Starter issues, unsure of where to start...

[lukemike]

No pun intended.  

To give a brief history, I had the bike in for annual service, and a few things surfaced which needed some urgent repair including repair of the push rod rubbers as they were leaking and new cylinder head cover gaskets along with the steering head bearings.

Had it home one day and the next time I went to start it, the starter just made a horrible clicking sound - almost like a "gatling gun." :-?  I managed to pop the clutch down a hill to move it back to the garage and thought perhaps I had let the battery go flat.

After charging the battery up again, and retested, however the horrible "gatling gun" sound occurred.  I even noted sparks at the location where the negative cable contacts the engine.

I attached a zip file with the 10 second video so that there is audio with it.  Thanks for any insights.  I was planning on taking the video into the shop and ask them what they thought as at the moment it's in the garage and no way to pop the clutch now...

[montmil]

Luke, The first thing to address is the sparks flying off the engine case! Your battery ground cable has probably worn through its insulation and is grounding out on the engine case.

The clicking sound is the starter bendix attempting to engage but unable to do so with a weak battery.

Repair or replace the negative battery cable. Inspect entire length of positive cable.

Check all electrical connections in the start/charge wiring. This may entail      removing the top engine cover to inspect the starter terminals.

Confirm your battery's charge condition and connections.

Report back your findings. [smiley=thumbup.gif]

[georgesgiralt]

Hello !
The noise here says to you "I've not enough juice to work" in starter language.
The sparks tells you "one bolt is striped or not enough fastened"...
So either you have stripped the thread on the gearbox ventilation bolt or the bolt has to be fastened.
As you have worked on the bike, check that the positive cable going direct from the battery to the starter is not stripped somewhere and that the bolt on the starter is properly torqued.
Be cautious. The starter needs above 100A to turn so cables are thick and the battery can give more juice than that. So BEFORE playing with the bolts and screws around the starter, unplug the battery... A bike is fast to burn...

[Barry]

If the location of the battery earth cable is in the original location secured by the hollow speedo cable locating bolt on the gearbox (and the sparks do look to be coming for that area) take great care not to strip the thread. It wasn't the smartest place by design so better still devise an alternate location where it can be bolted up solid. Might be all that's needed.

[Bob_Roller]

I moved the ground or earthing cable from the transmission vent bolt, to the forward side of the right lower engine to transmission bolt .

Got a premade cable from an autoparts store, it's also about 2.5 times the cross section area of the OEM cable .

http://i1178.photobucket.com/albums/x361/128as0050404/Picture154.jpg

[bruce_launceston]

I have had a battery cable corrode right through inside the insulation where you can't see it. It was next to a lug at the battery end but yours might have done the same at the lower end.

[lukemike]

Thanks for all the quick replies and insight...I had a chance to work through the suggestions over the break.

I took the advice to revisit the battery terminals and connections to ensure they were clean and tight.  I charged up the battery on my trickle charger to ensure it was fully charged...and it started right up.  Thank you!

For the time being I left the negative cable attached at the stock location by the speedo cable, however, I plan to purchase a backup cable for the alternative location suggested by Bob_Roller.

[tvrla]

Just use the standard cable, but attach it to one of the transmission rear cover screws a few inches away. A longer screw will need to be sourced to clear the face of the cover, with a spacer washer for the cable to rest against.

I've never had a problem with the stock size cables as long as the connections are clean and shiny.