Total Motorcycle Community Forums

starter motor? or motorcycle engine? I'd like to know what it was for my further knowlege.

Bad or badly discharged battery. Typical car is about 12.5 before cranking but with ignition on and about 10V while cranking.
Not sure what a bike should be but I guarantee 6V isn't going to do the job.

(hope you can read thru the site issues)

I'm disoriented. I normally viewed via the 'latest posts' function and what's present now isn't quite the same.
Friday the 13th. Figures

If you are jumpering from a car battery the question is whether jumping to your battery provides enough power to spin the starter. With a good external battery you could just disconnect your battery from the system and clamp to your battery cables. But if it doesn't start this would leave some uncer...

Can't voltage test until I get it to crank and right now all it does is click after shutting down on me on interstate not trying to aggravate you just i cant even get it started even when i jump start it or anything but click sucks Edit- You can't start it if the battery is depleted. Did you rechar...

Bike has 47,000 miles on it and it got new solenoid and I cleaned all the grounds and cable wires all I got left to do is test the voltage That's a LOT of miles for a small bike! All those steps should eliminate the other possibilities. Another thing to be wary of is you probably need to recharge y...

(second try at response) Car starters usually have the relay ON the starter. Bikes do NOT. That your relay clicks says that the safety switches are working right. If they weren't the relay wouldn't shift. Jumpering power to the starter and the starter rolls says - your starter is fine. Clicking rela...

Danielboone wrote:I also got told it could be the clutch safety switch, kickstand safety switch how true is that jw waiting om body get here

No. That's almost as bad as suggesting that your tire pressure is too low.
That your starter CLICKS says those switches are just fine.

You still need a service manual.

I hope your buddy understands that motorcycles don't usually start charging the battery until the engine RPMs are up quite a ways. That's different from how cars usually are. Service manual should tell you what voltage you'll see at what RPM.

Thats is true i put my new battery on and it dies fast do you know what help charge it bc this bike dont have a alternator It has a electric regulator A regulator is a device that controls charging. If you have a regulator, you have something that's designed to charge the battery (there are excepti...

My best guess is that your battery is not being charged. A few simple tests with a voltmeter would give good information to prove or disprove my guess.

You need to have someone SHOW YOU how to use a voltmeter to do those simple tests.

Upside down oil filter. I'm out. Too messy.

Having read the manuals it seems like a seal driver tool is necessary and often the manual suggests using a cast-off fork leg or something like that for the job. Since I have no fork legs to spare I take the fork leg to a shop. This saves on the disassembly labor and I don't have to search high and ...

Service manuals often have the same info plus a whole lot more. If I had to choose one or the other I'd go with the service manual.

That's the sort of thing that I write down in my own service history logbook as I do the job.

My Jeeps are the worst. They are a mix of both Metric and SAE fasteners. Sometimes I'll record the combination of socket, u-joint, extensions and ratchet handle used if it's an especially ridiculous access.

Quick internet search indicates that only the rear shock is adjustable. The fronts can be changed by using different weight fork oil to slow or quicken action over bumps. Springs can be changed inside the fork leg if needed to get a lighter or heavier spring rate. Neither of these changes is especia...

Chrome polish?
When I bought my BMW long ago this was one of the questions but the answer in the BMW world is - live with it or polish nearly continuously.

A subsequent thought. My 1st motorcycle was a 1979 Suzuki. It used a points type ignition system.
Your 1980 might also use points. If they are on the bike they should be checked or replaced. Certainly they should be examined for condition, dwell, and correct timing.

The coil is just a voltage converter from 12V to 12,000V. It is excited by the ignition triggering system. Corroded connections or weak output from there would turn into lower spark voltage. My old man who taught me a lot about motors had a saying " If it isn't running right- check the ignition. If ...

If the plugs are gapped too wide you may get misfiring when the cylinders are filling under full power load. Air and gas is a better insulator than vacuum so the spark can't jump as far under full cylinder fill (full load). Weak wires could give similar symptoms as energy can leak off thru deteriora...