Brewers Whoop said:
How widespread is this issue with Gen 1's? I'm thinking of pulling the trigger on a '13, which I've chosen for numerous reasons not least of which is the absence of reliability issues compared with, ahem, some other popular 1200cc adventure bikes.
But just found this thread, and must admit it's made me a little bit lairy. I ride alone often, in (by UK standards) sparsely populated areas. Intermittent show stopping probably electronic issues of no clearly recognised cause are a worry. Am I right to be concerned, or are these classic symptoms of internet-induced anxiety!
A few bikes had the issue, but not the majority and most folks never had a hard start. When you see a thread like this here or on a forum for any other machine, they become magnets for the few people who focus on that one topic. I'm not saying it wasn't an issue for some, but of the thousands and thousands of these bikes built, look for how many of these are posts by the same people. FJRs had the grounding spider and key switches, Harleys had a cam issue, BMWs...ummm you get the idea.
That said, if you go back through the thread, there shouldn't be a worry about becoming stranded. Having a healthy battery means a lot and we've learned to replace the OEM 12S model of battery with the bigger capacity in the 14S. When going to start the bike, let the instrument needle do it's full sweep and the fuel pump sound to end before pushing the starter button. When the bike does start, don't shut it off right away, let the idle stabilize or even let it run for a minute. Not doing these is a way to increase the odds of a hard start the next time. Even if you force the bike into a hard start, it'll almost always clear and start on the next attempt by holding the throttle in the full open position while cranking.
For the couple bikes which STILL have an issue, the owners have gotten them to start, as listed in these pages.