Troubling noise on start

Hello fellow XJers,

I have an issue that I'm hoping someone can assist me to diagnose.

My issues started when I left my petcock in Pri for the winter... I'll get into the details, if necessary, about all the stupid things I then did.

But now that I've replaced the oil and filter my bike sounds very bad.
I'm a noob at motorcycles but to me it sounds like the starter motor isn't disconnecting after the bike fires up and becomes a generator... Not good.

The bike is an XJ550 from -83.

Below is a link to a sound recording and you can hear for yourselves what badness I've caused.

It's a high pitched whine when the engine starts to turn over. Sounds like those toy cars you wind up on the ground before you let it go

bit.ly/3hsAJxw
It starts around 35 seconds in.

Fully charged battery, start button has been checked and is functioning as expected.
I'm killing the bike myself later in the recording, it's not stopping on its own.. most of the time.

Please point me in the right direction

Thank you!

 

Ok, managed to get the link in

 

I think this posting has the same issue, so I shouldn't double up on posts.
1982 seca xj550 engine noise (1982-seca-xj550-engine-noise.130136)

 

That does sound like the starter clutch not disengaging, but the engine never really fires up.
Are you using any enrichment on startup?

Check your oil again. Unless you corrected the problem with your float valves leaking there may very well be gas in the sump again, and that will make it very hard to start.
You can leave it on prime for years and never get fuel into the sump, as long as the float needles are sealing.

 

It might be the same issue, but it isn't the same bike. His solution might not be the same as your soluton.

 

Diagnosis sounds correct, but I suspect your start solenoid has failed and stuck in crank position... do you have to kill it manually with kill switch?

Take the wire from start motor off the solenoid... Use your hand to touch this wire to solenoid connection, when you hear it start, remove the wire from this manual connection.
This will tell you if its electrical or mechanical issues. Post your results

 

Hey,
I haven't tried the solenoid but I don't think that is the issue. I have to kill the bike with the switch manually when it starts, yes.

I started the bike today and the whine was gone! Whoop! But it only lasted a minute :/

You can hear a recording below, but at 58 seconds the starter clutch engages again.
I'm guessing this means that it is a mechanical issue with the clutch?

drive.google.com/file/d/1ysrQQAvBfmOXLt6xncSV2kgPqFULjHhw/view?usp=sharing

 

If you take the starter motor out and alternator cover off the starter clutch should only lock when turning it anticlockwise the direction required to turn the engine.

 

@Tomas S do the solenoid test i mentioned above, that is a no cost test, and can tell you for sure if its electrical solenoid getting stuck in start position. but this test can only be run while you hear the noise.