Bike seems hard to turn over

[ScottS]

I have a xs1100 a 81 to be exact. And this thing is hard as heck to turn over. I get like maybe two motor revolutions then it stops THen I have to hit the button again. Its really slow turning. When I pull the plugs out and do it it really zings. Any idea's tips or anything? Is this normal?

[randy]

Scott,

Has it ever run?

Have you charged the battery?

Are your Battery / Solenoid / Starter electrical connections clean and tight?

You could try jump starting it from a car battery ( with the car turned OFF)

[FutZ]

I have an xs11 79F and the same problem the more I charge the battery it turns over a few more times. As of yet I'm still not getting it to start. I've cleaned the carbs twice (I know do it 12 more times to do it right) sprayed a little starting fluid into the air box, fresh gas, and still no actual attempt to run. Any Ideas? Its a new battery. I will go back over the connections I need to anyway because my turn signals don't work either. The bike is new to me and I've never seen it run but the PO could get it to run from a rolling start but the starter or kick start never got the job done.

Thanks in advance.

FutZ

[randy]

Sounds like you need to go through the electrics and clean everything. Might want to change the starter brushes, too and clean and lube the planetary gears in the nose of the starter. Don't forget to clean the engine case where the starter bolts down, that is the starter's negative connection.

[ScottS]

Originally posted by randy
Scott,

Has it ever run?

Have you charged the battery?

Are your Battery / Solenoid / Starter electrical connections clean and tight?

You could try jump starting it from a car battery ( with the car turned OFF)

Well I am actually by passing the solenoid right now and I am jumping it off a car becasue i do not have a battery for the bike. It has not run in 4 years. The guy helping me work on it is the same guy that used to own it. he said its been like that for as long as he road it and it would always fire on the first or second turn. Now that i have carb troubles with it, I need to to turn quite a few times for me. I will try breaking down the Starter and clean parts on it. And make sure all my connections are good

Scott Stoner

[Jerry]

Uh.....

The fuse blocks on these old Japanese bikes are a known problem area. The 'fingers' that hold the fuses get brittle, will snap of if you pinch them without a fuse in place, and generally need to be replaced. Do a search on "fuse blocks" and you will get quite a few ideas on how to go about replacing the OEM block.

A good fuse block will cure a lot of ills. Another place to look is the battery cables; while you are checking the other connectors remove the ground to frame connection and make sure it is clean.

Many electrical gremlins (flasher problems, hard starting, dim headlight, others) on these old bikes are due to bad ground connections, so pay special attention to them.

Let us know what you find!

[ScottS]

Well I yanked the starter apart. I cleaned all the contacts with alchol and a scotch brite pad. I Aired it all out with a compressor and put it back to gether. It works much better now. Not as strong as I had hoped but much much better 100% improvement

[ratbyk]

Hopefully you lubed the end frame bearings to reduce frictional losses as the starter is put to work.
Ken/Sooke

[ScottS]

Yes I did re lube everything with a hi temp grease