Motorcycle Repair: kill switch, yamaha zeal, jumper cables

Question
hi chris, i have a 1997 yamaha zeal which i havent ridden in a few days. anyway, today when i went to take it out for a ride, it wouldn't start and i noticed the kill switch was on 'run' and when i turned the ignition on, this small 'whirring' noise could be heard coming from (i think) the engine. The bike won't start at all and when i try to start it it makes no noise but the temp and overdrive light flash. The kill switch would've been left on for at least 2 days.
would u be able to tell me what u think is wrong with the bike and what would be the best possible way of fixing it?
thanks heaps,
jacinda

Answer
Hi Jacinda.

 To start with, the kill switch being off for days (or even months) at a time wouldn't do any harm to the bike.  The kill switch is just that.  It kills power to the ignition circuits.  So it being on run also will not have any affect on power drain.  It only completes the circuit to the ignition system.

I don't know what the whirring noise is, but it seems as though something was left on and now you have no battery power left.

 Check the charge on the battery with both a multimeter as well as with a battery hygrometer.  Also check your fuses.  Particularly the ignition fuse.

One way to see if the bike will start is to try to jump the bike from a car.  Use the following proceedure;

1) Pull a car next to the bike and shut the car off.

2) Connect the jumper cables to both vehicles as in any normal jump-start.  If the negative terminal on the bike is inaccessable, then hook the negative to any clean grounding point on the bike (frame, footbrake lever, upper shockmount, engine, etc).

3) LEAVE THE CAR TURNED OFF and start the bike.

 The starter should turn like it's in overdrive.  As long as the only problem is the battery, then the bike should run and charge.

If it does not start, then there could be other issues.

Let me know what you find.

Good luck and ride safe.
FALCON