Starting the "Barn Bike"

Put a charged battery on the bike today for the first time in 20 years; bike does not turn over... Bike is on centerstand in neutral (no neutral light though...) with the sidestand up. Tried it clutch lever in and lever out (clutch switch good).

Electrically: headlight, aux light, brake mc, and battery level are all disconnected. With ignition on, red light on, horn works, turn signals and brake lights good. All fuses good.

Again, the starter button does nothing. Neutral switch? Starter seized?

 

Re: Starting (actually not starting) the "Barn Bike"

Have you tried jumping the starter solenoid?

 

Re: Starting (actually not starting) the "Barn Bike"

Neutral safety switch? And although it sounds dumb check your kill switch (just had this happen last week...embarrassing but an easy fix).

 

Re: Starting (actually not starting) the "Barn Bike"

Bypass starter solenoid, jump starter from the battery. She turns, bad solenoid. She doesn't, bad starter.

 

Re: Starting (actually not starting) the "Barn Bike"

Whoa, I hope you thought to put some lubrication down the spark plug holes and let it soak for a day or two before trying to even turn the engine over. 20 years is a long time to be sitting and those rings are dry and maybe even stuck. Pour a little atf or pb blaster or such down each hole and give it a couple days soaking time. Then pull the engine cover and turn the engine over with a wrench.

Also that starter may be stuck now so if it does not work a good cleaning may be all it needs. Clean all electrical connections with an electronic cleaner like CRC or other.

 

Re: Starting (actually not starting) the "Barn Bike"

Got a manual? If so, go to the electrical troubleshooting section and work your way through it. It has all of the instructions for the safety circuit tests, which it sounds to me like is your problem. Don't have a manual?...need to get one...

 

Re: Starting (actually not starting) the "Barn Bike"

If you've got no neutral light and the bulb isn't burned out, then you may have a stuck neutral switch, in which case the bike will always think it's in gear. If that happens, both the sidestand switch and clutch switch need to be working properly, or it won't let you try to start it.

If it thinks the sidestand is down and the bike is in gear, it WON'T let it spin even with the clutch in.

GET A MANUAL. Track down and unplug the safety cutoff relay (not just the sidestand relay) and see if allows it to spin. Unplugging the safety relay effectively bypasses the system, for troubleshooting purposes.

In lieu of a manual, the info in here should help immensely: http://xjbikes.com/Forums/viewtopic/t=27543.html

 

Re: Starting (actually not starting) the "Barn Bike"

Thanks all, troubleshooting the starter interlock circuit this morning. The following components are good:
1) Battery - fully charged
2) Fuses
3) Starter relay (solenoid) - removed and electrically tested, energizes and contacts close
4) Starter motor - turns when solenoid jumped
5) Clutch switch - ohm'd out, checks good
6) Starting circuit cut-out relay - removed and electrically tested: energizes, cantacts close, diode checks good
7) Sidestand relay - removed and electrically tested: energizes, cantacts open when relay energizes
8 ) Main switch (ignition) and engine stop switches both good - power at both starting circuit and sidestand relays.

On the bike neither the starting circuit relay nor the sidestand relay energize with ignition on...no clicking... only a couple more suspects: neutral, sidestand, and engine start switches and the diode block?

Neutral switch (if bad) shouldn't matter if clutch in (switch good) and sidestand up (switch good), and vice versa, right?

 

Re: Starting (actually not starting) the "Barn Bike"

Done...

 

Re: Starting (actually not starting) the "Barn Bike"

Always the first purchase...

 

Re: Starting (actually not starting) the "Barn Bike"

Correct on the neutral switch; as long as the sidestand switch/relay is "up & happy" and the clutch lever is pulled in, then neutral shouldn't be a concern.

Your other chief suspects in this are in the RH handlebar switch pod; the OFF/RUN/OFF switch and the starter button itself. Or of course, any associated wiring.

Assuming you've already done something with the fusebox.

 

Re: Starting (actually not starting) the "Barn Bike"

SHE LIVES!!! It turns out that the sidestand switch and the neutral switch are both bad (although after running the bike for about 20 minutes, the neutral light came on, so maybe it "fixed" itself). I also disassembled, cleaned and greased the starter.

The bike sounds fantastic. I tweaked the idle down to ~1000 RPM after she settled down. I had put the mixture and synch screws back where I found them (setting-wise) before installing the carbs; it sounds so good right now, not sure if will be in a hurry to mess with them.

No worries, lots of other maintenance to do: clutch and brakes for starters... But seeing (and hearing) it run has certainly made my weekend. Thank to all for your helpful input.

 

RicB your right I always try to get a bike running before I do anything else. It's the incentive I need to do the rest of the work.

 

RickB, where are you located in So MD? I live in Baltimore but I work Helicopter MedEvac and fly out of Maryland Airport in Indian Head and St Mary's Airport in Hollywood. Congrats on getting the bike started!

 

I am here in big city of Hughesville (Population 2200). Gonna be doing the clutch here in the near future if you're interested.

 

Certainly, I pass through Hughesville on my way south to Hollywood, MD. Shoot me a PM when you are looking to do it and I will try and coordinate that with my work schedule.

 

just want to re-mention - youre going to want to replace the fusebox with a newer blade-type box to prevent future electrical issues.