Bonneville America Forums Forums Technical Forums General Tech Mystery sound of the day?

I went to start the bike today and got the following: 1 or 2 engine turn overs and the a dhu dhu dhu sound. After a couple of additional presses on the starter button only the dhu dhu dhu sound. No engine revolutions.

Thoughts? I am thinking battery. It is 5 years old and while I keep on a trickle charger the life may be gone.

Hoping it is not the starter.

Definitely overdue for a battery...
I replace mine every couple if years just because i don't want to risk being stranded over a stinkin' battery! It's cheap insurance.

It sounds like the starter isn't getting enough juice. Make sure the connections on the battery/starter/solenoid are tight along with the ground to the frame. Probably a good idea to replace the battery also. Also, put a voltmeter across the battery when you get it started to see what you are charging at. Typically anything around 14 volts is acceptable but our bikes usually run lower.

If I read that right sounds like you have a starter problem of some sort, From what I read you have the sound of the starter turning but the engine isn't turning. That wouldn't be a battery issue that would be a failure is the gear drive train some where not putting the power from the starter motor to the engine. I hope you mean the starter just bogs and doesn't turn since then it would be a battery/connection issue. 05 falls into the weak starter idler gear range, did your bike backfire while trying to start? I hope not but I worry about that happening to me. Lucky my bike doesn't backfire while starting I guess. Any unusual grinding noise with the starter sound?

Having experienced idler gear bushing explosion on my '05 SM I would describe the sound afterward as the starter spinning easily w/ no connection to the engine. When it occurred, there was a sound like a small firecracker going off near my ear - I thought it was the bushing exploding but it may have been a backfire which apparently can cause the dastardly event! If your problem is undiagnosed, you can drain the oil, then remove the clutch cover on the left side and the damage will be obvious if this is the problem. The good news is TR covered the repairs out of warranty since this is an obvious manufacturing defect - my bike had only 7200 miles on it at the time! They will change the crankcase so it shouldn't happen again.

It looks to be a battery issue. Thanks for the various suggestions. The starter seems to be fine. It was bogging down and as some of you have described, did not have enough juice to turn the engine. I have changed the battery and seems to have done the trick. The old battery may have lived its life. Did okay in the warm temps but now with cooler temps, despite the battery tender, she was not holding up. I may still take it in to see if the store says its toast.