OK so the other day I went on about a 80 mile ride down to the local riverboat. Bike sat for about 2 hours and went I came back it wouldnt start - it just clicked. Then the second time I hit the starter the whole bike went dark. Rolled it over the the side of the garage and it then started normally and ran fine all the way back home. Fast forward to today and I am out for a ride and while cruising the bike starts to get real jerky and will only move in 1st or second and then only just barely and I had to keep pulling in the clutch to keep it moving. The lights were very dim and the turn signals would not blink. I get a loud clunk and suddenly everything is normal again. This repeats once more as I manage to limp the bike home. My thought is either a bad alternator or a bad battery. Any ideas what else might cause this? How difficult is it to change out the alternator? Thanks

 

it doesnt have an alternator much a voltage regulator type of dill if im correct and yea test ur battery or have it tested

 

You got some messed up stuff goin on there man. I think you need to look over all your wiring but I dont know why the bike would only move in first and second

 

I want to say you have a bad connection somewhere. Possibly the positive at the starter? The bike will turn over sometimes and other time you get a click. At first I would say a bad battery but then it started. So I would say a bad connection.

 

^^^ I agree.

 

Yeah the starter connector had occured to me too but I dont think that would explain why I was seeing signs of low battery voltage while riding. Maybe another connector? I have the service manuals and I guess ill have to tear it apart and see if any of the connectors are loose. Great suggestions guys keep em coming and thanks!

 

UPDATE!

Problem seems to have been fixed - battery connections were so loose that they were just bouncing around on the rough sections of road. I replaced the battery since I was unsure of its age and now it seems be to running strong again. Hopefully it will continue to do so. Hopefully this will help someone out there.

 

Sweet