Bike won't start/plugs were black

[nsrider]

Hi, I don't have an FZ6R yet but joined here because I was looking at getting one for my wife who currently rides a CBR125.
Anyway we went to look at an 09 with just 800kms on it but it would not start, it turned over fine but would not fire up.
The bike had been sitting in the barn for most of the summer. We removed the plug's to inspect them and they were black. So my question is what would cause the plugs to blacken on what is practically a new bike.
The owner is going to get some new plugs and see if the bike will start.

 

[stevet]

Black plugs show a very rich air fuel mixture. I don't know the reason why. Make sure the kill switch isn't engaged. Sometimes just taking the plugs out and cleaning if necessary and drying them out will help. Crank the engine with a plug grounded to the engine and make sure you have spark. If all else fails you will probably need to take the bike in.

 

[MikeN02]

If it was just sitting in the barn all summer without being fired up check the battery as well. My friend's R1 was left on it's stands while he took a business trip to China for a month.

Came back and the battery was dead.

 

[owldaddy]

Barns are great places to find rodents. I'd check the air filter. It may look homey to a rodent. I have seen air boxes full of nesting material. That would cause it to block air and richen the mixture.

 

[stevet]

Owldaddy that was an excellent idea. I remember seeing rodent nests in air filter housings on cars that were parked on farms and ranches. The other thing they did is chew all the wiring. Their teeth never stop growing so they have to chew all the time. Wire insulation and plastic seem to be delicacies to them. They can squeeze into very tight places because their skeletons are flexible cartilage.

 

[owldaddy]

The other thing they did is chew all the wiring. Their teeth never stop growing so they have to chew all the time. Wire insulation and plastic seem to be delicacies to them

stevet, I have a friend who found that his Corvette wasn't immune to wire eating rodents. It cost him big $$$$ to get that beautiful car put back together. He also had a mouse die in the A/C....... That might have been worse then having to replace the wiring. That car smelled really bad for a long time.

 

[CtrlAltDl]

Be sure to dump the fuel and put fresh fuel in.

 

[stevet]

Ctrlaltdl also came up with a good one about replacing old fuel that has been sitting for many months. You can use the same fuel if you added a fuel stabilizer to the tank when you stored it.