Hello everyone. It's been about a year since I've posted. I am having an issue with the 87 Savage. A little history: 87 that I installed a 95 engine. I wanted the five speed. I had to use the 87 magneto to stick with the stock 87 ignition. Raptor petcock, new shock seals, rebuilt the master cylinder and the caliper and new shoes on the back. Corbin seat from Serowbot. For 2 seasons the bike has run fine.Today I was getting the bike ready for the season. Changed the oil and filter and charged the battery. First attempt to start I cranked it about 6 or 7 seconds and stopped for a few seconds and tried again. On the second attempt she cranked about 1 revolution then abruptly stopped! At this point: no lights, no click pushing the start button. I have verified the fuses, clutch, side stand, and stop switches. All are ok. Battery is strong and fully charged. With the connector to the ign switch disconnected verified voltage to the ignition switch, and verified continuity through the switch at the pins where it should be with the key in the 3 positions! Seat is off, tank is off. Wiring all (looks) ok. Have I missed something?  :'(

There is a connector under the tank that has been known to do just that. Vibration can loosen it, corrosion can screw with it.
If you have had the tank off you know that you'll Need a place to park it so the speedo cable is not crimped,, boy, that was a craptastic moment of understanding...

justin_o_guy2 wrote on 05/21/16 at 11:43:02:


Thanks for the reply justin. Tank is off. Short of unwrapping the wiring harness I have checked every connector. Wiring is sound, connections clean. I am baffled.

Tank is off. Short of unwrapping the wiring harness I have checked every connector. Wiring is sound, connections clean. I am baffled.

You can Prove your connections with an ohm meter. Each wire passes through. Power off, one lead on each side of the connector, should see zero ohms or close to it.

Aside from that, I don't know what all the sidestand interlock shuts off, or the kill switch... though, I Do know that my lights ran the battery down when I flipped the kill and forgot to turn off the key.

You should wait and let some of the better guys get in on this.
You know it can't be a total meltdown, no fuses died, no steeenkeeng scorched wires.
Might be as simple as wiring in the headlamp bucket, who knows? Just chill and consider what you Do know that it isn't and be sure you're right about that.
You Said the fuses were good, but didn't say exactly how you know.

Yeah, even if you flip the kill switch, you have lights. Some year models kill the headlamp when the start button is pushed to minimize the load on your battery.
Do you have brake lights? Pedal and front brake?

A battery can go bad in an instant.  I had one that worked fine at the hardware store and started the bike right up....a mile down the street when I stopped for gas the battery died and wouldn't even make the neutral light glow.  I got a jump and the bike fired right up, rode around for 40 minutes to charge the battery, and when I turned it off...nothing.

You need to put a volt meter on the battery when you turn on the key, and see what the battery reads when you apply a load.  A battery that worked yesterday (or a mile down the street) can very easily short out and not work ever again.

And.....I believe you should never drain the oil and change the filter on a bike that has been in storage.  You should start the bike with the oil and filter that is on the bike....then after it is running you can change it.  When you drain the sump and put on a new filter....you now have a dry oil system when you go to start the bike, and the parts most likely have very little oil clinging onto them as they have had months for the oil to drip off.  The bike won't have any oil pressure until the pump moves enough oil to fill the empty oil filter.......and that is OK on a bike that has been run recently and the parts have recently been coated with oil.

Check your ground cable it runs from the battery to your case near the oil site glass, in about 2 inches ,is it clean and tight?                 If not ,nothing on the bike will have a complete circuit giving the symptom you have now no  power anywhere.You have a 95 the fuses are good?When you turn the key to the second notch you should have headlight,tail light and turn signals ,turned to the third notch you should have the tail light ,these are not fused with the motor start/run circuits so should light unless all your bulbs burnt out at the same time!The only thing all circuits have in common is they lead back through the frame/engine to the ground at the battery.

Alligator clips that slip on the leads are very handy.
Used to be easy to get, now, notsumuch.
Connected from ground to the hot on the starter motor you can see what the battery is doing under load. Static voltage is completely different from what they actually do when challenged to provide current flow. If you don't have what you need a trip to have it tested beats Being tested.