clunking starter?

when i go to start my bike (2000sv650 10k miles x-racebike) it will turn over once or twice then i will get a clunk.. then the bike will start. the clunk i can easily feel and hear. what is this. it's freakin me out.

also the bike wouldnt start under it's own power today, i think the battery is going dead?

thanks in advance guys

Originally Posted by toyotafj40s

also the bike wouldnt start under it's own power today, i think the battery is going dead?

Could be just that. Possibly the battery doesn't have enough juice to fire the starter properly. Stick it on charge & try again (is possible).

I may be (and probably am) wrong, but someone with more experience will be along shortly

yeah, im thinkin a new battery is necessary. my bike stalled last night at a light. im thinking because the battery is so damn weak it cant even keep the bike running?

thanks guys

itsounds exactly like mine when it did turn over it was quite slow ,theres an easy check ifu have acess to a voltmeter,it should b holding the same (or close to )your running voltage .mine was measured(running )and it was 13.9v ,left for a while and it dropped to 12.6v ,so it was goosed and i got a new bat (40£ from hg)and now it starts first time/spins over very fast.sorted

[Sid Squid]

It certainly sounds like low battery voltage, this could account for the reluctant starter, the thing that concerns me is that it has stalled and you think is possibly electrically related, a bike with a completely flat battery that is in otherwise functioning order should not do this, the battery is a reservoir only - it doesn't supply any current, it just stores it - when the motor is running the charging system should make all the current you need to run the bike just fine.
I'd check the charging system, do a search - there's loads of info on here to help you.

i believe it stalled out on me because last night it was kinda cold out, and rainy and i was sitting at a light. the rpms i lowered to 1k so it doesnt pop at idle.. and well the temp change may have made the bike run lower rpms? i doubt it has to do with the battery. ill replace the battery tonight though and keep you guys updated

thanks for the help

Originally Posted by Sid Squid

It certainly sounds like low battery voltage, this could account for the reluctant starter, the thing that concerns me is that it has stalled and you think is possibly electrically related, a bike with a completely flat battery that is in otherwise functioning order should not do this, the battery is a reservoir only - it doesn't supply any current, it just stores it - when the motor is running the charging system should make all the current you need to run the bike just fine.
I'd check the charging system, do a search - there's loads of info on here to help you.

More often than not, the partial/incomplete charging of your battery is due to a faulty reg./rect. It could be other things, but if the bike stalls when it's running (say for agood few miles), I'd suspect the reg/rect wasn't doing it's job properly.

If the reg/rect wasn't working at all however, and the battery had charge, all you'll get is a very rapid ticking coming from the pillion seat, and no clunking noise. At least, that's what I got when the dealer I bought the SV from forgot to plug the thing in and I got about 8miles from home A new battery will last around 15 good presses of the starter button, as I found out before pushing the bike

[northwind]

Mine's always done something similiar- sometimes it'll give a mighty clunk on the first press of the starter, only ever from cold, press it again and it'll turn over fine. It's as if the engine stops in a position where the starter's not up to the task of starting it, but that doesn't seem at all likely. Bike still goes, so I'm not too concerned