Bike will not start with good battery

Sounds like you had to disconnect the battery to stop the starter from spinning.
I've had that happen quite a few times and heres what i found and did to fix the problems.

1. I had an old american bike in the shop with a low battery. I didn't know the battery was
low when i hit the start button. The starter solenoid stayed engaged, and the starter kept
turning over the motor, I pulled the battery terminal off to stop the power to starter.

I check battery and it was low, i put full charge on trickle charge and then let it sit
a 1/2 hour before i tested it with the load tester.
It failed big time, dropped all the way to bottom of the scale under a load test

Installed a new battery and fixed the problem. The solenoid, start button, kill switch, key switch all works, it was just a low battery.

2. I had a customer call me because he ran out of gas, when he got gas he turned the bike over for a long time trying to fill the carburetors with gas,
Never hold the start button down for long periods of time. He did and the wires got so hot that the positive wire from the battery to the solenoid melted and stayed engaged.

It was an easy fix, replace the melted solenoid, and only hold the start button in 5 second intervals, allowing it to cool in between starts.
Once the bowls were full again and the bike starts, then it only takes about a second for the bike to start so you normally dont hold the start button for that long.

Hope this helps
Big Al

Hi could be your engine has partially seized through being standing for so long just put it in gear and bump it over a few times to turn the engine over and get things moveing again if this doesnt work check your starter and solenoid switch connections are ok good luck

faulty start relay
shorted wire to starter

how good is the battery check terminals are clean leads and all conections are good try remote battery and jump start it like a car if the problem goes away its your battery if not its the starter or solinoid or leads

If it will jump start before it cools, I would still suspect the battery. or even the starter motor.
An auto electrician should be able to load test the battery( the bike shop likely just put a meter on it and it read 12v) they could also check the current draw of the starter.


The engine still will be a little tight but this shouldnt stop it running unless something is wrong or seriously overheating.
it may even just get better when it runs in some more, this is probably what the shop is hoping.

When you discovered your battery was kaput, you were probably trying to start your bike at the time. I have seen on rare occasions that when this happens, the starter solenoid gets "stuck" in the "engaged" positon. Try rocking your bike backwards and forwards a few times with the transmission in high gear. Rock the bike while shifting the tranny until you get it into high gear. The with the clutch out, rock the bike and turn the engine over a few times. Shift the bike back down to neutral and try to connect the battery. Rocking the bike while in gear rotates the outer clutch drum. If the starter jack shaft is still engaged with the ring gear on the outer clutch drum, rocking the bike a bit will turn the drum allowing the spring in the starter to pull the jack shaft and starter gear back out of engagement. I hope this helps.

Did you try removing the starter and testing it on a "bench"? Sounds like it might be "jammin" up. Loose, misalignment, it's worth a try and doesn't cost anything. good luck

Pull the spark plugs out and hit the starter. This will make sure that the engine is not locked up. If the starter does not turn the engine, put the bike in first gear and have someone push you, making sure the engine is free. If the engine is OK, your starter is probably jammed and needs replaced. That wire getting hot is a dead giveaway something is locked up tight...starter or engine. If ya have a large hi-performance engine in the bike, chances are your stock starter won't do the job.

If the battery is good and the headlights are good and bright, try cycling the inginition switch a few times to see if that will cause the engine to turn over. If not, check all connections to the battery and main plus terminal block and also check the connections on the starter. It could be the starter or starter solenoid. If it clicks, it's probably not the neutral position switch, but just for the heck of it, try starting the vehicle in neutral.

Make sure your foot is on the brake if you try to start in neutral so the vehicle won't roll. You could also apply the emergency brake.

Hi, I would start by checking to be sure the battery has a good enough charge, if not then locate the starter relay and try jumping the two terminals on it and seeing if the bike will start that way if so then you will need to replace the starter relay. good luck