[OminousDarkness]

iCloud
I hope this works but this is the sound it makes

Wow. Yep, can't wait to see what this is. Love the decals on the tank!

If it turns out the starter clutch is bad, but you want to ride before you get it replaced, you could always jump start the bike, like you would a car. Just make sure you're always parked near a small hill. You ever jump start a car or a bike?

 

[JulioR750]

Wow. Yep, can't wait to see what this is. Love the decals on the tank!

If it turns out the starter clutch is bad, but you want to ride before you get it replaced, you could always jump start the bike, like you would a car. Just make sure you're always parked near a small hill. You ever jump start a car or a bike?

Thanks but I haven’t tried jump starting the bike yet cuz it’s kinda heavy for me and I’m scared it might fall over once I get it started or it might end up letting go but for a car I’ve never done that before even tho all I drive is manual

 

[OminousDarkness]

Thanks but I haven’t tried jump starting the bike yet cuz it’s kinda heavy for me and I’m scared it might fall over once I get it started or it might end up letting go but for a car I’ve never done that before even tho all I drive is manual

If you've never done it before, I wouldn't recommend it. It's a lot easier than it sounds, but there's definitely a small amount of skill required to pull it off. Well, I wish you luck and hope you're able to get the problem resolved. Be sure to check out the Sell and Swap section, there's a few posts there from people who are parting out their VN750's. Might be able to pick up what you need rather cheaply.

 

[Spockster]

iCloud
I hope this works but this is the sound it makes

It works.

Pretty sure that's the starter clutch, but it sounds like maybe the battery doesn't have enough amps to get a good spin out of the starter.

You said you were charging the battery, maybe that will clear it up. Might need to load test the battery.

Let us know how the charging goes.

Edit... Battery sounds like toast.

 

[Thorn]

Just going to second what Spockster said, as always. Weak battery is one issue, but that does NOT cause the noise. Sounds like the teeth of the starter motor gear might be spinning across the teeth of the starter clutch, or the internal clutch interface is completely shot, and that noise is the cams rattling around instead of grabbing. This clutch is not chain driven. Pulling the starter motor off is easy, and you'll at least be able to see the gear interface, and possibly turn the clutch through the hole in the case to feel what's going on in there.

 

[Spockster]

If you're lucky, the weak battery isn't allowing the starter clutch to fully engage.

Unlucky, you'll pull the right side cover and replace the starter clutch.

Right at the end of the video you can hear the battery go flat. It's cranking really slow through the whole video.

 

[Jason Pittenger]

When I was dealing with a starting issue, I nearly drained my battery flat. It started making a similar noise. The noise went away when I had a healthy charge on the battery again. It might simply be a weak battery causing the problem.

FYI my "starting issue" was forgetting to turn the petcock to "ON" at the beginning of the season....

Either way, the ignition system on this bike is VERY sensitive to a weak battery and it probably isn't even sparking when the battery is that weak. Start with a freshly charged or brand new battery and see what it does from there. That might solve all the problems.

 

[JulioR750]

Yeah it needs more charge the battery cuz I’ve been messing with the bike all day but I might just have to open up the cover and see

 

[Spockster]

When I was dealing with a starting issue, I nearly drained my battery flat. It started making a similar noise. The noise went away when I had a healthy charge on the battery again. It might simply be a weak battery causing the problem.

FYI my "starting issue" was forgetting to turn the petcock to "ON" at the beginning of the season....

Either way, the ignition system on this bike is VERY sensitive to a weak battery and it probably isn't even sparking when the battery is that weak. Start with a freshly charged or brand new battery and see what it does from there. That might solve all the problems.

Mine makes the same noise on a dead battery.

 

[Spockster]

Yeah it needs more charge the battery cuz I’ve been messing with the bike all day but I might just have to open up the cover and see

I would fully charge it and take it to the auto parts store to have it load tested. (before taking the side cover off) The battery should hold at least 200 amps.

If it's a wet cell check the fluid level.

 

[Thorn]

Mine makes the same noise on a dead battery.

We're talking the clicky solenoid noise for a dead battery, not the grindy noise, right? I've never heard the grindy noise before.

 

[Spockster]

We're talking the clicky solenoid noise for a dead battery, not the grindy noise, right? I've never heard the grindy noise before.

No, the grindy noise when it's turning over really weak. The starter clutch doesn't engage all the way and it slips a bit then engages again, maybe when the compression peaks.

 

[flitecontrol]

Try jumping it from a car battery but don't have the car engine running. If you can't get someone who knows how to jump it, look it up on YouTube. If it cranks without the noise, your battery needs charging or replacing. Best not to charge the battery at more than 1.5 - 2 amps. Had a battery load tested right after it was charged and it showed good. Actually, it couldn't hold the charge very long. Replacing the battery fixed all the problems.

 

[Jason Pittenger]

We're talking the clicky solenoid noise for a dead battery, not the grindy noise, right? I've never heard the grindy noise before.

Yes the grinding noise for me too.

 

[Thorn]

Having replaced two batteries due to insufficient cranking amps, and MAYBE leaving the lights on a few times cough*ahem, I'm glad I've never heard those noises from my bike. I guess there's a largish window of "clutch is worn but still works with high cranking amps" before it craps out completely. I learn something new every day around here!

 

[mmart]

I rode with a shot stator and a crappy lead acid battery when I first got this bike, being a newbie at the time I just plugged the battery into a charger every night not realizing I was hiding the problem from myself. I never heard the noise y’all describing here. The classic weak battery crank sounded like “thump, thump then BOOM!” As it backfired.

 

[JulioR750]

Alright so update on the bike I put the battery back on fully charged all the way and the bike fired up right away it work for like three time but then it wouldn’t start again and it made the grinding noise so it might be the battery even tho I bought that 4 months ago and it’s an agm battery. But does anyone know what this is for I believe this might also be the reason why the bike won’t start as good.

 

[OminousDarkness]

Alright so update on the bike I put the battery back on fully charged all the way and the bike fired up right away it work for like three time but then it wouldn’t start again and it made the grinding noise so it might be the battery even tho I bought that 4 months ago and it’s an agm battery. But does anyone know what this is for I believe this might also be the reason why the bike won’t start as good. View attachment 54832

Can you take a close up picture of those two gears where they mesh together?

 

[JulioR750]

Can you take a close up picture of those two gears where they mesh together?

Sorry I can’t that’s from a video that I was watching of someone rebuilding there engine

This is the video I was watching

 

[OminousDarkness]

Sorry I can’t that’s from a video that I was watching of someone rebuilding there engine

This is the video I was watching

Oh, okay. I know very little about this kind of stuff, but I bet someone's gonna suggest that there's something not quite right about the solenoid.

EDIT: Watched that video all the way through, and it was really cool to see! I'm glad you shared it.