Motorcycle problem with starting :-/

[Yohan]

Looked like a great day for riding, so I got all my gear, sat on the bike after dragging her out of the garage. Everything's great- Put up the kickstand, pressed the starter--  but it didn't work! SOmething had to wrong, so I tried again, and again, but it won't start. It whines a little bit when I press it, followed by a series of clicks. I have no idea what is wrong! I just refueled it yesterday and it was running fine! Checked oil already. Anyone have ideas? Could it be the batteries?

[werase643]

with the given info...probably the batt.

[Kerry]

Your battery is not delivering enough amps to turn over the motor.

If you locked the handlebars when you put the bike away yesterday, you may have turned the key one position too far - to the "Park" position.  In that position the taillight stays on ... and eventually drains your battery.

If you're sure you DIDN'T do this, then it may be time to invest in a new battery.  If you MAY have done the "dreaded PARK trick", try putting the battery on a charger for a few hours.  Or have someone give you a jump start and go for a good long ride to recharge the battery.

[werase643]

remember when jump starting a bike with a car.....NEVER!!!!!!! have the car running cars charge at a higher voltage and fry bike volt regs.

[Yohan]

Well, I was taking some pictures with the digi-cam yesterday and I left the headlights on. Stupid idea :-p I bump started it- great- it was going, I stopped and with the clutch pulled in, revved the engine like a mad man. Shut it off, and now it's dead again! Gah! What am I doing wrong? I just gave up and borrowed a battery charger from a neighbor

[snapper]

Smart choice.  Charge her up nice with a trickle charge and she will be a happy camper!
:mrgreen:

[Juanfer]

does anybody know the right way to jump a bike battery with a car? is it possible?

[dmp221]

I actually did this last summer after I did the parking-light-left-on-by-mistake trick...for 11 hours while working  :x ; I rolled the bike next to a friend with a car and cables...told them to run their engne about 5 minutes...then cut the engine...we connected all cables and I started the GS and IMMEDIATELY had my friend remove the cables from the car, as I did from the bike.  It worked fine, no problems at all in 1 year.

[brandiwine]

good to know.  what is the reason for running the car for 5 mijutes first? does the car battery alone not put out enough power?  

brandi

[werase643]

the car batt is fine alone
cars charge at 14-15.5volts
bikes at 13-13.5 volts
the voltage reg tries to bring the big car batt(alt) down to 13 and fries
as stated earlier....never have the car running!!!!

[JohNLA]

I did the parking light thing for the first time last week and didn't catch it for 9 hours.  I don't know if my 1 and 1/2 year old battery is really strong or if JeffD's LED lights hardly drain the battery but she cranked 1st try. Probably the lights.

[Kerry]

the car batt is fine alone

Yep.  If the car's battery is strong enough to crank over its 4- to 8-cylinder engine, it should be able to crank our little 2-cylinder jobbie with no problems.

The process CAN be a little inconvenient: the big clamps on automotive jumper cables have a hard time getting a grip on the motorcycle battery terminals, plus the positive terminal has a soft plastic hood over it.  If a friend is helping you, one of you can just touch the ends of the jumper cables to the right spots while the other does the clutch/starter button thing on the GS.  Of course, you can clamp the negative cable to just about anything metal on the bike.

Since I have more than one motorcycle in my shed, I went ahead and bought a set of motorcycle jumper cables.  The clamps are the right size, so I can jump one bike from another by myself!

I did the parking light thing for the first time last week and didn't catch it for 9 hours.  I don't know if my 1 and 1/2 year old battery is really strong or if JeffD's LED lights hardly drain the battery but she cranked 1st try.  Probably the lights.

"Yep" again.  Those LEDs draw next to NO current, so you should be able to leave that taillight on for a DAY or two (or more?) without noticing....

[Rashad]

Well, you shouldnt have to jumpstart a bike.. EVER. Roll or push start it in 6th. Its very easy. Then let it run for a long time to charge up the battery again. If that doestn work it could be the alternator or battery.