Hi everyone. I have a '96 Savage with around 17,000 miles. I find that my bike is having difficulty starting, especially on cold days. It would often run the battery down without it starting. Is there anything I can do to make the bike start faster? What gets worn through the years? If I boost it with a car, then it starts after a few cranks. Now about the car thing..it won't even start with the car off. It would only start if the car was running. It seems to need a lot of power to get things going. Any thoughts?

The battery is only 6 months old.

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This isn't true as a rule.  It may be true for the setup Jimworkx has, if he has weak batts all around.  I've started my Dodge diesel with just the extra help of a 2nd battery in my Fury, without starting it.  If that works for a diesel, it outta for a Savage.

I have noticed my wife's Savage does need a good full charge in the batt for it to start.  If not, it'll crank and crank (fast enough that it should fire) but it just won't start.  Hook my booster pack up to it and it immediately starts and runs fine.
Had a friend with an 83 Nighthawk that was the same way.  The ignition must be very sensitive to voltage?

Even a small car battery has so much extra current available for the bike that you shouldn't need to have the car motor running.

The fact that you do means you're needing more voltage to your bike's starter.  That may be because you have bad connections - check the condition of the bike's battery leads, and the earth strap to your motor.  If they are corroded or loose there will be a big voltage drop across them, hence the need for the car motor to be running for a couple more volts.

Or, could be your starter is on its way out and needs a rewind.

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If you put a multimeter across your batt with the car off you should see better than 12v if the batt is charged and in good shape.  Anything bigger than 500cca should start a bike like nothing.  With the car running you'll see ~14v if it's charging decent.

With a dead batt in my diesel I've hooked up to the red top optima in my Fury and lit my diesel right up, without starting the Fury.

Whether or not the vehicle giving the jump should be started when giving a "jump" start depends on the vehicles involved.

As Bill says: lots of late model cars need the extra couple of volts from the donor car's alternator spinning to activate their sensitive electronic ignition.

OTOT, a vehicle like a diesel with glow plugs and no spark type ignition might start just fine with a 12V jump.

Also, some vehicles make poor "donor" for jump starting. I've known of some to have their electronics get fried by the load of starting the other vehicle, or the sudden current inrush of the vehicle being started suddenly surging a large amperage charge when it's high powered alternator comes on line.

Sure, I've jumped all sorts of 12V vehicles from one another... Using a motorcycle to jump the lawn tractor; a car to start the big tractor etc... I've even successfully used a motorcycle to jump start a car; by allowing the cycles generator/engine some time hooked up and running to get the car's battery partially charged.

But everyone should be aware that not all vehicle electrical, and certainly not their charging systems, are compatible. There is always the possibility of damage to one vehicle or another when "jump-starting" vehicles with cables. I'll give this hint though: sometimes it helps to run the "ground" cable from frame to frame instead of from battery negative to negative. But that's still no guarantee. Hate to say it, but when I'm in a newer vehicle and some poor citizen is wandering around a parking lot looking for a jump start; I usually beg off. Back years ago, even in old 70s cars and trucks with an alternator, I'd gladly offer to help someone get started. But nowadays, I'm not risking thousands of dollars in wiring and computer crap in my vehicle because someone else doesn't have an auto club card to get a free jump.