My baby Having trouble starting

[pLk]

So I just recently changed my battery out and I'm testing for a current leek.

So heres the problem the bike is struggling to start,


I push the button (its time to galvanize) and the engine starts clicking but it wont turn, some times if i keep pressing or holding it eventually starts but last time I had to push start it down a hill, It does time to time start on a dime, but other times mostly it doesnt, I just put 13k mile on it from my trip, but had no problems until i let it out for a week or so in the frost : ( (yeah talk shit hit me I deserve it I've abused my baby but she still loves me)


Possibilities I considered

-I'm really starting to think its the starter solenoid

-somethings draining the current so it doesnt have enough juice to start.

-Random reason i dont have knowledge about

Cheers

[bigbrit71]

Sounds like sprag clutch

[DanV990]

Bigbrit the sprag clutch is not the first conclusion you should be jumping to with the information he has provided. When diagnosing a problem start with the stuff that is more likely and is easy to eliminate with simple tests. It is much more likely that his battery is bad or he has a bad ground.

PLk is the clicking sound actually coming from the engine or is it coming from under the seat? If it is coming form under the seat it is the starter solenoid clicking due to low voltage. Symptoms of low voltage like you describe are usually attributable to a battery that is on its last legs or possibly a bad ground. Put a multimeter on the battery after fully charging it and measure the voltage during a few consecutive starting attempts. If the voltage drops below ~10.5V while cranking you know your battery needs replacing.

[velowood]

+1 on Dan's post. The solenoid is a good possibility, as is the battery. But corrosion on the terminals, or the ground, or the solenoid terminals, or the starter are also possible. And I have had starting problems because of a bad plug wire or old plugs too.

[Tuonington]

I had something similar a while back, worse when warm which I put down to the better compression of a hot engine!

Fitted a later version solonoid for a few more amps, also the terminal on the starter was pretty corroded and needed a clean. (be careful undoing it though, you can spin the stud and fubar the starter) No problems since..

[pLk]

So I just replaced my battery three days ago, So "clicking" is NOT really an accurate description, its the engine trying to turn but it wont. just keeps gasping like a donkey

[DanV990]

Did you measure the voltage while cranking or have the new battery load tested? Dealers have been known to sell bad batteries. In my book it is better to test the easy stuff like the battery before delving into replacing a part like the sprag clutch. However your description is now starting to sound more like the sprag may need attention, especially if the battery tests good. I am not exactly sure what a gasping donkey sounds like however.

[pLk]

Ok here im posting a video of me trying to start my bike http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8cZX8...ature=youtu.be The bike has around 24k miles on it

Thanks agian every one for the help much appreciated excpically since this is my main form of transportation and the sun is coming out soon.

[DanV990]

Did you have the cold start lever fully engaged? It sounds like it is turning over plenty fast, but it is not catching and then kicking back. Kicking back will eventually ruin your sprag. If the Cold start was fully engaged then give it a little extra throttle to clear out the raw fuel that is by now starting to flood it.

[pLk]

Some times it helps but even with the cold start lever it stalls like that

[DanV990]

You should always be using the cold start lever whenever the temp on the dash says cold. Do you do that every time on the first start attempt from cold? If not you are flooding the engine and making it that much harder for it to start. Once it floods a little you will need to give it a little extra throttle to clear the flood and it warms up a bit. A TPS check, TB synch, trim pot adjustment and a new set of plugs can't hurt either.
My bike was a hard starter with the old Akro chip I had in it. When I switched to a Gabro F255 chip with a dual link modified 2-1 pipe cold starting got 10 times easier, I just have to barely move the butterflies with the cold start lever and it starts right up even on the coldest days.

[MaxGordon7]

Learned that the hard way, worked great all last year and even for the first few times this year. Then i had problems last week and burned up the solenoid. I thought that the lever added fuel so after it didnt start up right away, thinking i flooded it, backing off the lever. Now i put it full open(cold start lever) and it starts great. I really should do a tps check, tb synch and pot adjustment but it runs so well with the gab v5 chip. I just have a can and chip all other is stock.