Hard starting
 

2001 hesitant to start. Had voltage metre on it it read 13volts...then when started it ran to 13.9..so looked as if it was charghing ok..but when left for a over nite..it turned over off n on for about half a min. Then battery flattened..it did start fur a second it two then died...i had the battery charger on it for 10 mins today n it turned over easy n started..do you think ive a bad battery..it shouldnt flatten with tunin it over...it was kinda slow turnin over..ive had it chargin now 6hrs..n it turns over quick n starts no bother..am thinkin the battery is bad...wat ye think. ??

How good does the battery need to be when crankin over...as when trying to start it today..it was very hestitant n was turning over slow..when charged for 10 mins..it turned quicker n it started..

It does sound like the battery is failing . Some will show good voltage but under a load will quickly drop right down. Put your tester on the battery and watch it as you crank the motor over , see if it drops down more than 1 volt as the draw is on it.



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Sounds like it lacks capacity - Ampere Hours -
like a bucket not being full of water but only a bit of water. The hight of the water/bucket gives you water pressure which represents the battery voltage .. but the capacity is down.

How old is the battery? And how many cold winters has it been through?

Other things that have this effect -
temperature - the colder the worse the battery will be
exhaust valve clearance - check it.
starter motor - dirty brushes
parasitic load - when the bike is 'off' there is still some draw that partially flattens the battery. Disconnect the battery at the end of the ride and only reconnect it up when you need to start the bike, if the battery is fine then .. well you could have a parasitic load.

Charged batt for 20hrs...cranked it over..tried to start..then cranked again..battery went flat within seconds..light on charger started as green..went to red in no time..

What recomendations on a new battery. Amp. Etc. Make. Quality...dont want to go overboard on price. But also its kinda priceless when you need it to start.

I have had this cheap GEL 9amps battery for 9years now. So you dont have to spend alot to get a good battery, most importan is that you never run battery empty. You dont have the shop in your country.

Tried to start it again with full charge again on the battery...it started on full choke...then off choke it ticked over quite the thing...tried it again a few times. It started...do you think i shoukd keep the charger on it or off..n try it again tomoro mornin..

Put some miles on it, at least an hours running, NOT in traffic slow speeds, and then just leave it. If it starts fine next day and continues to do so the battery is ok, just wasn't fully charged. But if it does the same thing, goes dead quick, see your local dealer and get a replacement battery of the same or more amp hour rating as original. They'll probably have a little range from cheaper to best, it's up to you how much you want to spend.

Didnt have the battery on charge last nite. Started first button lying overnite for around 20 hrs. But i have ordered a battery as i cant rely on wat i have..i have a motobatt comming..

Old battery still in it...trickle charge goin...started first button then stopped tried it again..flatened within 15 seconds..gave it 5 mins..it cranked n started then stopped.. batterys gubbed...hope its that.

It's probably got some of that white sulfication(?) inside that cuts it's ability to send current efficiently , It happens quickly to lead acid batteries that are run down but not charged up fully right away. These batteries can sometimes be salvaged with a trickle charger that has the desulfication mode . I've done it with a couple by leaving the thing on the charger for a month or more except when I took the bike out for a ride (but never shut it off to make sure I wouldn't get stranded). They all ended up lasting another year or 2 . The way your does get charged and can start the bike but can't go long , but then will work again after some time shows it isn't outright shorted out so could probably be brought back . But it does take time and hard to rely on it for a while , I have a pile of bikes to ride(or steal a good battery from) while one sits so not much an issue.

Now I try to consistently put most bikes, and quads, on those chargers (I have 8) ,just to keep the batteries in good shape . 6-8 years is a common lifespan . I have 2 deep cycle auto batteries that lived on those chargers that are 18 and 19 years old currently and still working good(one is in my truck).

I have 3 LiFe PO4 batteries , those don't get the chargers , it'll kill them .


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New battery gettin fitted tomoro..lookin forward to it...lets see wats wat...cheers

Well new battery went in..an it cranked fast then slower then s l o w e r. Then nuthin. Browned off...left it fur 5 mins on charge.. then it started..it did try n start a few times then died. Then it started.. so i now kniw theres other problems with this bike...dang.

Tim t chck th amp frm startr ngine, dnt u thnk?

Check the wires mate. Theres a big black wire going from the battery to the starter motor, and then the red from battery to starter relay. Check the wires themself, and also look for corrotion and crud where they're mounted.

It might be the startermotor itself, could be worn brushes and/or worn commutator (the "shaft" on the startermotor itself)

Just how long does the motor have to turn over to start ? It should only take a few seconds to fire off if the carb is clean and jetted good . If the motor is turning over slow even with a new battery it will take much longer. When these starters go bad you'll usually hear a loud grinding or whining/screeching coming from it . Corroded cables will cause it to labor and crank slow.

Started first button this mornin. Ran it 5 miles..then laid uo fur around 5 hrs...started again no bother..then stopped on n off over a 40 mile run...started no bother..feel a bit happier...cheers guys

Started first button this mornin again..started on the choke...then choke off. N it fires uo no prob...doesnt tick over till its warm.but happy its startin..

The new battery just needed to be fully charged ?

Nearly never started today... but i got it goin..done 150 mile round trip..stopped n started fine..ad say the batterys fully charged by now.