Riders Of Vision

We've reached the summer break. Marquez has yet to complete a race and Ducati lost a sprint and 1 Gp. Exciting season, not. Doubt if I get video pass next year.

To back up Fret not, you have to have a good battery and connections. If the voltage drops too low you will not get a spark. A big part of that problem is likely oil getting into the starter and gumming things up. The starter sits below the oil level and has an inadequate seal on the nose of the starter. Contact surfaces in the starter will need to be cleaned and shined up as well as putting a new seal in the nose of the starter. Start with the easy stuff first. Charge the battery fully and have it load tested. Clean and shine up all connections of the large battery cables. You might try starting the bike with a jumper to a car battery without the car running and see if it starts then. Maybe even try starting with it hooked to a battery charger. Those 2 options should keep the voltage over the sparking threshold.

Can you clarify?  Does the starter spin the motor?  Have you tested for voltage when cranking? 10.5V or less will cause NO SPARK when cranking.  This seems to be a built in feature of our ignition systems.

Check  all power and grounds, ignition switch and the good ole...tci unit.

                                                                                      John

1983 12k miles.  Of course, I've had electrical issues over the years but not this one. 

What should I check first?  Any help is appreciated - I'd like to ride it this summer  :)

Thank you!

A nice deal for someone.


@Dave, you will be thrilled to know I only just got an insurance payout for that heatshield you sent me in July 2020 that was stolen.  They only covered US to NZ postage, but better then nothing eh?

With 8 bikes in the field and 5 or 6 riders capable of winning, everywhere is Ducati country. Can't really fault Suzuki for withdrawing after last season. Maybe Yamaha should have followed as they are even less competitive. Oh well, maybe it'll rain.

Now JUNE 9, and the track is MUGELLO/Italy.  This should be interesting since Marc Marquez is 'back', and several of the recently injured contenders have been declared fit for Sunday.  DUCATI country, but KTM and Honda are not so far away.  Sunday will tell the story.

Really is a shame, but at least the FB page seems to be going strong.
There are even new posts of modifications on there!
I've been trying to document my chain drive racebike build as I go to keep people interested.

I have now sold the parts.