My Seca II isnt starting

hey board! im new to motorcycling and am excited to start on a xj600. i actually bought this bike yesterday... it worked all day yesterday and i started it fine this morning... i tried to start about 6 hours later... and it started a little bit, then died... i thought the engine might be cold so i pulled out the choke and tried to start it, wont work. I checked the PRI, ON, RES switch on the side and it was set to PRI... it might have been moved to PRI when i was taking off the cover... i dunno...

the engine tries to turn over... or if it doesnt sound like its trying to turn over i hear a clicking noise that im assuming is spark... also the Neutral light seems to go away and come back when im not trying to start the bike... should i just leave it alone? im assuming there isnt enough charge in the battery.... however I do not know the bike well enough yet to figure out what is wrong... it was working really well this morning... i did start and stall the bike a bunch of time trying to get it up a damn gap from the floor to the shed where i kept it till this happened. The bike is a 1995 Yamaha Seca II/XJ-600... any insight would help alot... thanks!

 

if your neutral light is going out looks like you have an intermittent connection. Probably in your mains fuse. Check that out. I don't know if those bikes are carburated, but if so, before starting next time (probably after charging your battery) unscrew a drain bolt (probably on the bottom of the carb) and see if theres gas flowing out. That clicking is your solenoid. You probably have a dead battery. Charge it up and try again. IF it starts and dies, sounds like a fuel delivery problem.

 

Well, there are quite a few things it could be. The one thing I would make sure of is that your battery is strong. You said "the engine tries to turn over... or if it doesnt sound like its trying to turn over i hear a clicking noise that im assuming is spark..." Now that "clicking" sound...are you sure thats not the starter just clicking away cause the batt is dead? Just a thought. I would hook up some jumper cables from your car and give it a shot. Make sure your Fuel valve is set to the ON position, your emergency cutoff is not on, your bike is in Neutral or in 1st gear with the kickstand up and the clutch engauged. (Remember, you have the switch on the kickstand that prevents the bike from starting when in gear) Choke open (cold). Maybe a little Starting Fluid would help for some extra compression while starting up too but not necessary.

If all that fails, make sure you have spark, no pinched fuel lines, no clogged fuel filter, clean air filter, good gas and by that I mean no water or moisture in the tank. You can let some gas in a clear glass bottle, if there is water in it the water will settle at the bottom because it is heavier. You may also want to pull a plug or 2 and make sure they are not fouled out.

Hope some of this helps. Good luck.

Oh yeah...I used to live in Queens. Flushing.

 

wow, thanks, you guys are extremely helpful. I will be visiting the bike on tuesday (it is in my moms house in Long Island because i am waiting for the Motorcycle safety school endorsement to come in) to figure out what is wrong. I have a very strong feeling its the battery, but hey, while im at it i might as well check everything else right? i want to start fresh so im probably going to change alot on the bike by the the end of next month (brakes, chain and sprocket, recoat the tank... etc)