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Hoping to find some good advice on fixing my (above mentioned) motorcycle. I'll try to keep it brief but with as much details as I can.

I had an issue with the bike and it sucked up some varnish from not properly winterizing the bike. I've since cleaned and used repair kits off ebay for the carburetor, siphoned out the old gas and replaced the gas filter. I've also had the battery on a trickle charger and had it tested twice by two different stores (both reported the battery is fine).

When I tried to start the bike after the first round of fixes, it started to crank over with some throttle but didn't fire up and assumed that the engine may have flooded. So it was left for a few hours and on return after starting it sounded like the battery was dying. Now I'm at a point where the solenoid only clicks once when the start button is pressed. I've replaced the solenoid with a brand new one and I still haven't had any luck starting the bike.

I have also tried bridging the solenoid to try and start the bike that way as well but with no luck. I'm not entirely sure what's wrong with the bike any more and I'm trying to save myself the money by going to a repair shop. Any help would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks everyone!

Edit: Added the year in the title

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    It sounds like the battery is flat. Could you check the voltage with a multimeter? If it's low, this tells me that something is draining the battery, in which case you'd want to try to narrow down what is causing the parasitic draw
    – Zaid
    Jul 3, 2015 at 22:40
  • Can you throw in the model year as well. There's some profound differences between years if it's not the battery as @Zaid has eluded to........although he is probably correct.
    – DucatiKiller
    Jul 7, 2015 at 21:26
  • @Zaid, I'll certainly check the battery with the multimeter when I can get my hands on one. Thanks for the advice.
    – Zerrian
    Jul 8, 2015 at 22:19

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I've also had the battery on a trickle charger and had it tested twice by two different stores (both reported the battery is fine).

Batteries can report to be fine but still not work. This really seems like a bad battery. Do the following test with a multi-meter:

  • Hook the meter leads to the appropriate pole
  • Try to start the engine
  • Look at the meter and make note of the reading

If the battery reads anything less than 11.5v it will need replacement.

Another thing to look for is a voltage drainage. Measure the battery volts before hooking it up to the terminals. Then take another reading. There should be no real difference in the readings. If you see a difference of more than .2V then you have a short that is consuming power. Go to the fuse box and start pulling fuses one by one to see where the power is being consumed from. Then track down the wiring for that fuse and try to find any nicks or bad parts.

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