Bike wont crank what the hell

[chewy4x4]

Ok so I have tested the battery and Its good. So on to new info I had said that I wired a ford remote solenoid to the R65. Well I was getting the same issue Press start..Click.. No crank. Well I wired the ford solidiod directly to the batttery and the starter using the start button as the start button and what I get is the starter imediatly spinning. I dont think its throwing the shaft out. Any suggestions I think I an going to wire up the stock solenoid in the same manner and see if that works.

[Rob Valdez 79 R65]

I have read of folks dismantling their starters and cleaning everything up with some success.

[chewy4x4]

New update: Ok I have got the bike to crank but It is to dangerous to comtinue on the same path. I need to know what symptoms I would have if my diode board quit. I got the starter to crank by attaching a hot wire directly from the battery to the starter solenoid and having the  solenoid wired properly otherwise.

[Rob Valdez 79 R65]

If your diode board had a failure, your battery would not get charged.

[Bob_Roller]

The only thing between the battery and the starter, is the large cable that bolts to the battery, the other end is at the starter .

Check the cable for obvious damage, corrosion, loose crimped on cable ends etc. .

How does the ground cable look, especially where it bolts up to the transmission, connections clean and tight ?

[chewy4x4]

Their is a red wire that is atached to the starter that goes out the front of the starter compartment and is attached to the board on the top of the compartment their it is a spade connection on the board and a ring on the starter.

[Bob_Roller]

That's the output cable for power coming from the alternator diode board to the bikes electrical system .

The power from the alternator, goes to the starter, and with the other cable is connected to it at the starter, so when the starter is not working, the alternator power goes back to the battery on the large diameter black cable .

[chewy4x4]

Oh I have no power getting through that cable what do I do?

[Bob_Roller]

I've only had my starter out once, and that was about 7 years ago, so I'm not real familiar with it's installation, is it a big job to get the cable out ?

Can you pull on one end, to see if it is still in one piece ?

[chewy4x4]

It is still in one piece its small I have to check the wire with a multimeter and I need to check that I am even getting power at the board end of the cable

[Bob_Roller]

Are you talking about the red wire ?

The red wire is the power from the alternator, the other cable, should be a larger diameter black wire, about 5/16ths of an inch in diameter, that's the power from the battery .

[chewy4x4]

Ok I am in school today I will check all of the connections tonight and get back to you.

[Rob Valdez 79 R65]

Bob just reminded me of something very important, here.

Check underneath the insulation at the ends of your VERY BIG black wire, the one that runs from the positive terminal on the battery.

If either end of this cable shows signs of corrosion (nasty white stuff falling out), replace the cable.
Feel free to strip off the insulation and take a picture or two for us, if this is the case.

This condition will greatly reduce the amount of power getting from your battery to your starter.

Same with the ground cable.  Apply some kind of grease to these connections when reassembling them.  Dielectric grease is the preferred, but some say even Vaseline or bearing grease will work.

[Semper Gumby]

I just did this with a friend's R90/6.

As soon as you put a load on the system it would die.  (i.e. Not crank).

I isolated it to a bad hot wire between the diode board and the starter relay (not the solinoid).   Th R65 is a bit different than the 1976 R90/6 though...

So start at the battery and trace the hot lead (Battery voltage  13.5 volts)from the battery to the starter solinoid and then from the red wire from the starter solinoid to the starter relay.  The starter relay sends current through the black wire back to the starter solinoid to energize the starter.  Make sure there is also 13.5 volts at the ignition switch red wire.  Thats the heavy lifting part.

What makes the starter relay work is current from the ignition switch green wires.  One of these green wires run up to the emergency stop switch and from there to the start switch.  The output from the starter switch is green and white. It run straight back to the starter relay.  When you press the start switch, you should be reading 13.5 volts at the green and white wire at the starter relay.  It needs a ground though. The starter relay gets its ground though the brown and yellow wires.  It has two ways to get to ground.  The brown and yellow at the starter relay will connect to ground through either 1) the neutral switch or 2) the clutch switch.

So you can check for battery voltage on the supply side of the starter relay or check for grounds (continuity with the frame) on the output side of the starter relay (brown and yellow wires) by activating the cluct handle or putting the bike in neutral.  Make sure that both grounds work.

Good luck.

BTW this whole dicussion was sussed by looking at Diagram 'L' for BMW motorcycles 1981 to 1984 R65.

If you want one of these really cool color diagrams I think you can email him at r75.7@mindspring.com or go to Prospero's Garage at www.slash5.com.  

I got mine from somebody here at bmwR65.org but I forget who....

[Rob Valdez 79 R65]

Speaking of grounds (earths) (thank you Semper Gumby), I don't know how the main harness ground is set to attach to the frame on the 81-84 models, but on the early ones, it was attached to the front coil holder, and when the coil mount finally broke (they nearly ALL did!), you lost your main ground connection on the bike, and everything died.

YOU MUST HAVE GOOD CLEAN CONTACTS EVERYWHERE  on this 29 year-old machine.  Especially the grounds/earths.