Bike wont start / Rapid clicking from rear

Dazjm · Post by **Dazjm** » Thu Oct 25, 2007 3:32 pm

My bike wont start!

had a shifty thru the workshop history , found this...

I recently bought a VTR 1000. Started first time every time for first month.
Went tos tart it on Wed and absolutely no life in battery. Borrowed trickle charger from mate and after 8 hours horribble clicking noise from rear of bike when pressing starter button.
After 24 hours it started no problem. went short run and put it back in garage.
Next day, same horrible clicking noise from rear of bike. Back on trickle charge and after 10 hours it tries briefly to turn bike over but then goes back to clicking.
Thought the guy I bought it off said it was new battery and there is some evidence that the starter motor has been stripped.
Could it be rectifier/regulator?
Help!!!!!

This is exactly what mine is doing. Before i attempted start, battery was 12.6V DC, connections looked sound, could maybe do with a clean, but were solid. After trying to start, it went down to about 12.3V DC.

The post ended after a bit of advice, so i dunno if this sorted the guys prob. Any other ideas?

P.s. Yesterday, it took ages to start, and the rapid clicking happened once or twice. After it had turned over a good amount of times, without firing. Finally started it, took it for a run, stopped started couple of times during, fine no probs. But today didnt turn once

iggy1966 · Post by **iggy1966** » Thu Oct 25, 2007 4:00 pm

One of two things might be happening

1 the connection bolt at the front of your starter motor might be rotten and getting a bad connection. It's the one under the rubber boot, these have a habit of going "fubar" as they are right in the line of fire for all the road crud.

2 The starter relay could be on it's way out

With the battery voltage being ok I suspect the regulator/rectifier is ok but still might be worth a check.

hope this helps

Stratman · Post by **Stratman** » Thu Oct 25, 2007 9:21 pm

Time for a new battery!

Dazjm · Post by **Dazjm** » Thu Oct 25, 2007 9:32 pm

Yea, well the voltage seemed fine, and it was working fine one minute, then not the next.

Manual indicates feed to starter motor could be in doubt. I'll d/c the bolt, clean it up, same with batt terminals. Put it back together, and hope for the best!

storminateacup · Post by **storminateacup** » Fri Oct 26, 2007 1:23 pm

This is exactly the symptoms I got when my reg/rec went. Check the battery voltage when you hit the starter so it is under load, if it drops below about 9v (mine went to 3.5) then the reg/rec has damaged the battery. My battery was 5 months old when this happened. Alternatively jump start the bike and put voltmeter across batt terminals and rev up a bit if it goes over 15.5v within a couple of minutes again reg/rec.

Dazjm · Post by **Dazjm** » Mon Nov 05, 2007 8:14 am

Quick Update!

Checked fuses, checked voltage 12.6v. Same clicking noise, no attempt at start.

Tried jumping with car battery, no change. So, as per manual, connected the posi feed from battery directly to front of starter. It spark on terminal, no hint of a turn.

Took starter motor off, shorting everywhere

Gave it a clean up, trying to rebuild, tis a bit fiddly, and fix the shorting out.

Anyone got a starter motor lying about that doesnt need it it? Or know anyone breaking one, that has it.

Checked that honda spares site, http://www.cmsnl.com talkin couple hundred for a new one!

VeetyR · Post by **VeetyR** » Mon Nov 05, 2007 8:34 am

last time i was at "motorcycle surgery" he had an engine there that was fooked....perhaps he has the starter still

do a search his number will come up

solorider · Post by **solorider** » Mon Nov 05, 2007 8:45 am

here is one on ebay http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/HONDA-VTR-VTR1000 ... dZViewItem
and another http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/VTR1000-STARTER-M ... dZViewItem

Dazjm · Post by **Dazjm** » Mon Nov 05, 2007 2:01 pm

Nice one !

Just rebuilt mine, gonna see if it works, took the time to wire brush the casing, so its looks nicer

pity it will have 0% bearing on wether my bike starts

Dazjm · Post by **Dazjm** » Tue Nov 06, 2007 2:52 pm

Does any tech minded marvel on these forums atm, know what the resistance should be between the bolt on the front of the starter motor, and the bikes earth?

i.e. what resistance should i be getting through the armature, cos atm, across any pair of commutators, im getting 0.6 ohms.

storminateacup · Post by **storminateacup** » Tue Nov 06, 2007 5:52 pm

Hi you should not get any resistance at all between the com bars you should get continuity. Also if you mean by the BOLT the terminal where the main lead goes you should get continuity between that and the bikes earth. Check between the com bars and the main shaft there should be no continuity, if there is the armature is defective. So says the Haynes book of lies.

Dazjm · Post by **Dazjm** » Tue Nov 06, 2007 8:36 pm

Got one comin tomoro anyway i hope. Â£30 quids 2nd hand from t'ebay.

Well its actually a 1100 blackbird motor, but according to cmsnl.com, they r the same!

Dazjm · Post by **Dazjm** » Sat Nov 10, 2007 7:43 pm

Wee update..

Whacked in the replacement starter, ( useful info for anyone who doesnt know, that similarly yeared CBR 1100's and Varaderos use the same starter apparently! ) I got my blackbird motor for 30 quid, couldnt find the same motor but labeled as VTR Firestorm for less that 50.

Anyway, battery was pretty flat by now, so jumped with car battery. After a huge backfire, it started. Ran it for a wee bit, voltage went up to about 12.9V
But the voltage didnt increase with throttle. The reg/rec was too hot too touch, so i reckon thats my next thing to fix.

Bought an optimate, chucked it on battery, got the nice green steady light after a couple of hours, so hopefully the battery aint goosed.

Dazjm · Post by **Dazjm** » Sun Nov 11, 2007 4:52 pm

Well, new starter might not have been the fix the bike needs.

Charged battery all night, stuck it in bike, pressed the starter...... click click went the starter relay.......

What i found was, if i sit on bike, hold front brake, and rock the bike on its shocks, like push down, then sit down, and hit the starter button at the same time, then the starter turns and tries to get the engine going. If it starts is another matter. At the moment, the engine just cranks and doesnt fire ...

So atm its randomly turning the starter, if i kinda bounce on my bike, i get the starter to turn. But that also might just be coincidence..

Any ideas? Might be the starter relay is dodgy?

As for the lack of engine firing, im gonna stick 2 new iridum plugs in. It had no problems starting when i had the stock silencers on, the starting issues have coincided with me putting Art race cans on.

storminateacup · Post by **storminateacup** » Mon Nov 12, 2007 12:26 pm

First things first it sounds like there could be a loose or dirty connection to the starter. If not check the relay Haynes book of lies tells you how. When it does turn over is it turning fast or slow? If slow put a volt meter on the battery a fully charged battery in good condition should show about 13.4v Then press starter with voltmeter across battery if the volts drop below about 9v when starter is activated then battery is knackered. When you eventually get it started check the charging voltage across the battery it should NOT go above 15v at 5000 revs. If it does Reg/Rec is kaput.