starting weirdness

[stew4444]

Hey guys, thought i would run this by the forum before i go to a dealer.

My bike (02 RSV Mille) has been giving me some intermittent starting problems. Every once and a while, i will be driving for a while and do something like stop for gas. This is what happened to me today...Fired up with no problem when i left the house. drove for a while, stop for gas. Then when i go to fire it up, it rolls over a half a turn or so, pauses for half a second, then slowly rolls over. At this point, i know from past history, that i have one more shot to fire it. Today, It wouldn't roll. we were in a shitty neighbor hood, and didnt want to leave the bike, so luckily i had a buddy there to help me bump start into second. hate to do that, but it seemed the only option. there seems to be no rhyme or reason to this happening.

Now this is a new bike to me. I swapped out the battery, and changed the oil so far. going to swap the spark plugs and air filter this weekend, and im considering popping in a new solenoid. I have read a little about this sprag clutch...but working on that seems out of my league.

also, i live in an apartment, so i can't leave it plugged into a tender all the time...i have to pull it and charge the battery in my house, so i don't do it that often.

any ideas on what is going on, or how to increase starting power before i pony up a bunch of cash at a dealer?

thanks!

- will

[kzmille]

The symptoms you describe sound like a weak battery. This could be the result of low charging voltage. There is a known issue with the wiring between the alternator and rectifier on these bikes. There are two connectors in this circuit that have resistance and cause low charging voltage. Ongoing trouble with this leads to a damaged starter relay and sometimes sprag clutch damage. At this point I would say your sprag is fine. Most people leave these bikes on a tender whenever not in use to avoid problems as there is a small constant drain on the battery by the electronics to maintain all your preferred instrument settings.

Use search for 'brown connector' and 'starter relay' to find many threads on starting and charging problems. Cures for this problem have been thoroughly worked out and are in the archives. Charge and load test the battery and make sure your charging voltage is up where it needs to be. Also check that all the battery cable connections are tight at the frame ground, battery, starter relay, and starter motor.

[soofle616]

I learned the hard way (as have many others) that a fresh battery is key. The aftermarket started relay I got from AF1 seems to have helped a lot too. I have yet to do anything with the brown connector but haven't had any starting issues lately (except when i was playing with the lights for about an hour and killed the battery

[hank]

The 14 amp battery does a much better job than the 12 amp - do a search to get more info on battery choices, there are many threads with excellent info.

Two big pistons take a lot of power to get moving and the drain is intense - also, the electrics require a very small, but constant drain on the battery. FWIW - I kept the stock battery (14 amp) on a Battery Tender and lasted over 7 years...

[Brucetafer]

my dealership put in a bigger battery, the stock holder is not on there anymore, but it sure turns my engine like nobodys business!

[ThEGr33k]

Sometimes my bike can striggle if its starting to compress a cylinder when you start it. Once it gets the compression out of the way it get momentum and has no issues.

I also think a stronger battery will aid you.

[stew4444]

There is a known issue with the wiring between the alternator and rectifier on these bikes. There are two connectors in this circuit that have resistance and cause low charging voltage. Ongoing trouble with this leads to a damaged starter relay and sometimes sprag clutch damage.

is this wiring upgradeable? or easy for a novice to work on? Going to get started on the little stuff, and see what happens from here.

Thank you so much for all the tips guys!

-will

[kzmille]

Replacing the connectors is pretty easy. There are two connectors of two different types. A round barrel connector near the engine and the infamous brown connector at the rectifier. The 04 and on bikes have two of the brown connectors and recent bikes just have one. I still have the barrel connector on my 01 and have not had any trouble with it but others have had them melt.

Here is how I replaced the brown connector. A little unorthodox but it was easy and works perfectly. That thread has a lot of information on testing the system and options for repair. It's in the 04 forum and there are some differences between the 04's and the earlier bikes but most of the information still applies.

[NorCalRSV]

Hey guys...how much of a stronger battery are we talking?

[velowood]

the 12 amp battery is the same thing used in vespas. I'm saying this not so you can go pull one out of a vespa, but just for comparison.

[kzmille]

Although I agree that a 14ah battery can be helpful, the 12ah has always worked fine for me. My original lasted five years, I still have my original starter relay, and have had now problems with any part of the starting systems. The important thing is to keep the battery in top condition by keeping it on a battery maintainer when not in use. I replaced my original battery with a 12ah WestCo and the bike always starts instantly.