HELP!! Bike not starting
HELP!! Bike not starting
ok, I just bought a 93 Dyna Wide Glide evo engine from a guy in Ormond Beach...he was the original owner and he bought it in 94 with a little less than 5,000 miles on it. When I drove it away from his house after purchasing it, the bike just reached 11,090 miles. So I'm assuming this guy barely rode the thing. So far it has a minor oil leak, I just repaired the fuel line because it dry rotted out and I lost the whole tank of gas...so all is well there though, I have gas and so on. So far today has been my only real issue. I cranked it up to go to work and it did seem to lose a little energy during the crank up, I shrugged it off thinking it was probably just was the cold engine giving it a little trouble...nothing out of the ordinary in my eyes although the thought did cross my mind. I get to work and as soon as my shift is over I get on the thing and try to crank it up....nothing....so I pulled on the choke and nothing....it was turning over but then after a few more tries it gets worse to the point where it just starts making a loud clicking noise and then just keeps clicking after that. The lights are all still bright and good but they do dim and flicker when trying to crank 'er up....what the f is going on? Did I just buy a dud bike or is this a simple problem aka normal maintenance as in it's just time for a replacement battery? Please help, I don't want to lose it...it's all me got 
Your symptoms suggest a flat battery. So, its either not holding a charge, or not getting enough/any electricity to keep it charged.
Ten-to-one it's the former and the battery needs replacing. Before you do that, if you can use a multi-meter, check the battery to see if it's holding a charge, and check the alternator to see if it's delivering a charge.
Otherwise, if you know an auto-electrician, ask him to give it a quick lookover, and buy a battery from him anyway (all bikes love nice new batteries, and it'll be one less thing to maybe leave you stranded next time).
Sounds like a nice bike BTW, but all older bikes will need to be eased back into life. Along with the fuel line and battery, you'll probably want to inspect your brake shoes, Change ALL your fluids and filters, check the general condition of your wiring, fork seals, clutch and throttle cables, rear shocks (smooth operation, good damping), and wheel and headset bearings.
Ten-to-one it's the former and the battery needs replacing. Before you do that, if you can use a multi-meter, check the battery to see if it's holding a charge, and check the alternator to see if it's delivering a charge.
Otherwise, if you know an auto-electrician, ask him to give it a quick lookover, and buy a battery from him anyway (all bikes love nice new batteries, and it'll be one less thing to maybe leave you stranded next time).
Sounds like a nice bike BTW, but all older bikes will need to be eased back into life. Along with the fuel line and battery, you'll probably want to inspect your brake shoes, Change ALL your fluids and filters, check the general condition of your wiring, fork seals, clutch and throttle cables, rear shocks (smooth operation, good damping), and wheel and headset bearings.
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Joined: Jan 2011
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From: Wisconsin, USA
I am going to get flamed for this, but find a good mechanic and have him go through the bike. Most people on here will tell you to do your own wrenching, but this isn't a time to learn on the job.
Someone who knows what they are doing can give you an accurate estimate of making the bike roadworthy. It might not be worth it. Or maybe it just needs some routine maintenance. You could replace the battery, and then find out you need a stator. A good mechanic can just test it.
Do you have any friends that are good wrenches? Would they check the bike for you?
Someone who knows what they are doing can give you an accurate estimate of making the bike roadworthy. It might not be worth it. Or maybe it just needs some routine maintenance. You could replace the battery, and then find out you need a stator. A good mechanic can just test it.
Do you have any friends that are good wrenches? Would they check the bike for you?
Ultimate HDF Member
Joined: Apr 2010
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From: Southern Oregon
Do you know how old the battery is? Charge it up and have it load tested, it may be time for a new battery. Being how you rode it after the rotted fuel line was fixed I assume the carb jets are clean. Maybe you just flooded it while trying to start? The first step I would do is charge the battery and go from there
Appreciate all the great responses... @Ron750 I did actually plan on taking it over to my local Harley mechanic(independent) and have him go through it but right now I'm super broke!! I spent every dime on this bike and got caught in a financial rut because at the same time my employer decided to slash everyones hours big time, not to mention it's a minimum wage job so I'm lucky to even have gotten a chance to buy my dream bike.
I honestly don't think it has anything to do with the fuel because all is well with the fuel lines etc. I mean I drove this bike a good couple of weeks now, nothing long distance and I just got it tagged to where I could start putting around daily now. There is no telling how old the battery is and I really don't see it being too new as the original owner just had it parked in his garage for the most of his time owning it...he sold it to make room for his new Porsche and he just bought a $800,000 house on the river. If the stator needed replacing wouldn't it have shown immediately?? I mean I really would be in a terrible position to have the stator go out on me as in I have never replaced one and not too sure if I would even have the money anytime soon for one. I believe I also had this problem once when I owned my Vstar so I'm really really crossing my fingers on it being the battery.
I honestly don't think it has anything to do with the fuel because all is well with the fuel lines etc. I mean I drove this bike a good couple of weeks now, nothing long distance and I just got it tagged to where I could start putting around daily now. There is no telling how old the battery is and I really don't see it being too new as the original owner just had it parked in his garage for the most of his time owning it...he sold it to make room for his new Porsche and he just bought a $800,000 house on the river. If the stator needed replacing wouldn't it have shown immediately?? I mean I really would be in a terrible position to have the stator go out on me as in I have never replaced one and not too sure if I would even have the money anytime soon for one. I believe I also had this problem once when I owned my Vstar so I'm really really crossing my fingers on it being the battery.
Last edited by thewoozel666; Jun 15, 2015 at 06:25 AM.
...Also this thing is just sitting outside my job right now and I would like to be able to either jump it off or bump start it, if the battery is bad can you do either one of those?? And if you can't, would any of that being a hint as to what the real problem may be??
Club Member
Joined: Dec 2007
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From: Knoxville, Tn
Battery
Replace the battery first and go from there. You can speculate as to what other problems it may have but until it runs, there is no way to tell. A fully charged battery will have 12.8 volts.
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Joined: Dec 2012
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From: Texas
I have no idea what your problem is only that you are describing what could be a bad battery. If you have a multimeter and know how to use it, then pull the seat, check all the battery connections, especially the grounds, then jump start the bike from a co-worker's vehicle. With the bike running, put the meter leads across the battery terminals and if you do not read at least 14 volts DC on the meter, your charging system is afu. Now you either have to learn how to trouble shoot and repair the charging system or haul it to a mechanic.
If you do read at least 14 vdc across the battery, put the seat back on and ride home. When you get home, shut down the bike, wait 15 minutes or so, take off the seat and put the meter across the battery again. With the meter across the battery start cranking the engine. The voltage on the meter should absolutely stay above 9 volts DC minimum. It should be typically 10-11 volts. If this voltage reading is too low, you need to go get a battery. Get whatever you want, but Harley batteries are specifically made for Harley Davidson motorcycle vibrations and, IMO, anything else you put in just to save a buck is just a crap shoot as far as reliability and longevity.
If you don't have a multimeter or know how to use one, just take it to a mechanic...
Good luck and let us know...(and you don't have to reply in bold, ya know.
)
If you do read at least 14 vdc across the battery, put the seat back on and ride home. When you get home, shut down the bike, wait 15 minutes or so, take off the seat and put the meter across the battery again. With the meter across the battery start cranking the engine. The voltage on the meter should absolutely stay above 9 volts DC minimum. It should be typically 10-11 volts. If this voltage reading is too low, you need to go get a battery. Get whatever you want, but Harley batteries are specifically made for Harley Davidson motorcycle vibrations and, IMO, anything else you put in just to save a buck is just a crap shoot as far as reliability and longevity.
If you don't have a multimeter or know how to use one, just take it to a mechanic...
Good luck and let us know...(and you don't have to reply in bold, ya know.
)
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Alright here is an update. Turns out my dad has all the tools needed to do this stuff(checking voltage, charger, etc.). We jump started it at 11 volts and as I was driving the bike home the power just kept getting worse. The lights kept getting dimmer and dimmer, almost to the point of no lights at all when I finally got home. When I got home I shut the bike off and tried to restart it but this time nothing...not even a clicking noise, just nothing. We just took the battery off and now have it on a charger but the last read was about 9 volts. It's hard to trust my dad and what he says because he really has a tendency to dramatize every situation, it's especially noticeable when the neighbors come out, you would think he was calling for an air strike in the military. Seriously hard to say but I'm over here just thinking it's probably just the battery and he's going "yep it's your charging system most likely"....but he said that with my Vstar one time, "yep, you're probably gonna have to re-wire the whole electrical system"....is there any indication with what I described as it being the charging system or does this mean it could just be a typical battery replacement issue?? OR is there still not enough info to really tell??? Thanks again everybody for all the replies
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Joined: Jul 2008
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From: southeast PA
Well, you could just replace the whole charging system. That might do it. Or not.
Ok, I'm done being sarcastic. Like you said, it's probably the battery. If you can get it fully charged take it out and get it load tested. If it won't even charge up, get a new one. You have to start out with a strong battery, and if there's still a problem go from there.
Ok, I'm done being sarcastic. Like you said, it's probably the battery. If you can get it fully charged take it out and get it load tested. If it won't even charge up, get a new one. You have to start out with a strong battery, and if there's still a problem go from there.