Motorcycle Repair: honda magna, honda magna, starter switch

Question
When I first got the bike
everything was great. A month after I stopped and started it about 5 times in 10 minutes and it totally died. I had to push start it then I left it running and it died by itself. Next day I push started it and rode it to mechanic where I bought a battery as he checked and
the battery was not charging well on my bike and since by bike has a
new voltage regulator I figured its the battery, so charged the new
battery and had no problems since - 3 months ago other than the
starter switch not working great - had to fiddle with button every
now and then. I took an advanced course yesterday and obviously a lot
of stopping and turning back on again. Bike died, push started it
about 3 times then decided to leave it idle while we went over
examples of what we had to do so I did not have to keep push starting
it. This worked for about an hour and when I went back to it - again
was dead, not even a click when I tried to start!
  it so I tied to push start and nothing, not even close. Left it
for a couple hours, decided to mess a little with fuses as I have had
a problem with my fuse for my headlight blowing and I remembered last
time I messed a little the starter switch worked a little better -
not much though. So I did this and then turned the key and noticed
the lights were a lot brighter as if the battery had charged a little
- wouldn't start but did push start, rode it home and since then has
started every time but again starter switch is still not great! I'm
guessing the bike is charging battery ok since it was totally dead -
not even able to turn headlight on and now is ok? I've ordered a
repair manual and I am going to change the starter switch - you think
this will work or what else do you think is my problem? And I get the
impression it is fairly easy to change the start button but time
consuming which is why I would rather do it myself than a mechanic -
also when reving high while pulling away fast with clutch totally let out it seems to rev sometimes all the way as if wheel spinning but its not, is this the clutch slipping? if so what do I do
thanks and sorry for the long question but I wanted to give you a thorough explanation
Mark


Answer
Mark,

-most bikes do not charge when idling
or even at low speeds. If your battery is
a little weak and you are running slow
speeds it is possible your battery is discharging
even though the engine is running.

-A poor connection in the starter button
switch could affect the headlight fuses as
it's power goes through there.

-The starter button activates the starter
solenoid which is the clicking sound,
if it is faulty you will not get power
to the starter motor.

-As far as the charging goes I would have the
battery checked and check the voltage
on the battery with the bike running about
3000 rpm. It should read close to 14 volts.

-the clutch slipping is caused by faulty or worn clutch
friction discs. They are inside the clutch
and it has to be disassembled
to replace them. You need a manual to tackle
this job though.