2014 NC700XD Ca-chunk, ca-chunk sound when the ignition is turned to "on" not start.

[davidc83]

Now, you have to figure out why did the engine shut off in the first place....unless maybe you accidently blipped the kill switch....which would have shut down the engine and get it stuck in 2nd gear....

 

[frog13]

If this was already answered, apologies.
How old is the battery?. I understand testing under a load but, out on the road running , there's a alot of differences in load vs on a test bench, IMO .
I'm aware the OP found the "stuck in 2nd gear" situation / followed bike manuals advice. Ride on

 

[Old Rider]

I don't know why it died. Even stuck in 2nd it should be able to accelerate. Maybe there is a safety interface that killed it. This has been a very reliable bike and a pleasure to ride so I am glad to have this squared away and now have the knowledge of what to do if it reoccurs. Thanks again for everyone's input.

 

[the Ferret]

After reading suggestions that I look at transmission issues instead of starter problems, I looked at the display and saw that the transmission gear indicator read "2". So it was stuck in 2nd gear and that is why it wouldn't start. I actually read the owner's manual and on page 100 it gave several things to try. One of them was to turn it on and rock the bike back and forth as someone suggested in this post. There was a clunk when I did this and the issue cleared up. One of the other suggestions in the manual was that You apply the brake when trying to start. I wasn't able to test this but it is something to keep in mind. It would have saved me a tow charge. Thanks to everyone who responded to my post. It is good to have backup.

would this be a good time to do the DCT reset?

 

[dduelin]

would this be a god time to do the DCT reset?

I don't think it's any way related. The initialization reset is for calibrating new clutch packs although it has assumed magical curing powers. (sarcasm mine)

You will find if you cut the ignition of a DCT bike while moving at speed it will roll to a stop in gear. This is similar to turning the key off of a manual bike and holding in the clutch in until the bike rolls to a stop. If it is still in 6th gear when stopped there is no way for the rider to find N without rolling the bike back and forth a little to let the dogs on the gears line up so he/she can sequentially choose 5, 4, 3, 2, N. The DCT uses a servo motor to move the shift forks the exact same way as the rider's foot does. In this thread the bike cut off for some reason and the bike stopped moving while in 2nd or 3rd gear and the servo motor clunk-clunk-clunked trying unsucessfully to find N. It might have found 2nd from 3rd but no more.

On my own bike I experimented with this a few times to see what would happen. If I was in 6th and flipped off the kill switch the bike would downshift 2 or 3 gears as it slowed but would stop in gear. It's not coasting in gear with the clutch engaged because it needs ~80 psi oil pressure to hold the clutch plates together so it's sort of in quasi-neutral though still in a gear. Loss of oil pressure - the clutch disengages. At a stop, flipping the switch to Run and trying the starter it would not work - it has to be in N to engage the starter. There is an interlock that won't let the start button spin the starter if the bike is in gear but it couldn't find it's way to N without help from rocking the bike back and forth a little.

 

[the Ferret]

Ah gotcha, so it isnt a DCT error, it is generally more a case of operator error.

 

[dduelin]

Well, we don't know why the the engine quit.

 

[the Ferret]

Well, we don't know why the the engine quit.

Not in this case, but generally

 

[TheIronWarrior]

Bike stopping in gear could be user error or equipment failure and is the root cause of the problem.
Bike stopping in gear aside, everything else is operating as designed.
I imagine the drivetrain wouldn't appreciate being started in gear.

 

[OK Lyle]

FWIW, I have a 2014 DCT and didn’t realize that I needed to shift to neutral when turning the engine off; the sound described is EXACTLY what my bike does/did when it was stopped in 1st gear. Still trying to break that habit... I’ve also replaced the battery when it was still tested ok but weak due to not starting reliably. Sometimes did sometimes didn’t.

 

[Red Rider]

FWIW, I have a 2014 DCT and didn’t realize that I needed to shift to neutral when turning the engine off; the sound described is EXACTLY what my bike does/did when it was stopped in 1st gear. Still trying to break that habit... I’ve also replaced the battery when it was still tested ok but weak due to not starting reliably. Sometimes did sometimes didn’t.

Neutral before shutting off saves some work for the battery the next time you turn the key on. And if the battery happens to choose that next start-up to say “nope, it ain’t happenin’”, at least you’ll already be in neutral and able to move easily.

 

[SoopaBee]

Almost this exact same issue happened to me (2014 DCT). Yesterday, I was cruising along at highway speed. Display said that I was in 6th gear. Suddenly the bike lost power and then shut off. I coasted to a stop. Once stopped, I turned off the key (and I'm pretty sure I hit the kill switch...more on this at the end of my post). Turned the key back on, put the bike into run mode. The display showed that the bike was now in 5th gear. I could hear the "cha chunk" sound described from the original poster. Sounded like it was coming from the right side of the engine close to the dipstick. I tried to "shift" the bike to neutral using the mode selector switch (the one where you select D, S, or N). No luck. Ended up calling my local Honda motorcycle dealer/service garage and they suggested the rocking back and forth method. No luck (but admittedly, it was hard rocking it back and forth on the side of the highway with my bike fully loaded down for a week's long road trip). They suggested holding the front brake lever while trying to start. It worked like the charm! The bike shifted on its own to neutral and the bike was purring like normal. So while the problem was "solved," it doesn't explain the bike suddenly shutting down while I was riding it. I have played the ride over in my head wondering if I accidentally hit the kill switch. I honestly don't remember this happening but certainly it could be a possibility. As the original poster mentioned, at least I have a solution if it happens again.

 

[mrbios]

If this was already answered, apologies.
How old is the battery?. I understand testing under a load but, out on the road running , there's a alot of differences in load vs on a test bench, IMO .
I'm aware the OP found the "stuck in 2nd gear" situation / followed bike manuals advice. Ride on

Good points and you should know TLDR - means Too Long Didn't Read - what I do is press ctrl+f on my keyboard and search for a work like "old" or "battery" you can also click the magnify glass icon (see attached picture).

Next, LOAD - I believe there two forms of load at work here - mechanical & electrical. The bike was left in 2nd gear and IF parked on a small hill this increases the mechanical load on the transmission which in turn increases the mechanical effort needed by the automatic shifter to move back in to neutral and that means extra electrical load is placed on the battery - but if the engine starts fine which is a much larger electrical load then the issue is not the battery didn't have enough power but the electrical gear shifter motor is not powerful enough.

SOLUTION: always park in NEUTRAL and set Parking brake. Just because you can get away with parking the bike in gear - it's not worth the cost of placing unnecessary wear on the shifter motors and being towed. Time to get back to "best practices" so you can tell other DCT riders "oh I had that happen once but never again".

For What It's Worth: FWIW - I have always parked all my motorcycles (and manual shift cars) in neutral with the kill switch in the ON position. Only time I park in gear is on a hill.