R65 on YouTube!

[nhmaf]

My money is on the starter solenoid, though I suppose it could also be that you have a bad winding in the starter
itself.  Depending on the orientation of the rotor when it last stopped, it might be in a good spot to start it spinning, or
it might be in the dead zone, in which it won't move at all unless it gets bumped.   But, usually the simpler thing is
to check the solenoid first.  Now, I have done this on automobiles, but not on airheads (yet).

[Joan]

I guess if you replaced the relay with a known good one, the relay isn't the problem. Next is to get to the starter and check the solenoid and see if power is getting there. If you need starter parts, Euro Motoelectrics in Monument , Colorado has just about everything you need to rebuild a starter, now whether it's cost effective, I guess that's up to you.

The starter spins up well and starts the bike perfectly when I apply 12V direct to the starter solenoid with the jumper, which I'm thinking means the starter is okay. When I had the bike all buttoned up and ready to pressuring the oiling system prior to starting, the jumper wire is how I managed to turn the motor over enough to do that.

I've heard good things about the guy in Monument CO, but I surely wish Rick Jones had an airhead cheater booklet for starters like he does for the charging system!  

So the relay is good, starter is good... I'm missing something important. I know the neutral switch connections are freshened and tight, and so is the ground wire at the gearbox bolt. All the wires under the front cover are where they are supposed to be connected. Humpf. I think she's punishing me for leaving her in drydock so long!  

[Rob Valdez 79 R65]

The button on the handlebar?

[Bob_Roller]

I've got a wiring diagram from my BMW shop manual, so I don't know how accurate it is for all R65's, or wire colors, but here goes ! On your starter relay connector, there should be a red wire ( a fairly large wire 2.5 sq. mm) and it goes to pin 30 on the relay. This is 12 v from the positive terminal of the battery, this is 'hot ' all the time, that is, power is available all the time. Check this with a voltmeter to see if you have power from the battery. If you don't you need to find the problem with this wire. If you do have power, you need to check for continuity ( low resistance a few ohms or less)  in the wire from pin 87 of the starter relay connector to the starter solenoid, it should be a black wire 2.5 sq. mm . My wiring diagram shows that this wire goes through a two pin connector that also has a small blue wire as well. There doesn't seem to be anything else in the circuit that could cause a problem.

[Joan]

Yeah, I've got that nice shop manual, too! About the time I was headed back down to the garage yesterday to do more fiddling, an electrical storm came through pretty close by (she laughs), so ran around turning off the major appliances like the computers and gadgets, then I went to bed. I was home sick yesterday, after all.  

I'll get back to it tonight, I hope. The Blueberry had better be ready to ride when I am!  

Thanks again for your help, Bob!

[thrang]

Starter relay... Doh! I tried everything to suss out a starter problem. Everything was right and it worked if I shorted the solenoid or relay.  it turned out to be the connector block under the tank on the right running from the handlebar button. They can get a little furry inside causing an intermittent cut out on the button to relay circuit.

[Rob Valdez 79 R65]

Thanks for the feedback!