Motorcycle Repair: 1400 intruder starter wont kick over, suzuki intruder, starter solenoid

Question
Falcon
I have a 2002, 1400 Suzuki Intruder.  The starter will not engage from the switch.  All I hear is a click each time I push the starter button.  The battery has a full charge.  When I jump start the starter direct from a battery the starter engages and the engine runs fine.  I have pulled the seat and I can hear the relay on the rear fender clicking, but the starter doesn't want to engage.  All the connections appear good.  The bike is garaged and not exposed to the weather.  What am I missing?

Answer
Hi Barry.
 You could have one or more of the following problems, in order of likelihood.

1)  Dirty contacts in starter motor.

2)  Short in starter circuit wiring.

3)  Bad starter solenoid.

4)  Bad cell in battery.  It will show a charge, run the bike and other systems, but will not have enough amps to start the bike.  The likelihood of this is increased if the battery is more that 1 1/2 - 2 years old.

5)  Broken wiring from battery to starter or ground to battery.  If you have this, then it will also cause charging problems.

Let me know what you find.
Good luck.
FALCON