QuestionWas helping a friend with their bike recently and together we finally were able to get it started using the electronic starter. Put a fresh battery in and it fired up after a few tries. 5 days later, it won't start again and now she managed to get the kickstarter stuck. It appears as though the battery is now too weak (neutral light disappearing while starting, headlight getting low, etc) but all these things still work when the bike is sitting there. Any idea what could be draining the battery so fast? And how charged does it need to be in order to get the motor going. Also, what's the deal with the kickstart? It will go down but I can feel that as soon as it's about to engage, it just stops dead. I don't want to try and force it and risk damaging something. Any help would be greatly appreciated and thanks so much for your time. Keep me in mind in the future, I'll probably be asking a few questions about a 1972 Yamaha DS7 shortly (but I know a lot more about that bike, promise.)
Thanks!
AnswerI have a weird feeling that the engine is stuck or
seized by your description. Can you turn the engine
at all? Is the electric starter still working?
The bike needs a fair amount of battery power for ignition.
If you pull the cover off the left front side of the
engine, you can gently try turning the motor with a wrench.
Gently is the key word here. If the bike is on the
centre stand, a small amount of oil may leak out here,
so be sure to check the oil after putting the cover back on.
If the engine is turning okay, you may have to remove
the right side clutch cover to see why the kickstart
or whatever is jammed.
