I was all excited to get the bike started today and I've hit a dead end. Over winter I took the bike apart, did some cosmetic things to it along with new sparkplugs, new valve cover gasket, new water pump gasket and some other things here and there.

Today I put in the oil, coolant and gas. I put the bike in 2nd gear (lights on, not cranked) and rolled it forwards with the clutch disengaged. Put it back into neutral, rolled back to my starting position and back into 2nd and rolled forwards again. I did this a few times. Then I put it into neutral, choke on, and cranked it. At this moment, I don't really remember what I heard anymore, but I THINK I heard the starter crank and the pistons moving up and down a tad. It sounded like it was rubbing still, so I stopped cranking and put it back into 2nd and TRIED to roll it forwards. It moved a few inches, then the back wheel locked and didn't want to move. Back into neutral it went and it rolled just fine. Back to 2nd and nada. I pulled the clutch in and slowly released it as I slowly rolled forwards in 2nd. When the clutch was almost fully engaged, the rear wheel locked up again. Feels like the pistons don't want to move up and down anymore? Anyways, I tried this a few more times with no success.

An additional mistake I may have made was to try cranking the bike again in neutral. I heard no starter crank and simply the gas pump clicking very fast. Say...300-400 clicks a minute. It's LOUD. I did rebuilt my gas pump and made sure it was running properly before putting it in.

So here's the issue. Right now if I try and crank the bike, the only thing I hear is the gas pump clicking away. No starter motor turning over the engine, just nothing but the gas pump.

Yes there is gas in the tank.
Yes the petcock is set to the on reserve position (just in case there isn't enough gas; although I know there is because I can see it!)
Battery just came off the tender and I tested it: fully charged.

What would cause the starter motor to not want to turn the engine over?
I'm going to have a look at the electrical connections to make sure I didn't miss something crucial(already double checked it...who knows though), but apart from that, I'm at a loss.

Really looking forward to some help!

 

pull out the plugs to see if they have been hit by a piston. try cranking it over without plugs in it and see what happens.

 

I assume I should see the starter trying to turn it over? Also..how does the piston HIT the plug? :O

 

1. Have you check the neutral switch? If switch is in gear, but reality you are in neutral, bike think it's in gear so won't turn...

2. Have you check the starter? Is the connection solid? Did you check starter if working? How about the fuse....

 

wrong plug maybe? i dont know. it ran before, and they were changed. now the motor seems locked up? by what you said, it sounds like the pistons went up and stopped. now it wont even push over. it may be nothing, but its a place to start....

it may be fuel locked as well. pulling the plugs will reveal that too.

 

I agree with 74demon, it very well may be locked up by fuel. You shouldn't hear the fuel pump for more than a few seconds. They only run until pressure is built up, then they shut off until the pressure drops low enough for them to kick back on. If its still pumping, it still putting fuel into the carbs. Its quite possible you filled your cylinders with gas.

Also, try a higher gear to see if it will roll over. 2nd gear is still pretty low and may not allow the tire to spin the motor over. Try 3rd or 4th and see if it rolls the motor over.

My other suspicion is that you have a dead battery. Even it is fully charged, it may not have enough amps if you have a dead cell. the loud clicking is a common sound for the starter relay switching back and forth because it doesn't have enough power to turn the starter over. Fuel pumps do not normally click loud like you are describing.

Does the clicking only happen when you apply the starter button? If so, its more than likely a weak battery.

 

I'll pull out the plugs and see what gives.

If the cylinders are in fact filled with gas, where do I go from there? What action did I do to cause them to get filled with gas? How do I drain the gas outta there? Basically...what do I need to do to make sure theyvdon't get filled again?

Can I test the amperage being generated by the battery? How? And yes, the clicking only happens when the starter button is pressed. I'll see what the outcome is when I pull out the plugs and I'll report back.

Thanks all, I really appreciate the replies and feedback.

 

You can take your battery an autoparts store and have it load tested. They can tell you if its bad or not. Most places will do it for free. I'd check that before anything else. It would be the easiest.

Also, make sure you have good connections. A corroded or weak connection anywhere between the battery and the starter will have the relay kicking in and out. It doesn't take much corrosion either. Just a little between the battery and the terminal clip is all it takes. I'd also suggest cleaning the connections and retrying it.

Along the lines of the connections, make sure you have all of your grounds hooked up and they are tight. Just follow all of your electrical wires and check them.

Since its only doing the noise when you press the starter, its more than likley just starter relay kicking in and out due to a weak battery, or perhaps the motor itself.

If you have a set of jumper cables, you can also jump the bike from your car battery. If you do it directly from the car, make sure the car is not running. Also, you are only doing this for a test to see if the engine turns over. But do this after you rule out any corrosion.

 

Should I bother with checking for fuel in the cylinders?

Edit: connections look good. I made sure they were all free of corrosion before putting them in.

 

Update: SHE RUNS! 2nd crank and she roared to life. Squid, you were spot on. Weak battery. I borrowed my neighbors bike battery since his bike is still being rebuilt. I'll buy myself a new battery tomorrow and swap them out.

74demon, thank you as well for the advice. I did end up checking the plugs before swapping the battery, just in case. They looked fine, but it was nice to confirm the cylinders weren't fuel locked.

I'm sure I'm not the only one that feels so so so SO damn happy when the bike starts with minimal issues after 4.5 months of being taken apart and with an newbie wrencher. I'll be riding her with pride and joy.