VStar 650 won't start ...

[euphgirl]

Hi guys
I'm hoping someone can shed some light on this issue. I last rode the bike Oct 16,2011 and when we went to start it in dec it wouldn't crank over. We figured the battery was dead so we tried to charge it. Nothing. We just got a new battery, charged it and it still wont crank over. Also we noticed that the headlight won't come on. Checked all fuses and they were good. The bike cranks, but won't kick over. Has anyone had this issue? I've had the bike since it was brand new and done all the general service.
thank you in advance

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[Water Warrior]

If my memory is correct the bike has carbs rather than FI. If this is the case it probably needs to be primed because the carbs are dry. There should be(I hope) a prime postion on the fuel cock. Switch it over for 30 seconds to fill the carbs with fuel. If I am wrong there will be some one along with more experience for your particular bike. Good luck.

[Easy Rider]

Hi guys
I'm hoping someone can shed some light on this issue.

+1 on what WW said.

Gotta go back to the basics: Fuel, spark and air.

The comment about the headlight not coming on at all bothers me a little ......as that might be a good clue to the real problem ......or just a distraction.

If it is not getting spark, check the safeties, neutral, clutch, side stand AND THE KILL SWITCH. It's amazing the number of troubles like this that are caused just by the kill switch being OFF.

If it is getting spark and adding some extra fuel or a shot of starting fluid doesn't show any life...............

Many shops this time of year will trailer your bike to their shop for free......as work is REALLY slow.

[chocholin]

Hi, I just got the same problem on a classic '05 V star 1100. It started out by killing batteries. I got a new battery, charged it and installed it. When I tried to start it up, all the lights went off, no start up test or a thing happened. I checked all the fuses (30's and the others) and they look good. Battery charge is perfect. I was told that it was the regulator/rectifier, so I got a new one, installed it and still have the same problem. I am no mechanic at all, so anyone can shed any light?

[Easy Rider]

Battery charge is perfect. I was told that it was the regulator/rectifier,

Whoever told you that doesn't understand the situation.......or doesn't understand electricity at all.

You need to chase the voltage around with a multi-meter and see where it disappears.
When doing that, you need to treat the battery posts and the clamps on them as seperate items; sometimes corrosion inside the clamps causes a bad connection right there. The battery posts have voltage but the clamps don't.

If you are not comfortable doing that yourself, you need to find somebody who IS......not necessarily a shop but that would be good too. Chances are that it's not anything big.

You have already discovered what often happens when you guess and buy new (expensive) parts. A shop visit to find and fix the real problem probably would have been cheaper.

[euphgirl]

Thank you all. I did not get notification that you replied or I would responded sooner. We will be spending some time again trying to work this issue out. My husband is a diesel mech so bikes are foreign! LOL. We will try some suggestions and see where we get...he said his plan was to try and chase the voltage.

[euphgirl]

So we chased the circuits and all looked good. Still no spark. Found out that the headlight will not turn on until the bike kicks over... At least thats how my husbands bike works so we are going with that for now. Fuel filter is clean, spark is getting fuel but no spark, coil circuit is reading 180 Ohms and kick stand switch is working properly. Only thing that was funky is that when I cranked it while in 1st gear it lurched fwd a bit. Any other thoughts/suggestions?? Thanks!

[Water Warrior]

You would be better off trying to start the bike in neutral. It won't try to lurch/creep forward. The clutch plates are dragging a bit while it is in gear and probably slowing down the engine and starter when you try to start the bike. Nothing is broken, that is just a common characteristic of some motorcycles.

[Easy Rider]

So we chased the circuits and all looked good. Still no spark.

Did you check both sides for spark ??
Sometimes plugs will go bad and confuse the test results.

[euphgirl]

Both sides? We checked the one on the right .... If there is one on the left then we didn't check that as we thought my bike only had one. Holy crap lets hope that's the issue. How the heck did we miss that?

Thanks!

[euphgirl]

You would be better off trying to start the bike in neutral. It won't try to lurch/creep forward. The clutch plates are dragging a bit while it is in gear and probably slowing down the engine and starter when you try to start the bike. Nothing is broken, that is just a common characteristic of some motorcycles.

We normally start in neutral, but for testing purposes we were trying everything. Good to know that's normal.

[Easy Rider]

Both sides? We checked the one on the right ....

Right, left.......front, back........
I'm pretty sure that the **V** star has two cylinders.

And in the most common configuration, one bad plug or wire can kill the spark to both.

[euphgirl]

Right, left.......front, back........I'm pretty sure that the **V** star has two cylinders. And in the most common configuration, one bad plug or wire can kill the spark to both.

Ok the one we checked is the front right, just above the air cleaner. I didnt see any others so I guess I will have to look a lot closer.

[euphgirl]

Found the second one at it too isn't fouled and has no spark. Guess its time to save $$ and take it to the shop in a few months....

[wis_bow_huntr]

I have a V Star 650 Classic and I will tell you, as soon as you turn the ignition to on, the lights should come on. Im starting to think youre overlooking something simple here such as the ignition switch. It sounds to me you are getting voltage through everything and it reads good but I would try an ignition switch change. I could be wrong but its a start. It could also be your kill switch as well. Have you tried to jump start it to see if it will start that way???