Yesterday I took the bike out and it struggled to start. The engine turned over fine but wouldn't fire as if I didn't have the clutch held in properly. On the second try it fired up and off I went to fill up the tank. It didn't start annoyingly. It would turn over but not fire up. I asked a man in a van if he'd give me a push and he did and while it struggled it did bump start. After that, I went for a short ride but since then it was starting up just fine. Today though I go to start it and have the same issue. The battery is reading 12 volts which iirc is enough to start it. I was scratching my head for a few minutes trying to think of possible solutions and I decided to clean up the battery terminals. So I got a wire brush and cleaned them up, reconnected the cables and it started.
The only problem is I can't be 100% sure I've fixed it as I've not tried anything else and it could have been a coincidental fluke for all I know. I'm wondering if anyone here can help confirm the issue. I've not had any other electrical issues as such apart from the tacho taking a second or two to kick in after it's started in the past (I mean recent past). I've just put this down to low battery voltage though. The alternator has been rewound recently so doubt it's that unless they did a crap job at it.
I'm wondering if the terminals just needed cleaning, why did it turn over still, why did it bump-start, start up fine on the starter motor after that and why did it not give any issues while riding?
Have you put a multimeter across the battery, before start, during start & once running? That can tell you a lot. How old is the battery & do you have it on charge when you're not using it?
Fairly old battery. Haven't checked multimeter during the start but have checked it before and after. It was reading 12.5 before the start and once it started it was reading 13 volts at idle. The bike wouldn't start again so my fix didn't work sadly. Knew it was too good to be true but has left me even more baffled. This time it's turning over slower. I'm wondering if the starter motor is failing and is drawing more power than usual so isn't enough power left over to create sparks? I had that issue with my 600 bandits but the starter motor was noisy and never sounded healthy. Left me with start-up issues until one day it just failed altogether. Once I replaced the starter it has never had issues starting since. The starter motor sounds okay on the GSX though so I'm not sure.
I'm thinking of buying a new battery then if I get the same issue I'll replace the starter motor. The only other thing I can think of is the spark plugs being dirty so that it requires a fair bit of power to create a spark after being zapped by the starter motor. But it runs fine when it's running so that wouldn't add up.
I'm thinking battery too, it probably only holds a float charge, but can't generate enough amps to crank over. Get it tested and replace if needed.
A cheap easy way to 'check' it is put jumper leads on it (off your car is ok) n see if she jumps into life.
Can also be poor earths, have you had a look at those?
Mate, just try Cols solution. Ill back its a crook battery.
Had the same problem, bike would spin up but not start, replaced the battery and all is good. Tayna do a leoch with a two year warranty for £30
Exactly mjgt, i do batts all day everyday, mine passed every test. Bike would spin, even backfired. Had me stuffed. New batt, all good. I think 14 are very fussy about having good batt. Some cars same, Honda, V6 Holden, Subaru. They defy batt tests, says good enough, wont start. New one solves problem. No idea why, just how it is.
Aye sounds like how my last battery died too.
Bought a new battery but have not had a chance to put it in yet due to the weather. Just confused as it was showing 12.5 volts which should be enough to start it and was spinning over and seemed fast enough although I could be wrong on that. Also, I had this issue a while ago with another battery but it would turn over slower. I swapped it with the one in my old bandit 600 which my dad now rides and I've had that battery since (it's an old battery though). But the bandit hasn't had start-up issues with the battery that I had in the GSX so the battery can't be bad. That being said the bandit doesn't have a fuel pump, doesn't have injectors, and doesn't have 101 sensors, etc so maybe that's partly to do with it? If I get the same issue I'll replace spark plugs as they're cheaper than a new starter motor but when it's running, it runs fine so I doubt it's the spark plugs. Hopefully, the new battery will sort it but only time will tell as it can be fine for a few days and then starts to give me trouble.
I've put in the new battery, the bike started fine. Spins over much faster than it did the other day even though I thought it was spinning fast enough. Is a fully charged battery though so could still give me problems. When I've had this problem before I've charged the battery and it would be fine for a few days. It's like something is causing the battery to drain slowly over time. The only thing I have that could zap the battery would be a GPS tracker but it has its own internal battery so shouldn't be using too much battery power, I've had it since I bought the bike but never had any issues with starting until recently.
Could it be the reg/rec or would symptoms be more obvious?
When batteries die of old age they loose charge faster & have lower CCAs, which explains both things you're seeing.
If you want to check it's charging them put a voltmeter across the battery it should be around 13.5v with the engine idling, rising to 14.4v as you lift the revs up. Too low or too high are both issues.
If it was the rectifier it wouldn't be charging at all.
If this GPS tracker has a draw on the bikes battery, it's not ideal that you leave the bike not going for any length of time. A very small draw for a couple of days or so with a new battery should be ok, but I wouldn't want to leave it for a week or anything like that without starting / charging the battery.
You could hook it up to an Optimate when she's sitting at home, that way you could leave it for weeks without worrying the battery is being drained.
You have the new battery in there, ride it every day for a week n see how ya go. I reckon it's sorted. You could also take the battery you took out to a local sparky & have then test it (assuming you don't have your own load tester) & get a definitive answer on the state of health of the battery.
I have a couple of load testers & will happily test 'em for you FOC, just bring them round . . .
Reckon youve solved the problem Mate, dont stress. Agree a little maintenance smart charger is great option, well worth buying. Use it often, so easy on 14.