1998 Valkyrie

[Apinkston]

Got the new icm and now I have spark on all 6 cylinders. Put the spark plugs back in and tried to fire it up. Battery ran dead quickly from not being on a charger, but before that I heard a loud bang come from the starter. Rocked the bike in gear and tried again, but the starter was getting slower and slower. Thought it may just be low battery so I charged it overnight and came back today. Starter wouldn’t crank at all, all the lights dimmed when I push the button and everything was plugged in and battery full. Just removed the starter and jumped it from my truck battery and it still spins, but unenthusiasticly. Other starters I’ve tried with this method normally move around or jump but this one sat still and wasn’t very loud on spinning. My guess is that the starter is bad and simply can’t turn the compressed motor but can spin with no load. Not 100% though

[wingrider]

I imagine you have been spinning it over without the plugs in, correct? Carbs still in place? These animals do have a slight penchant for hydrolocking, which normally breaks one of the gears associated with the starter. Certainly not saying this is your issue, but just be aware of it. The starter has enough grunt to break the gear, so if it isn't turning it over, I would say your starter needs attention.

[Apinkston]

Previously I had been spinning the motor with the spark plugs removed from one side. Only had this issue when I reinstalled the spark plugs. I already have the starter pulled but looking online, a rebuild kit is more expensive than an eBay starter. I haven’t tried looking for the reduction gears online yet but I’ll see how much I can pick up a set of those for if that’s all it may be. I was still able to turn the motor with a wrench, it was just hard with compression.

[wingrider]

With the starter out, I believe you can see the gears. Out of curiosity, which side did you pull the plugs out of?

[Apinkston]

I had them pulled from the right side. I could also see inside with the starter removed and everything looked clean. Though the reduction gears I’m referring to are the ones inside the starter itself, have a feeling those may have busted and that’s why it can’t spin so fast. Should I try manually cranking the engine and seeing if anything doesn’t move through that hole?

[sgwilly]

I wouldn’t do it through the starter hole. Rather, the crank bolt under the timing belt covers.

[Apinkston]

Well yeah, I guess it was bad wording. If I were to do it, it would be from that center bolt while another set of eyes watches the starter hole.

[wingrider]

Yes, have someone watch, and you turn it over with the crank bolt. Might want to pull the left plugs out as well, some suggest it is #6 that gets gas in it, and hydrolocks.

[Apinkston]

Once I get my starter taken care of, whether it’s a new one or I fix mine I’ll give that a shot. Got a lot of rain coming in the next few days so I can’t do any work for a minute regardless of the starter. I’ll update once I get back out to it. Bikes tarped up though so it’ll be fine for the meantime

[Apinkston]

After a lot of research i came to the conclusion it was a hydrolock. The gears inside the rear case are fine, luckily none got damaged. Put the starter back on and it still wont crank even with all spark plugs removed. Decided to jump the starter straight from my truck battery again and that actually got the motor turning which tells me the starter was not at fault. Triple checked my starter relays and i have 3 good ones so this has to be a wiring problem elsewhere. found out the battery i got originally was a 190cca instead of the recommended 200cca so i just replaced that and have it going through an initial charge at the moment. While turning the motor from my truck battery I was able to clear the hydrolock for now, it was in cylinder 4 so that carb needs to be addressed but while i am at it I might as well take care of all of them to be safe. My petcock also does leak fuel, I saw some building up on the bottom of it even with the switch off so that will need a rebuild or a replace. I also plan to install an electric cutoff valve on the fuel line to prevent this from ever happening in the future. For right now my main focus is taking care of this electrical and making sure i can consistently crank with no worries. I did manage to get on the VRCC forum so i will be asking most of my dumb questions over there, but i will be providing updates and definitely pics and vids when i get her out of my garage and onto the road.

[wingrider]

Certainly not saying it is the problem, but starter switches are a known problem on these girls. Glad you pulled all the plugs out to clear that hydrolock. Hope it didn’t do any unseen damage.

The VRCC is a great website, but certainly a different atmosphere.

[Apinkston]

Its been a minute, but the bike runs and she sounds beautiful. I rebuilt the carbs, got rid of the California emissions system, and that's about it. Was barely able to get it going with the airbox on so I took it off and it fired right up, blew a lot of smoke, wouldn't get above 4k rpm, and once it cut out it wont want to start again. Going to put the airbox on again and try it again. Without the airbox while running, it seemed like it was limiting itself. Throttle would increase to 4k, but would drop down to 2.5k then go back up until it hit 4. I've got the stock exhaust system on it right now but will be switching to a 6 into 6, just need to get more polish since mine are filthy. Once lights and grips are good I'll be taking it out for some road tests.

[wingrider]

I was watching your progress over on the Valk website, and figured I would mostly stay out of the comments on that forum. Good you got it running. What was it idling at? If it is 2.5K, you can turn that down a bit.

Did it restart, or is she still being stubborn? They do like to be sync'd to run real good, and if it isn't running right with the airbox on, I would be looking to be sure something isn't plugged.

[Apinkston]

I put the air box back on and she starts up super easy now. I think it just needed to clear its throat after sitting for so long. Still smoking like crazy but I’m hoping the more I run the motor, the less it’ll smoke. Carbs are dumping fuel but not consistently. First couple times I got it going I was seeing leaks on both banks, but the last two times I haven’t seen any drip and had the bike running for a few minutes each time

[wingrider]

They are a touch cranky firing up after a bit of a layup….