Hi all,

I'm quite new to the forums, only slightly less new to riding, and have a tiny bit of car mechanic experience under my belt. Please excuse me if I cause any confusion from getting terms right. I'm trying to be as precise as possible, and might include a bunch of extraneous information that is unnecessary.

Can you help me troubleshoot the following?

My XT is no longer starting. Here's what happens: I have everything ready to start, I hit the electric start and I hear the starter relay click, but the starter doesn't engage at all. The neutral and highbeam indicator lights, which were previously on, turn off. As long as these lights are off, pushing the start button does not activate the starter relay.

However, I'm pretty sure that the starting circuit cut-off relay clicks when the lights come back on--I'm not 100% sure it's this relay that clicks, but it's not the starter relay. I've jiggled and jostled various relays and wiring harnesses, I've turned the ignition to its various positions, but nothing reliably makes the indicator lights turn back on. Sometimes they come back on within seconds, sometimes it takes a minute or two.

Troubleshooting I've already done:

I've used a multimeter to test the starter relay for continuity with 12V applied to the relay leads--it seems good.

I've bypassed the starter relay by jumping the positive battery terminal directly to the starter. Once again, the starter doesn't budge, and the indicator lights all turn off.

It's probably a bad starter, but one of the few dozen times I tried to start the bike, the starter turned maybe a couple of times before it stopped--could this mean the starter is NOT bad??

But most confusing to me is why the indicator lights shut off? I've pored over the wiring diagrams, but I just can't quite figure out why the indicator lights would shut off.

My next check is to use a jumper wire to bypass the ignition so that it is constantly "on," and then jumper the positive terminal to the starter. I keep wanting it to be a faulty ignition switch, but I have a bad feeling it's the starter....



I also have one random question: while I'm troubleshooting my bike, I'll be giving it an oil change for the first time. I heard on a youtube video that motorcycles absolutely need motorcycle oil due to anti-frothing agents in the oil. Is this true?

I'd start with eliminating the very basic stuff.

What does the battery show on your M/M 12.6v - 12.8v is good.

What does the battery show when you thumb the starter?

Battery connections clean & tight, work down from there.

The starter could be bad. The old car mechanic trick is to tap on it with a hammer while trying to start and see if it cranks. This is just to get you going until you can replace the starter. The fact that you hotwired it directly to the battery and still got nothing is fairly convincing.

Have you tried bump starting the bike?


Oil... there's lots of opinions. I use semi-synthetic motorcycle specific oil. The bike only holds 1qt so the extra cost doesn't make much difference. Plenty of people use full synthetic car oil with no issue.

Be sure you get an oil filter for a 225 and not one for a 250. The 250's filter will fit but blocks oil flow to the head and will kill your top end in short order. Be sure to confirm oil flow by loosening the check bolt near the spark plug.

If your starting has a locked rotor it will draw a very large current. Much more than a motorcycle battery would cover. Pulling down the entire electrical system. The positive lead feeding the starter could be shorted to ground. I recall that lead being exposed and perhaps it's damaged. I would do the following:

1) Disconnect the + lead going into the starter motor.
2) Power the starter from a car battery using jumper cables.
3) Clamp to ground and briefly touch the starter + lug with the positive cable and remove it quickly.
4) You should see/hear some sparking at the terminal. This means the motor is drawing current.
5) If it doesn't spin when drawing current there is a mechanical problem. Lock rotor. You'll need to pull the starter motor off and inspect the mechanism, see if you can spin the motor's shaft.
6) If you don't see/hear any sparking, there is an open circuit (usually worn brushes/commutator).
7) Starter motors are series wound meaning the field coils, brushes and armature are connected in series. If any one of those circuits is open, the motor won't run.
8) That assumes none of the windings are shorted to ground.

Removing the starter motor isn't a bad job. There is an O-ring in there to seal it. You might want to replace that so it doesn't leak oil. You can use a small furniture clamp to press the motor back into position. New O-ring makes a tight fit.

Hope this helps you out. Good luck.

I checked my bike and the dash goes off when you hit the starter button, so that seems normal. Why the dash goes off but the headlight stays on makes no sense, but that's what it does.

Thank you. Always good to start with the basics. My battery was reading just under 12V, but with a really unreliable MM. I just purchased a legit one, so that'll at least help with my confidence that the numbers are correct.

Thanks for the tips on oil and on the starter, peejman. I'd forgotten the trick of tapping the starter. I guess I've always known that to be a solenoid thing (where there's essentially a solenoid-actuated relay, though I'm not sure it's technically considered a relay). But any moving parts can stick for any number of reasons, so it's a good reminder!

As for bump starting the bike--is this like a push start on a manual car? And if so, does one also pop the clutch while in 2nd gear?

I'd forgot to mention that when my dash goes off, the headlights also turn off (not just the highbeam indicator). This is obviously NOT normal operation.

Hi Muniac, thanks! This also helps. Any tips on which manufacturer I should go with, if I end up needing a new starter?

Bump starting... yes, get it rolling and pop the clutch in 2nd gear. Sometimes not so easy on these bikes given how cold natured they can be.

Don't immediately assume the headlight going out isn't supposed to happen. Your bike is 12 years older than mine, and they did change a few things along the way. I would say all the lights should go out when trying to start so the full battery capacity is available for starting. Makes no sense to be running an unnecessary high amp draw like the headlight when trying to start. My old Honda killed all the lights when the starter button is hit.


One more idea.... check the kill switch on the right grip. Cycle it on/off a dozen times. Blow it out with compressed air or squirt some WD40 in it and toggle it several times.

After that, could also check the neutral safety switch and the clutch switch.

Semicautious - I'm always partial to OEM parts for major components. Just my preference for a stator or starter motor replacement. Fork boots would be an aftermarket part, for example. Using the information above, you can determine if the starter motor is good/bad by isolating it. Easy to do this test. Good luck.