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How to start a LC4 without battery? How to start a LC4 without battery?
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  #1  
Old 19 Mar 2003
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How to start a LC4 without battery?
Hi All

Does anybody know how to do this? I mean no (or completely dead) battery and with only the tools/stuff you have with you on a overland trip, no second bike/battery.

Cheers, Kudi
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Old 20 Mar 2003
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Never tried this with a KTM, but it's worth a go. Worked on Aprilia Rally 650, XT600, and various XRs:

Ignition on.
Choke on.
Put the bike in 3rd gear.
Hold in clutch.
Push bike as fast as possible.
Let out clutch (quickly!)
Pull it back in when engine fires.

The selection of 3rd gear is essential for large singles, or the wheel will just lock up. Get the clutch in quickly or the bike might ride away from you!

HTH
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  #3  
Old 20 Mar 2003
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POB: Your method is certainly working even with a KTM ;-)

But my question wasn't precise enough: How to start a KTM LC4 Adventure (which has got a e-starter and a kickstarter) having a dead battery by kicking it. Pushing it on soft ground like pist/desert will be very very hard, IMHO inpossible especialy if you're by yourself.

The problem is the CDI (ignition-box) which needs initial power to run at all. There seem to be difference between the models up to 99 and the later ones (the older have a plug to switch off the lights and something called "Battery-Eliminator" which I still couldn't figure out what it is dooing...).

Any suggestions?

Cheers, Kudi
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Old 23 May 2003
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Hi Kudi, One thing i did with a battery (open plug type) one time stuck in the middle of NT was to pour out the battery fluid ,boil it , then put it back in and yar-****en-who it started.
But now days most batterys are sealed. But its still and option rather than death.
I have a 98 ktm adv and have heard that if the capatitor shits it self this will disable the charging circuit.
cheers gazza


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Old 23 May 2003
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Paractially speaking, you may want to reconsider whether you want to be travelling alone on a remote desert piste...

But if you have a passenger, they could hold the bike up for you while you kick it.

If you're used to e-starting a bike and haven't really figured out the best way to kick start it, you ought to - most people can figure out tricks to get their bikes started quickly which typically involve leaning the bike over, kicking it through with the decompression lever held in a few times before trying to kick it...

Many bikes that come with less-than-optimal jetting from the factory can be hard to kickstart. Even if the bike runs okay, check aroudn to see if your jetting can be improved, which can make a bike start MUCH easier.

As for the ignition box, not sure exactly what you mean - I would really doubt that KTM would design it so that it wouldn't start at all if the battery was dead, though I have heard of stranger things.

[This message has been edited by wbagwell (edited 22 May 2003).]
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Old 24 May 2003
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My 520 exc starts real easy on the kickstarter, kick the bike over until you feel the motor coming onto compression (the kickstarter will offer more resistance at tdc) then pull the decompressor in and nudge the motor over tdc, release decomp and kick, if you have a reasonably fast tickover you don't need to touch anything, throttle or choke and the bike should start after three or four attempts. I had a Duke (lc4) before and that started easy also but I never tried to kick either bike with a completely dead or disconnected battery. My advice would be to try it at home before you embark on the trip, if it works, try it again and again until you know the exact technique, nothing worse than kicking shit out a bike which refuses to start when you are in a hot climate wearing heavy motorcycle gear.
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Old 12 Jul 2003
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take the headlight wires and rear light wires off or remove the bulbs that way you get more power to the battery
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