A real no-no

Howdy all, I havent been on any motorcycle forums for a few years,I used  to post some on VFRD,perhaps a few of
you will remember me.Anyway down to business,I parked my 2000 VFR in my shed almost 3 years ago and
it sat without running for about that long. I did charge the battery up every few months with a good Honda
battery charger, after a few hours charge the charger always indicated that the battery was good and it was fully charged.
  Yesterday I removed the bike from the shed,after a charge, and tried to start it,all I got from the bike was a momentary
   whine from the starter,the bike would not crank over just give that momentary whine. All signs say the battery is charged,
  the horn blows crisp,the lights are bright,the turn signals flash brightly. But all I get is the tiny starter whine. At first I was worried that
   the pistons had rusted to the cyl. bores. I put the bike up on the stand and put it in high gear,I grabbed the rear wheel and
   with alot of effort I was able to turn the rear wheel,it wasnt easy to turn but it turned. So please I need your suggestions
   as to what to do,I know that I should have never waited this long to try and fire the motor. Also the battery was only a few months old
  when I stored the bike.  Thanks ed

Does the Harley run? I'd hook that battery up and see what happens. I'd suspect the battery is done after sitting for 3 years displaying the time, even with the occasional charge.

New battery.

Test this by jumping the bike off your car battery. Do this with the car turned off. If the bike starts right away, theory will be confirmed.

Batteries do not like to sit for long periods of time like that, you might have had better luck with a Battery Tender.

Make sure to also go through the bike and check for rodent damage in your airbox, muffler, and in the vee of the motor.

Good luck!

From the symptoms , starter whines but doesn't apparently turn the motor over I would guess the starter isn't actually engaging with the flywheel.  That could be a problem in the starter or the battery just doesn't  actually have enough power to fully engage the starter.  First test I'd try is taking battery for a load test.  Wouldn't be a bad idea to mist the cylinders with oil and again manually turning them over using the rear wheel to get some lube on the cylinders, this would have been been a great thing to do before you stored it if you knew it was going to be for that long a period, but I understand completely not taking those steps.  I'd still bet on the battery after that amount of time but if it was mine I would feel better having some lube on the upper cylinder walls and might also change oil and drain gas in tank and replace with fresh.  Good luck. I know you're going to get other suggestions and. I think the v-4 will be ok no matter what from every thing I've read.   Mike

Begin the process with full voltage and see what happens from there.

Jump it off your non-running car/truck as Seb suggested, the bike's starter motor will only draw as much power as it requires.

You cannot "push" power from the car to the bike, the bike "pulls" the power from the car battery.

You could have a 12v battery as big as your house, and the bike's starter motor will only take as many amps as it needs to do it's job, which is turn the bike motor over. You're protected by the fusing in the bike's electrical system anyhow (30a main fuse).

As long as you don't cross polarity, or crank the starter for minutes on end, you're fine.

It's your starter solenoid. Try tapping the starter with a hammer, as to get the stuck solenoid to engage.

[image: View Post]onedowneaster, on 23 June 2012 - 08:36 PM, said:

Howdy all, I havent been on any motorcycle forums for a few years,I used  to post some on VFRD,perhaps a few of
you will remember me.Anyway down to business,I parked my 2000 VFR in my shed almost 3 years ago and
it sat without running for about that long. I did charge the battery up every few months with a good Honda
battery charger, after a few hours charge the charger always indicated that the battery was good and it was fully charged.
  Yesterday I removed the bike from the shed,after a charge, and tried to start it,all I got from the bike was a momentary
   whine from the starter,the bike would not crank over just give that momentary whine. All signs say the battery is charged,
  the horn blows crisp,the lights are bright,the turn signals flash brightly. But all I get is the tiny starter whine. At first I was worried that
   the pistons had rusted to the cyl. bores. I put the bike up on the stand and put it in high gear,I grabbed the rear wheel and
   with alot of effort I was able to turn the rear wheel,it wasnt easy to turn but it turned. So please I need your suggestions
   as to what to do,I know that I should have never waited this long to try and fire the motor. Also the battery was only a few months old
  when I stored the bike.  Thanks ed

i would first remove the spark plugs and spray the cylinders with some oil to lude the clinders as u said when have rusted to the bore
then try ckanking to engine with the plugs out to get the engine oil to pump through the motor
them replace the plugs and put fresh fuel and start away
it will smoke until the oil burns away
:tour:

The original poster claims the starter motor makes a whining noise. This would obviously indicate the starter motor is turning but the starter clutch is not engaging. This is a mechanical problem with the starter clutch. It's not a low battery, stuck solenoid, or seized engine as these would have the starter motor not running at all.

Thanks to all that replied,now about the whine,it is momentary only a half second if that.I am almost positive the
  starter is not turning,at least I cant hear it. Also ,I have all my Honda repair manuals  packed,so exactly what side is the starter on?
I know I probably sound like a real novice,but I havent worked on any bike for ever so many years.I plan on getting to work on the
  bike sometime monday,at Ieast I  hope so, I will tell you what I have found. much thanks to all you VFR guys!  ed

Can you bump start it? At least that would get it started and the fluids moving around.

Is the whine when you turn the ignition on or when you thumb the starter?  I was given to understand the whine when you turn the key is the fuel pump.

Before presuming the battery is good, have it load tested.  The current draw from the horn and other accessories is nothing compared to the starter.   The charger will tell you if the battery is holding 12 to 13 volts, but it will not tell you if it can supply sufficient current at that voltage that the starter needs to turn the motor over.  Batteries Plus or an auto parts store will do the test for you for free.   Once you have a known good battery then move on to other possibilities.  After sitting for 3 years in a shed, corrosion of the connectors to the starter and the grounds are a decent possibility.   Be sure they're all clean and tight.  Some Oxgard can help 'em out.    Also, if the fuel has been in there for 3 years, it could be suspect and cause other problems - that would be good to change out before attempting to start it.

To all who responded,first off thanks. And yes it was the battery,it did fool a couple parts stores,but in the end the voltage was
   ok ,but  the cranking amps were way down. So a new Honda Yusha battery,fresh gas and the removal of the spark plugs
    and spraying a bit of light petro down the cyls,hand cranking the motor over via the rear tire did the trick. I took the bike out for
    a little shakedown run and all seemed ok,however since it was in storage so long I have to change all the fluids and make a couple
  other checks before I get serious about riding the old machine.

[image: View Post]onedowneaster, on 29 June 2012 - 04:53 PM, said:

To all who responded,first off thanks. And yes it was the battery,it did fool a couple parts stores,but in the end the voltage was
   ok ,but  the cranking amps were way down. So a new Honda Yusha battery,fresh gas and the removal of the spark plugs
and spraying a bit of light petro down the cyls,hand cranking the motor over via the rear tire did the trick. I took the bike out for
a little shakedown run and all seemed ok,however since it was in storage so long I have to change all the fluids and make a couple
  other checks before I get serious about riding the old machine.

:fing02: