So after having my bike sit over the summer, it went from starting fine every time to not wanting to start. I've diagnosed the problem and tried to treat it, but I'm still getting issues.
The original problem was that the bike would make a single click sound when I pressed the starter button. I purchased a brand new battery but that didn't help at all. After researching, I tried shorting the two large terminals on the starter solenoid with a screwdriver. The bike started up just fine. I replaced the solenoid yesterday and the bike worked great. It started up with no issues.
Today, when I went to go ride, pressing the starter button did nothing. There was no sound from the starter at all. No click. After a couple of tries and rechecking all the switches (clutch, side-stand, ignition and engine cutoff) eventually the bike started. After lunch on the ride back, the bike refused to start at all forcing me to short the solenoid with a screwdriver so I could ride it home.
I'm at a loss now. Shorting the solenoid seems to be the only way I get get the bike running. When I do so, the bike is great, but this is still a major issue. Any ideas or hints for me? I apologize for the wall of text, I'm trying not to leave any details out.
- New Battery
- New Starter Solenoid, only worked a few times
- Not even a click sound when the starter is pressed
Broken starter button? Or maybe one of the safety switched is broken, preventing the start button from working?
Went through the electrical system. It's the clutch switch that is bad. It only likes to work sometimes when I'm pulling the clutch in. Considering bypassing the switch. Any reason not to do so? I always pull the clutch in anyways when starting the bike.
I haven't yet gotten into a clutch switch, but can you tear it down and clean the contacts? Maybe bend them a bit so they will make contact? I suppose if you always use your clutch, and the other safety switches are working, it shouldn't be an issue if you bypass. Generally better to fix it the right way as soon as possible though. Having said this, I have bypassed clutch switches in cars and trucks due to the cost of replacing them.
Yeah, I might just bypass the switch temporarily since I'm about to switch out the controls soon. My biggest worry was that the clutch switch had always worked fine but after changing out the solenoid it suddenly went back. I'm wondering if there's other electrical gremlins in my system are are slowly taking out contacts one at a time...
I'd trust that clutch switch as far as I could throw it with both arms tied behind my back, you can bypass it by connecting the two wires together. Bet ten bucks it fixes your problem!