[McBiggity]

MY bike won't turn over- makes this nasty clicking sound. I just cleaned a nest out of the airbox so that's set for now.
How difficult is it to change a starter??? if that's what it is??

[Jank]

Originally posted by mcbgti
MY bike won't turn over- makes this nasty clicking sound. I just cleaned a nest out of the airbox so that's set for now.
How difficult is it to change a starter??? if that's what it is??

Like dead battery clicky noise??

[McBiggity]

well- I don't think it's the battery- my lights and evrything still work. It starts to turn over and then it just dies and makes a clicking noise. Could that be the battery???

[scootertrash]

Sounds like a classic case of a dying battery. Do you have a charger? Charge that baby up and give it another try...

[McBiggity]

nope- don't have a charger. Would it be best to buy a charger or just buy a new battery?

[oreo_n2]

get a charger. like a battery tender.


this wont be the last time you are faced with a dead battery if you plan on owning a motorcycle for any period of time.

[McBiggity]

any good place to pick one up? I'm near Worcester, MA

[snowborder]

just push start it and go for a LONG ride and don't shut it off until you get home. If that doesn't work... replace the battery....
oh yeah a battery tender wouldn't be a bad idea too for those days or places you can't push it.

[snowborder]

theres a nice Aprilia motorcycle shop behind Friendlys in Webster..... aka Webda.

[bemused]

hell, I think I've even seen Battery Tenders in Wal-Mart...

(you DO have Wal-Marts out there in Woostah, don'tcha? )

[Rye]

You can jump the bike off a car too. Just DON'T start the car. You'll fry the starter solenoid, it'll be too much juice. Run the bike for a while and if the battery isn't gonna hold a charge then it is crapped out. An el-cheapo Champion battery can be had at K-mart for under $20.

[JCsGrly]

yeah i got my battery charger at benny's of course josh still doesnt know what that is lol...

start with a charger/tender before you go and replace the battery - it could just need a good charging like everyone has said

[McBiggity]

thanks guys- I will pick up a charger today. We do have wal-marts here- It's amazing.

[hohum]

And even if you charge it and it won't start, starters are dirt simple to fix... more often then not, the starter motor isn't dead, its just gummed up. Usually you can take em apart, use some brake cleaner and elbow grease on brushes and brush contacts and they are good as new...

[McBiggity]

okay- so I charged the battery- It started a few times this morning then just died out. Rpm's just dropped and the engine stalled. And now it just won't turn over. Sounds like it want's to turn but it just doesn't. I'm getting frustrated- any ideas???

[Honclfibr]

Even after you rebuilt the carburetors?

[Degsy]

The battery is toast. Get a new one and you should be all set.

Derek

[McBiggity]

didn't rebuild the carbs. Wanted to test the battery theory first- I'll go pick up a new battery and see how that goes. Will keep ya'll posted. Thanks for all the help thus far.

[Degsy]

It is possible that the regulator/rectifier took out the battery, that happens sometimes. In that case you will have to replace the two TOGETHER as they can damage each other. If the bike has not been started for some time though, it's probably just the battery, especially if the battery froze during the winter.

Derek

[stoinkythepig]

Might be the differential fornicator. Meineke is having a sale all week so hurry on down.

[twrayinma]

flux capacitor?

[rocker]

Derek is good listen to him, when my bike wasn't working I knew it wasn't the battery and panicked it ended up being the circuit breaker or relay starter plug I am not sure which one because I just replaced them both while I had it apart. Derek knew it was one of them, and told me what to do. I will learn how to do work on my bike with the help of my teacher Derek... Thank You Derek...

[Honclfibr]

Sounds like you have dead battery, I'll agree with everyone else on that....HOWEVER, that most likely has nothing to do with your bike dying after starting. On a healthy bike, once the bike is running, the battery does not provide any power. The bike gets all it's power when it's running from the stator, so as long as you have a good stator, a dead battery won't result in your bike dying after it's started. A good stator also charges your battery when the bike is running, so it the battery is alive to start the bike next time.

Sooooo...if you get that new battery (which you 100% need, no question here) and everything appears to work great...beware, all you've done is bandaided the problem, your battery is not charging and you'll be left stranded as soon as the battery runs out of juice, which should be a nice 50-100 miles from your house, not fun.

So to summarize...You have a dead battery, by all means go get a new one, follow the instructions for charging it properly, and pop it in. If your bike still dies after a few seconds, and it probably will, check your carbs. If the bike seems okay, don't go riding it off into the sunset, check your charging system because it probably isn't doing it's job and is going to leave you stranded.

[Degsy]

Originally posted by Honclfibr
Sounds like you have dead battery, I'll agree with everyone else on that....HOWEVER, that most likely has nothing to do with your bike dying after starting. On a healthy bike, once the bike is running, the battery does not provide any power. The bike gets all it's power when it's running from the stator, so as long as you have a good stator, a dead battery won't result in your bike dying after it's started. A good stator also charges your battery when the bike is running, so it the battery is alive to start the bike next time.

Sooooo...if you get that new battery (which you 100% need, no question here) and everything appears to work great...beware, all you've done is bandaided the problem, your battery is not charging and you'll be left stranded as soon as the battery runs out of juice, which should be a nice 50-100 miles from your house, not fun.

So to summarize...You have a dead battery, by all means go get a new one, follow the instructions for charging it properly, and pop it in. If your bike still dies after a few seconds, and it probably will, check your carbs. If the bike seems okay, don't go riding it off into the sunset, check your charging system because it probably isn't doing it's job and is going to leave you stranded.

I beg to differ. Start your bike then disconnect the battery. You won't get very far before the bike dies. A stator will not run your bike for very long with no battery.

Derek

[Honclfibr]

Since we're kind of on the topic of charging systems, here's a question that always pestered me...why are motorcycle charging systems called stators? From what I remember about car alternators, the stator is the 3 stationary windings arranged radially inside the alternator around the rotor, an iron shaft with windings that rotates at engine speed to create AC currents through the stator. Since there are 3 windings, you have 3 phase AC, which is regulated by a 6 diode bridge to give you DC with a half-ripple with 6 peaks per engine rotation. Correct me if I've misremembered any of this.

So why are motorcycle alternators just called "stators"? Do they not have rotors? How else would they generate an AC current in the stator?