It was SSBR (Second Sunday Breakfast Ride) for NorCal. A couple hour ride up Hwy 1 North of S.F. Up Mount Tam, past Tomales Bay and then turning inland to wind up at Petaluma for lunch at one of these fancy food truck places in Petaluma. Mostly 2nd and 3rd gear work except when you hit a straight piece and try to catch up. Bike is performing beautifully other than I think I might need to go in and check that the fairing mounts might need tightening after bouncing around on some o the rougher spots. So we sit and have lunch and talk for an hour. Soon enough there are only three bikes besides myself (out of 36 or so, never did get an accurate count). So I get suited up, turn the key on and hit the starter button.

Engine turns but won't start. I check all the electrical parts, kill switch, main key, fuses, and push on the computer connector. Still no go. Panicking, it's a long walk home, I double check everything and hit the starter until I'm afraid I'll kill the battery. Another rider, Charlie Sheen, comes over and comments that he smells gas. Could it be flooded? Can a K75 with its computer controlled injectors FLOOD?? Not like the old carburetors. But at Charlie's urging we try bump starting the bike. Push and then pop it into 2nd gear. Wozza, it starts but immediately dies. Reposition the bike in the parking lot and give it another bump with Charlie pushing but with my hand OFF the throttle. Yessir it starts and I leave it running while I get re-dressed and take off for home before anything else can go wrong. Scared silly I ride it home  as fast as possible. Once home I can't replicate the problem. In 164800 miles it's the first time I've experienced this. Electrical problems are beginning to happen but flooding? I'm not aware of that as an issue.  Has this happened to anyone else. Is it indicative that there are other problems that should be checked over?

thanks

I've flooded my brick a couple times, usually by inadvertently opening the throttle when pressing the start button.  

What I think happens is counterintuitive, the engine gets too much air and fails to fire because of it.  Because it doesn't fire to burn what fuel is being injected the plugs get wet and won't fire while the injectors keep pumping more fuel into the cylinders.

My solution is to let the engine sit for a couple minutes while I unplug the tank connector to disable the fuel pump.  With the fuel pump disabled, I can crank the engine with the throttle closed to blow the fuel out of the cylinders and let the plugs fire again.  After 10 seconds or so of cranking the fuel remaining will fire a couple times and the engine will die.  Reconnect the tank connector and restart.  I've had to do this twice now and both times it worked.  

Of course, if you have someone else to push, the bump start is easier.

Point-Seven-five wrote:I've flooded my brick a couple times, usually by inadvertently opening the throttle when pressing the start button. 

Ooh! that is so helpful to know. The other alternative is that I somehow had picked up water in the tank and a two hour ride hadn't gotten it out. I'm going to test your suggestion as a theory tomorrow to see if I can replicate the problem. For some reason I've never had that happen before. Just lucky I suppose.

Vic bike was flooding due to a pin in one of the connectors under the tank had come apart ever so slighty

Matthew-Brisbane wrote:Vic bike was flooding due to a pin in one of the connectors under the tank had come apart ever so slighty

Now I know I've got to follow up that course in how to understand Australian English on youtube.  But what is "Vic Bike"?? I can follow that it was caused by the tank connectors coming apart. Point-Seven-five's explanation of how to disconnect the fuel pump made sense to me. But I'm not following Mathew-Brisbane's comment.

There is a electrical connector under the tank that goes between the temperature sensor and the  FI computer. One of the pins had a broken locating tang that allowed it  push out when  pushing the connector together. Vic was the owner of the bike.
Regards Martin.