Losing my mind here over starting problems.

matthewaurand

matthewaurand

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Long story short, I bought a 2006 busa a few days ago. Everything was great until I rode to my buddies house and then we rode to cycle gear and back. It started to rain so I went to start my bike and it wouldn't turn over. I walked it into the garage and after about 20 min I tried to start it again and gave it a little gas and it started.

Next day I started it in the morning with no issue and rode around a bit. I live on the main road down in Mobile, AL so it's a lot of lights(stop and go traffic) everything was good until I stopped at a coffee place and ate and when I came back to the bike it wouldn't crank, so I let it sit in the parking lot for a few hours and came back. Same issue. But now the battery was losing charge. I went out and got a new battery with hopes I could at least get the bike on to get it home, still nothing. After awhile instead of trying to crank the motor it just started sounding like the gears were spinning and not even trying to crank the motor.

Today, I got under the bike and made sure the starter was working. It spins clockwise when I hit the start button. I opened up the starter case on the right side of the bike where the idle gear and starter clutch are and inspected all of the gears. Nothing seems to be damaged from a visual inspection. I pulled the idle gear out and spun the starter clutch with my finger and it will spin counterclockwise but not the opposite direction which would make me think it's good. So I reassembled everything and tried to start the bike up with no luck. Am I missing something here? Could the starter clutch be bad even though it spins one direction like it's supposed to? Any input would be greatly appreciated, I'm tearing my hair out over this because I'm worried it may be a bigger issue I'm missing.
 
matthewaurand said:
Long story short, I bought a 2006 busa a few days ago. Everything was great until I rode to my buddies house and then we rode to cycle gear and back. It started to rain so I went to start my bike and it wouldn't turn over. I walked it into the garage and after about 20 min I tried to start it again and gave it a little gas and it started.

Next day I started it in the morning with no issue and rode around a bit. I live on the main road down in Mobile, AL so it's a lot of lights(stop and go traffic) everything was good until I stopped at a coffee place and ate and when I came back to the bike it wouldn't crank, so I let it sit in the parking lot for a few hours and came back. Same issue. But now the battery was losing charge. I went out and got a new battery with hopes I could at least get the bike on to get it home, still nothing. After awhile instead of trying to crank the motor it just started sounding like the gears were spinning and not even trying to crank the motor.

Today, I got under the bike and made sure the starter was working. It spins clockwise when I hit the start button. I opened up the starter case on the right side of the bike where the idle gear and starter clutch are and inspected all of the gears. Nothing seems to be damaged from a visual inspection. I pulled the idle gear out and spun the starter clutch with my finger and it will spin counterclockwise but not the opposite direction which would make me think it's good. So I reassembled everything and tried to start the bike up with no luck. Am I missing something here? Could the starter clutch be bad even though it spins one direction like it's supposed to? Any input would be greatly appreciated, I'm tearing my hair out over this because I'm worried it may be a bigger issue I'm missing.
Click to expand...
Try jumping across the solenoid? Do you know the condition of battery?
 
Welcome !
A few questions . . .
When you push the starter button, what do you hear? A click and a whirring sound?
Have you checked the charge state of the new battery you installed? Is it fully charged?
Have you tried jump starting the bike with jumper leads or a jump pack?
Did you check the starter clutch bolt is not loose?
When the engine is running, have you checked the charging output voltage at the battery terminals with a volt meter?
 
Yes when I hold the clutch and hit the starter button I can hear the click and then a whirring sound, almost sounds like a cordless drill spinning. I did try jumping the bike as well but I get the same thing as before just a click and whirring sound.
 
Kiwi Rider said:
Welcome !
A few questions . . .
When you push the starter button, what do you hear? A click and a whirring sound?
Have you checked the charge state of the new battery you installed? Is it fully charged?
Have you tried jump starting the bike with jumper leads or a jump pack?
Did you check the starter clutch bolt is not loose?
When the engine is running, have you checked the charging output voltage at the battery terminals with a volt meter?
Click to expand...
Yes when I hold the clutch and hit the starter button I can hear the click and then a whirring sound, almost sounds like a cordless drill spinning. I did try jumping the bike as well but I get the same thing as before just a click and whirring sound.
 
matthewaurand said:
Yes when I hold the clutch and hit the starter button I can hear the click and then a whirring sound, almost sounds like a cordless drill spinning. I did try jumping the bike as well but I get the same thing as before just a click and whirring sound.
Click to expand...
When you took it out and spun it by hand did the gear move out when it spun? Did you do this by applying 12V to it? I'm still trying to determine solenoid health
 
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TallTom said:
When you took it out and spun it by hand did the gear move out when it spun? Did you do this by applying 12V to it? I'm still trying to determine solenoid health
Click to expand...
what he said... coz solenoid's can still make a click sound when you press the starter, but not actually shoot out and engage the gear if the thing's shagged.
 
TallTom said:
When you took it out and spun it by hand did the gear move out when it spun? Did you do this by applying 12V to it? I'm still trying to determine solenoid health
Click to expand...
Wait is the gear supposed to be stationary? Cause when I pulled it out I held the starter clutch by the central hub and spun the gear counter clockwise. The gear wouldn't spin the opposite way. The battery was reading at 12.08V last night when i checked it. The voltage dipped when I tried starting the bike. I don't remember off hand what the exact number was across the solenoid but I do know I was getting voltage when I was checking from the negative side of the battery to the side of the solenoid going to the starter.
 
matthewaurand said:
The battery was reading at 12.08V last night when i checked it.
Click to expand...

Near that 12 volt range, for the purposes of starting a vehicle, the battery is dead.

If you can find a date on the battery, and it indicates that it is a couple of years old, just replace it without further thought.

If you can charge it with a smart charger, and if it then stays near 12.7 volts, it could be fine. It may have been depleted from all of your testing. If the resting voltage, the voltage as you let it sit a while, does not go way back up, then it needs to be replaced.
 
Hayabusa Wannabe said:
Near that 12 volt range, for the purposes of starting a vehicle, the battery is dead.

If you can find a date on the battery, and it indicates that it is a couple of years old, just replace it without further thought.

If you can charge it with a smart charger, and if it then stays near 12.7 volts, it could be fine. It may have been depleted from all of your testing. If the resting voltage, the voltage as you let it sit a while, does not go way back up, then it needs to be replaced.
Click to expand...
Okay I'm going to pick up a charger today after work. But if I tried jumping it wouldn't that eliminate the main issue being the battery? Or would that still not be enough to start the bike if the battery is that dead?
 
matthewaurand said:
Okay I'm going to pick up a charger today after work. But if I tried jumping it wouldn't that eliminate the main issue being the battery? Or would that still not be enough to start the bike if the battery is that dead?
Click to expand...
I have never been able to jump start my 2009 using cables. Only time I was successful was with a jump pack.
 
matthewaurand said:
Okay I'm going to pick up a charger today after work. But if I tried jumping it wouldn't that eliminate the main issue being the battery? Or would that still not be enough to start the bike if the battery is that dead?
Click to expand...

There is a separate hardware issue from the battery. I am only advising on the battery condition and defer to the techs above for their hardware advice.

Also, try to never jump start a bike unless it is dark outside and zombies are chasing you. That would be the only good reason to jump start/bump start a bike. Jump starting excessively stresses the charging system. The charging systems on cars and trucks can handle this but think of bike charging systems as fragile to some degree.
 
Hayabusa Wannabe said:
There is a separate hardware issue from the battery. I am only advising on the battery condition and defer to the techs above for their hardware advice.

Also, try to never jump start a bike unless it is dark outside and zombies are chasing you. That would be the only good reason to jump start/bump start a bike. Jump starting excessively stresses the charging system. The charging systems on cars and trucks can handle this but think of bike charging systems as fragile to some degree.
Click to expand...
Okay gotcha. I will still get the charger today to make sure the battery is fully charged before further troubleshooting.
 
matthewaurand said:
So do you mean the starter clutch? Or the idle gear. I'm relatively new to this so I'm still trying to learn as I go, sorry if I'm not making much sense.
Click to expand...
I think we need to eliminate the obvious. Back to beginning. We need to know your battery is good first. Then we need to work the starter function. Will it start off a jump from another vehicle or another battery?
 
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