# What's wrong with my motorcycle
**URL:** https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-wrong-with-my-motorcycle/623283
**Category:** Factual Questions
**Created:** [May 27, 2012, 10:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-wrong-with-my-motorcycle/623283 "2012-05-27T22:08:42Z")
**Posts on this page:** 12
**Page:** 1
### Author:  [@pkbites](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pkbites)
#### Post date: [May 27, 2012, 10:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-wrong-with-my-motorcycle/623283/1 "2012-05-27T22:08:42Z")
Before I start taking anything off, or apart, I thought I’d get some clues.
Harley Davidson. When I hit the starter switch, all I get is a “click, click, click” from the starter. I assumed it was the battery and was just going to swap it out when I had some scheduled maintenance done. To ride it I rolled it down a 7% grade hill a couple of times in the past month and it started, but not today. Pushing it back up that hill to get it back home was a bitch and a half!:mad:
Battery, right?
But wait…! The lights all stay on as does the neon kit. When I try to start it the clicking is strong and the battery doesn’t grind down to no power at all.
So could it be the starter?
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### Author:  [@Bijou\_Drains](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bijou_Drains)
#### Post date: [May 27, 2012, 10:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-wrong-with-my-motorcycle/623283/2 "2012-05-27T22:15:01Z")
starter could be bad or just a loose/bad connection somewhere between the battery and starter. You can start by making sure all connections are tight and there is no corrosion on them.
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### Author:  [@pkbites](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pkbites)
#### Post date: [May 27, 2012, 10:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-wrong-with-my-motorcycle/623283/3 "2012-05-27T22:31:52Z")
> [@Bijou\_Drains](#):
>
> You can start by making sure all connections are tight and there is no corrosion on them.
Did that.
I’ll take my battery in to get checked on Tuesday. I’m really hoping that is the problem. Changing a battery is easy. A starter not so easy. (even if it is, I’ve never done it).
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### Author:  [@Son\_of\_a\_Rich](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Son_of_a_Rich)
#### Post date: [May 27, 2012, 10:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-wrong-with-my-motorcycle/623283/4 "2012-05-27T22:50:25Z")
Have you joined any manufacturer specific forums? The forums for my bikes have been gold mines of information.
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### Author:  [@VinylTurnip](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/VinylTurnip)
#### Post date: [May 27, 2012, 11:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-wrong-with-my-motorcycle/623283/5 "2012-05-27T23:13:55Z")
> [@pkbites](#):
>
> Harley Davidson.
Think I found your problem. 🙂
This may not be the problem if your lights are staying on, but I once suffered problems similar to yours when the electrolyte levels in my battery were too low/empty. If yours is not a sealed battery, you may wish to check the fluid levels and add distilled (not tap) water as needed.
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### Author:  [@BobArrgh](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BobArrgh)
#### Post date: [May 28, 2012, 12:16am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-wrong-with-my-motorcycle/623283/6 "2012-05-28T00:16:52Z")
Do you have a stator? My Suzuki Boulevard has a stator (as opposed to an alternator, I think). Mine went out last summer.
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### Author:  [@andyleonard](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/andyleonard)
#### Post date: [May 28, 2012, 12:56am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-wrong-with-my-motorcycle/623283/7 "2012-05-28T00:56:19Z")
See how close you can get to the starter and check the voltage while it’s clicking. Maybe battery, maybe cables, maybe relay, maybe solenoid, maybe starter switch, maybe ground. Maybe a funky “neutral” safety switch. Can’t check anything without a full (12.7V) battery.
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### Author:  [@MikeG](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MikeG)
#### Post date: [May 28, 2012, 1:38am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-wrong-with-my-motorcycle/623283/8 "2012-05-28T01:38:31Z")
Sounds like a ground issue to me.
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### Author:  [@cornflakes](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/cornflakes)
#### Post date: [May 28, 2012, 4:23am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-wrong-with-my-motorcycle/623283/9 "2012-05-28T04:23:00Z")
It’s the neon. 🙂
Seriously, I’m as certain as I can get without being there that it’s the battery. If not, then I would look at the battery and starter connections. A starter uses many times as much current as the lights; a weak battery can easily run the lights and still not have enough power to turn the starter. It’s also fairly common for people to let their bikes sit for long periods of time (especially over the winter), and this can be hard on conventional batteries.
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### Author:  [@md2000](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/md2000)
#### Post date: [May 28, 2012, 4:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-wrong-with-my-motorcycle/623283/10 "2012-05-28T16:32:08Z")
If it goes “click click” and the starter does not turn - either bad starter or bad battery. I’m guesing bad battery. Easiest thing to check. As mentioned above, visually inspect battery cells if your battery is moderately see-through (while battery is properly upright, not leaning). I had one that froze once, the plates were all crumpled in one cell. Another time, low water levels from recharging a lot.
Can you jump-start it? (Very carefully!) That proves the battery is it.
I had a motorbike that would turn over and and over (normal starting noises) but never fire. Turned out that not draining the carbs over winter would create “turpentine” smelling old gas that would make the carb floats stick, but running it down a hill would shake it up enough to loose the carb floats and make it run; fresh gas kind of cleaned out the carbs enough so it ran fine until it sat for a while. (Tap the carb bowls with a hammer also loosened them…)
But it sounds like your engine does not even turn. Starter or battery power.
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### Author:  [@GusNSpot](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GusNSpot)
#### Post date: [May 28, 2012, 6:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-wrong-with-my-motorcycle/623283/11 "2012-05-28T18:03:39Z")
If lights dim when you hit the starter = battery
If lights do not change, bad circuit to the starter
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### Author:  [@opmike](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/opmike)
#### Post date: [May 29, 2012, 4:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-wrong-with-my-motorcycle/623283/12 "2012-05-29T16:42:03Z")
The click click noise may be from the relays and not from the battery.
On my the bike, I get a loud rapidly clicking noise if the battery is dead or dying.
Pull the battery and take it to an auto parts store for a free load test. Don’t just test the voltage with a DMM, you need load testing.