Starter turns over slowly or not at all.

[johnofchar]

DL1000 & DL650

If there is no starter or relay action at all, your problem could be a bad or disconnected clutch switch which is located under the clutch lever handlebar mount.

Otherwise, this type of problem usually turns out to be a bad battery or bad cable connection. A good battery will read between 12.6 & 12.9 volts when at rest. After a good external change they may read as high as 13.4 volts for a short time.

The best way to test a battery is out of the bike with a load tester. First fully change the battery with a external charger & take it to an automotive parts house that can do a load test. If it fails, replace it.

You can also perform a self test, but it's not nearly as good as a proper load test. With the battery in a proper state of charge (12.6 - 12.9 volts), measure the battery voltage while cranking over the starter. If the battery voltage falls to much less than 10.8 volts it's probably bad.

A good indication of very low voltage available is when trying to start your DL the meter time will reset. This can be either the battery or connection.

Troubleshooting starter problems:

1. Have that battery load tested. Replace if bad under test.
2. Check all connections associated with starter are clean & tight. Three main cables here: Starter to starter relay, pos. battery to starter relay & neg. battery to engine ground. For the DL1000 you will have to remove the primary sprocket cover to gain access to the engine ground. On the DL650 it's not easy, but it's down behind the stop light switch on the rear engine case bolt. An ohm test of cables may not show a problem as low current (from multimeter) may pass a connection OK where high current (to starter) won't. Repair connections as needed.
3. Swap out the starter relay.
4. Replace starter brushes.