Bike wont start

[moto]

The last few weeks the battery has hardly had the power to turn the engine over fast enough to start it.

I assumed (probably wrongly) that the battery was past it's best so I bought a new one, followed the instructions regarding filling with the dilute acid and put on a slow 12 hour trickle charge.

Even after putting the acid in it was putting out the same voltage as my old battery.

Using the multimeter I just bought the old battery was putting out the same volts (12 ish) as the new battery so not surprisingly the new charged battery wont start the bike either, it seems fully charged but can hardly manage to turn the engine over.

It used to start straight away.
Lights are not on and I don't have anything on permanently like an alarm that could drain the power.

Any suggestions?

[fiery tupp]

I t is a 12 volt battery so it will only show around 12 volts on a multimeter , so it may not be that at fault & could be starter motor sticking or a bad connection ? will it kick over or bounce off & run ok then ?
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If you can't fix it with a hammer , use your head .

[moto]

It's all vey clean and the connections look very good, there are clamp bolts fixed to the battery terminals.

I wish it had a kick start. I have an 03XT600e, apparently a kick start could be added to the older XT's but these are meant to be a lot more tricky to fit to.

I did have a go at bump starting it (before the snow) yesterday but could not get up enough speed.
It used to be so easy bump starting my 50cc when I was a lot younger

[fiery tupp]

Well the easiest way to check if its battery is to try with one you know is definately a good one
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If you can't fix it with a hammer , use your head .

[doggone]

First suspect, poor connections particularly earth lead - where it conects to bike frame.
Undo it, scrub it up, reconnect.
If no improvement next suspect is the starter motor.
They get tired over time and work but not as fast as they did.
Simple solution is try another, not cheap but would almost certainly improve things.
Has it had an oil change recently?
Cold thick oil will make it harder to turn.
You could try a less viscous oil for winter.
Usually bike manual will suggest alternatives for cold conditions.

It could be a combination of all three of the above.

[moto]

Thanks a lot for the suggestions.
I will go and undo the earth connection, clean it and refit.

I bought the bike in February and changed the oil and filter in March.

Will also go check prices for a starter motor.

editing to add in the parts catalogue is the starter motor listed as "Generator"?

Under the electrical section in the catalogue, ignitor unit assembly, ignition coil assembly, rectifier and regulator assembly are listed but not starter motor.

[dudders7]

https://cgi.ebay.co.uk/Yamaha-XT600-XT-600-1VJ-Starter-Motor-/250714923498?pt=UK_Motorcycle_Parts&hash=item3a5fc621ea#ht_499wt_922
Wondering if that might do?
Or take the starter motor out, strip it down. Clean the brushes, check the windings etc put it back together and hope for the best

[MarJay]

A fully charged battery should (IIRC) be showing 14v with no load...
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British beauty: Triumph Street Triple R; Loony stroker: KR1S; Track fun: GSXR750 L1; Commuter Missile: GSX-S1000F; Cheap project: CBR900RR FireBlade
Remember kids, bikes aren't like lego. You can't easily take a part from one bike and then fit it to another.

[Walloper]

If it's not the battery it could be the Master Relay between the battery Positive and the starter.
You can't see if the contacts are good or bad as they are inside.
You could test with your meter to check resistance.

You may also be able to by-pass the relay and hook a jumper cable direct to the starter terminal.
It would rule out the relay.

Find out how many amps the starter should draw to crank.

I think if it is bad then the amps will be low.

If it is high you may have a short inside the starter.

https://www.aa1car.com/library/2002/cm10220.htm
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W-ireless A-rtificial L-ifeform L-imited to O-bservation P-eacekeeping and E-fficient R-epair

[pinkyfloyd]

The cold weather is a killer for batteries. I had the same kind of problem with the GSXR when the weather turned.

The trouble is that it takes a lot of amps for the starter to turn the engine over. Each time it turns over is another whack out of the ampage in the battery. In the cold it takes an extra few turns and before you know it the batteries dead. If you have charged or fitted a new battery and it still doesnt turn then get it bumped or jumped. I found that I needed a bump start with the new battery fitted the first time and afterwards it started on the button each time.

If the battery isnt holding a charge then check the Generator. It could be dead.
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illuminateTHEmind wrote: I am just more evolved than most of you guys... this allows me to pick of things quickly which would have normally taken the common man years to master
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