26-05-15, 02:48 PM
Hey hope you're all sorted with this but I've litterally only just sorted this exact problem with my bike. After a lengthy battle with the dealer I managed to get it diagnosed as a starter solinoid problem. Mine is a 2013 plate and I eventually got it replaced under warranty.
The problem started of like yours, occasionaly hearing the odd click before a good start but soon it became click on multiple presses of the starter switch. This is not your starter or solenoid but the switch within the starter relay under your seat (working as it should). After testing the battery and altanator as described above and (for good measure) reconditioning the battery with a ctek charger I began to suspect either the starter or solenoid.
At this point the dealer had already fobbed me off multiple times saying it would almost certainly be a weak battery rather than mechanical with a bike of this age but I knew it could not be after confirming this with a multimeter.
At this point I knew I had to prove it for them to look at it (two weeks left on warranty at this point). So by luck more than anything I clicked the starter switch with my head close to the block and could hear a very quiet electrical noise, the type you might here if you gripped the end of a cordless drill very tight and preventing it from turning. So I put it in gear with clutch in and feathered it rolling forward at the same time as trying to start it and hey presto I managed to get it to start every time using this method. This allows a weak solenoid to engage by aligning the teeth on the starter motor sprocket with the engine which in turn allows the starter motor to spin.
Armed with this knowledge I took the bike to the dealer who agreed to strip it and sure enough the solenoid was faulty. I'm glad I persevered as a new starter would have been a lot more expensive down the line out of warrenty and probably after I'd replaced a perfectly good battery.
Anyway I hope you are sorted with your trip to France but should you run into the same issue you can always use the method above to get it running. Alternativly it will bump start on a hill or with a push but this does piss off the ABS system.
ATB
Rich
The problem started of like yours, occasionaly hearing the odd click before a good start but soon it became click on multiple presses of the starter switch. This is not your starter or solenoid but the switch within the starter relay under your seat (working as it should). After testing the battery and altanator as described above and (for good measure) reconditioning the battery with a ctek charger I began to suspect either the starter or solenoid.
At this point the dealer had already fobbed me off multiple times saying it would almost certainly be a weak battery rather than mechanical with a bike of this age but I knew it could not be after confirming this with a multimeter.
At this point I knew I had to prove it for them to look at it (two weeks left on warranty at this point). So by luck more than anything I clicked the starter switch with my head close to the block and could hear a very quiet electrical noise, the type you might here if you gripped the end of a cordless drill very tight and preventing it from turning. So I put it in gear with clutch in and feathered it rolling forward at the same time as trying to start it and hey presto I managed to get it to start every time using this method. This allows a weak solenoid to engage by aligning the teeth on the starter motor sprocket with the engine which in turn allows the starter motor to spin.
Armed with this knowledge I took the bike to the dealer who agreed to strip it and sure enough the solenoid was faulty. I'm glad I persevered as a new starter would have been a lot more expensive down the line out of warrenty and probably after I'd replaced a perfectly good battery.
Anyway I hope you are sorted with your trip to France but should you run into the same issue you can always use the method above to get it running. Alternativly it will bump start on a hill or with a push but this does piss off the ABS system.
ATB
Rich