Help bike won't start
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Joined: Jul 2013
Posts: 90
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From: Columbus, OH
Help bike won't start
So I went for a ride yesterday and bike was working fine. I installed a new air intake last night. I go to start it this morning and it tries to turn over like 2 times real slowly and won't start up. Any suggestions? I can't imagine it has anything to do with the air intake?? All the lights come on so I don't think it's the battery...
Club Member
Joined: Feb 2007
Posts: 16,320
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From: Boynton Beach, FloriDuh
Sure sounds like a bad battery, it takes a lot more battery power to crank the motor over than it does to run the lights.
Do the lights dim when you hit the Start button?
Are you still using the original (6+ year old) battery?
Do the lights dim when you hit the Start button?
Are you still using the original (6+ year old) battery?
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Joined: Jul 2013
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From: Columbus, OH
Yes lights dim. Maybe it is the battery. I'm not sure if it's the original one. My guess is that it is. I just bought the bike last year with <1000 miles on it so I doubt it was changed
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Joined: Feb 2007
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From: Boynton Beach, FloriDuh
If you have a digital volt meter you can measure the battery voltage, it should be 12.7 - 12.8 volts if it's fully charged and shouldn't drop below 11 volts when you press the Start button. But I'm betting that would just be an exercise and that you need a new battery.
Road Master
Joined: Feb 2012
Posts: 1,035
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From: Western Washington
How long of a ride? If it was a short ride then the battery didn't have time to charge. If it was a long ride couple hours than there might be another problem. I doubt it has anything to do with the work you performed. But charley is right a meter is your friend.
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Joined: Jul 2013
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From: Columbus, OH
Yep battery was dead. New one did the trick. Might be a dumb question, but on the new battery the terminal screws go in vertically, and on my old one they were horizontal. This makes the ground and power wire stick out and it's making it very difficult to get the battery all the way in. Should I just bend the power/ground cable connectors to make it all fit? Or is there an adaptor I can get to change the battery terminal orientation?
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Joined: Feb 2007
Posts: 16,320
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From: Boynton Beach, FloriDuh
I would take it back and get the correct battery for your bike. Where did the battery come from and is it specifically listed as fitting your year/model bike? The cables aren't intended to be mounted to the top of the posts.
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Joined: Jan 2014
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From: Michigan
Yep battery was dead. New one did the trick. Might be a dumb question, but on the new battery the terminal screws go in vertically, and on my old one they were horizontal. This makes the ground and power wire stick out and it's making it very difficult to get the battery all the way in. Should I just bend the power/ground cable connectors to make it all fit? Or is there an adaptor I can get to change the battery terminal orientation?
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