I am having issues with starting my bike. I have replaced the battery, checked the battery connections and all that jazz, but to no avail.

I am wondering where the starter might be so I can take a better look at it. [edit] I have found the starter, but I can't seemt o take it out of the bike...I whacked it a couple of times to loosen anything up, but that didn't matter much [/edit]

When I try to start the bike, all I get is a bit of a regular starting sound, but then all I get is clicking. Fuel isn't an issue either, I can jump the bike, and all is good. I even replaced the 20A fuse in the terminal relay assembly, but that didn't do the trick either.


Any info would be greatly appreciated.   :dunno:

Quote from: GSRiderI am having issues with starting my bike. I have replaced the battery, checked the battery connections and all that jazz, but to no avail.

I am wondering where the starter might be so I can take a better look at it. [edit] I have found the starter, but I can't seemt o take it out of the bike...I whacked it a couple of times to loosen anything up, but that didn't matter much [/edit]

When I try to start the bike, all I get is a bit of a regular starting sound, but then all I get is clicking. Fuel isn't an issue either, I can jump the bike, and all is good. I even replaced the 20A fuse in the terminal relay assembly, but that didn't do the trick either.

If it starts fine with a jump then you either have a marginal connection somewhere or your battery is not properly charged - most likely a bad battery or charging system - but you cannot rule out a marginal starter relay.  Check that by jumping the terminals (bypassing the relay) with a screwdriver.  Check all the connections - remove/clean/re-attach everything between the battery and the starter.  Do not forget the ground connections.


Any info would be greatly appreciated.   :dunno:

Quote from: GSRiderWhen I try to start the bike, all I get is a bit of a regular starting sound, but then all I get is clicking.

This is the classic symptom of a dead/dying battery.  I realize that you replaced the battery, but it sounds like it needs to be charged up anyway.  The fact that you get a "regular starting sound" tells me that the starter motor is working fine.  The clicking tells me that there's enough "juice" to actuate the starter relay, but no longer enough to turn the motor over.

Quote from: GSRiderI can jump the bike, and all is good.

Do you mean you can start the bike by hooking jumper cables from a car battery to the bike battery?  If so, then this points to a bad (bike) battery even more.

But if you're saying that you can start the bike by rolling it and then letting out the clutch ... hmmm.  That still wouldn't rule out a bad battery, but it WOULD tell you that the ignition system is fine.  (Whew!)

What makes you suspect the starter motor itself?

I was suspecting the starter because the battery was just recently replaced.

But after getting a hydrometer, I found that my brand new battery is dead. So now the battery is hooked up to the charger. I better get that battery back to life, or else heads are going to roll at the bike shop where I bought the battery. (I've had MANY issues with the service at Tri-City Cycle in their service department and Sales guys, but thier products were always good...up to this point.)

At any rate, in a few more hours, I'll find out if the charging thing will work out. I'll keep you guys informed.

I jumped the bike via jumper cables off my car. I didn't try to bump start it...I'm too damn lazy to do it that way  :lol:

If the bike starts (using the starter) with jumper cables, but not with the bike's battery, then there is definitely a battery problem.

Many batteries are sold flat or dead.   You definitely want to slow-charge a new battery for a day.  If the battery _was_ charged when you bought it, but is no-longer charged, then I would be sure to check what voltage you have when the bike is running.  It's possible that you're not properly charging the battery (or overcharging, although then I'd expect to find the battery low on water).

Ahhh...that there might be the issue at hand for sure.

I had them charge the battery for me, and they only charged it for 3 hours.  :x

Hopefully, this won't shorten the life of the battery  

12 hours at 1 Amp is good, 24 hours at 500 mA is better

Update:

The battery is fully charged now, and yes, the bike started on the first try. Now that that issue is done, I want to pull the stator assembly off this winter just to make sure all of that is looking good. I have dropped the bike on both sides, and hell, who knows? Maybe a magnet got shattered, and this is helping my battery die a little quicker.

Anyways, thanks for the help guys :mrgreen: