XB12Ss won't turn over

[hcb]

Hello, all, I have a 2009 XB12Ss I bought new in 09. Maybe 1800 miles on it; it sits a lot. I'd not ridden it since last year and decided to fire it up and try to get more time on it (with primary motorcycle and a (now) three-year-old, that's hard to do. Anyway, the Horrible Freight battery tender had not done its job and the battery was dead. Used a SmartMinder specifically for AGM batteries and got the thing charged up, no problem.

However, upon trying to start the motorcycle, the engine came up on compression (sounds like) and just stopped hard. A couple of times of this and the battery was down low. I put it back on the charger with the battery disconnected from the electrical connections to the motorcycle. I've since tried jumping it with cables from the motorcycle battery cables to a full-size vehicle battery and I get the same thing. I tried jumping it off three different full-size batteries, including the one in my 2011 pickup which is new in the last 6 months (thanks, Ford...POS stock battery) with no luck.

Each time it's the same thing; power-on sequence like it always was and then hit the start button and it never gets past the compression stroke(s). With the big batteries I had no problem with the battery going down between attempts, of course, but they won't spin the engine, either.

Before I start pulling parts off I thought I'd post here and ask if anyone has any input.

Thank you.

--HC

[user_deleted]

hc: good info and good attempts on your part. before you go any further i suggest removing airbox cover, filter lid, lay aside lid, filter, airbox base, disconnect IAT switch, lay cover aside. now remove both plugs after gently removing plug wires. at this point crank the engine. do not worry about grounding the coil thru the wires. it will be fine. you are doing this to clear the cylinders and confirm no fluids inside same. this prevents "hydraulic-ing" the motor. all clear? fine. reassemble. now give battery steady 10 amp charge for at least 20 minutes. see if it comes up to approx. 12.3-12.7 volts. if so try and start. if not i would replace the battery. but for peace of mind do the plug removal and cranking procedure outlined above first.

[hcb]

Thank you for the reply. I saw this Monday and followed this last night. The engine turns over weakly without the plugs which is disappointing as I thought the battery was fixed. I did not yet try it with a full-size battery and jumper cables because I didn't have one at the location where I was working on the motorcycle (my life is complicated and I've got two properties I move back and forth between).

I did manage to dump the motorcycle off my trailer at about 5-8 MPH when I hit a chug hole the size of an import while avoiding another vehicle on the horrible roads in my ****ty county. Hit on the upper left side first and scuffed the flyscreen and clutch handle pivot and the rubber bump guard on the fuel tank and some more. The worst is it broke the cast aluminum housing below the instrument cluster. I hate this county and the retards who cannot and will not fix our roads. </rant>

Thanks again for the reply and I'll get some more time on the motorcycle tonight to try a full size battery.

--HC

[konarider94]

I hate this county and the retards who cannot and will not fix our roads.

Where are you from? If you bike falls over from something like that though it really should have been tied down better.

Sounds like you may have a bad ground, I suggest cleaning them and making sure they are secure. You may not be getting enough current to the starter. Or maybe the starter itself is bad. If you are jumping it with a full size automobile battery and it wont crank something is going on. It did crank over without the plugs but it really should go pretty fast like that. There is not much load without the compression.

[hcb]

Hey, Kona, thanks for the post.

First, I'm from North Central Texas about 80-90 miles northwest of Dallas. A crappy little town called Bowie.

I'm hot and I'm angry about that damned place but I'll try to be polite when I say this: I've dragged that same trailer with that Buell, my Honda, and my old Suzuki for THOUSANDS of miles and never had a problem no matter what. Certainly the evidence suggests that it should have been tied down better but years of experience have shown that I'm fairly adept at tying 'cycles down to trailers. The hole I hit is about 6 inches deep, after looking at it after the fact today. In the future I will do more to secure a motorcycle to any trailer, but don't think that this was my first trip out and I'm an idiot. The roads are in poor shape and this road in particular is like a bombed-out runway. That combined with trying to avoid an oncoming vehicle which had just turned onto the road combined for a bad mixture.

I'm sorry, I'm pissed at the situation and the damage and not trying to take it out on you so if I'm offensive towards you please know it's not intentional.

<SIGH>

I only tried the Buell without the spark plugs with the little battery it has. My big battery is back in Bowie (I live between two properties which SUCKS). I'll try jumping it off my truck tomorrow or over the weekend and report back.

Take care and have a safe holiday weekend.

--HC

[hcb]

I know it's been a long time but I'm baaaack.

The final answer was the battery was bad. Wow, simple fix. Stupid me. I found a battery on Amazon, IIRC, which claimed to be a HO (high output) blah blah blah and that motorcycle has *never* cranked so smoothly or quickly as it did and does after changing the battery to the higher-claimed output one.

--HC

[Chicknstripn]

Good on you for the update!
Too many people start going crazy over starting issues when the culprit is usually the battery! Especially when the bike started just fine before sitting X MONTHS or whatever.

[Cooter]

What a shame to knock over a 1800 mile bike. Been there, I feel for ya…

But now that's out of the way, go ride the crap out of it!!! No worries












Or sell it to me, really cheap:p