is like second nature, however every once in a while you have an off day.

I could have forgotten to hold in the clutch, but I'm sure it was in "N". You all are right though - it has been a long winter. Hopefully we will all be back in synch before long. Whatever it was, I thank all who responded. Since it has not happened again, I'll just mark it up as experience and move on to another event. Thanks again everybody...

[Bob Denman]

, and I'm hoping that this was just "one of those things", that happens for no apparent reasons...
...and then stops!

[SNOOPY]

Nope, they do not revert. If you leave the bike in gear it will not start unless you hold in the clutch. If you have the bike in neutral the bike will start without making you hold in the clutch. However the brake position on the manual trans does not matter for starting, it doesn't care weather the brake is depressed or parking break is on it will still start, at least on the 08 not sure if they changed anything since. I've done the same thing myself, went to start my bike which was in gear and got nothing, then realized I forgot to hold in the clutch. I have several manual vehicals and holding in clutch is like second nature, however every once in a while you have an off day.

Thanks for the explanation, wasn't sure if it was the same as many other type bikes...sounds like it is.

[bobnaquin]

I could have forgotten to hold in the clutch, but I'm sure it was in "N". You all are right though - it has been a long winter. Hopefully we will all be back in synch before long. Whatever it was, I thank all who responded. Since it has not happened again, I'll just mark it up as experience and move on to another event. Thanks again everybody...

I have had this problem intermittently with mine. I always get it started on the second try. I have replaced relays to no avail. I believe that it is because I don't have the clutch all the way in on the first try. This has been a baffling problem for me but then it always starts on the second try. If you ever get closure on this let me know.

[Bob Denman]

Bob,
If there's a "lock-out", on the clutch; is there any way to make an adjustment to it?