***Sorry for the commercial tone of this post. I just wanted to share a bit, cuz I'm happy that my bike starts so easily now...***
My bike is getting on in years, and always had a bit trouble getting started, especially in the winter. I've replaced a stater, and smelled a bit of electrical burn once in a while after a particularly stressful start. I thought it was because twins have a hard time getting going, but it turns out that Italian electronics just suck.
My wife, who also has a 94 M900, got tired of her starting problems, so she had our shop (Desmoto Sport) install a starter kit from Motolectric. It worked great, so she got a kit for my bike. I installed it this weekend, and I have to say the bike leaps into action as soon as I touch the starter button. Pretty nice.
The kit replaces stock wiring from the starter, to the solenoid, through to the battery. The wires and connectors are heavier gauge, and just about anyone can install it. The ground wire on my bike was relocated from the battery tray to the engine block with the kit. Otherwise it's just a replacement.
Motolectric
http://www.motolectric.com/ (http://www.motolectric.com/)
I don't think the website is compete yet.
Desmoto Sport
http://www.desmotosport.com/ (http://www.desmotosport.com/)
This is where we bought our kits. Scott (the owner) or Daren will answer the phone, and hook you up.
price is a bit high. i made my own kit for about $20.
Oooh! Monster cables for motorbikes. The wonders of linear crystal oxygen free copper!
The OP would have gotten 90% of the way there at zero cost by just giving the contact surfaces of the oem cables a good scrub, and putting some contact grease on before tightening them up again.
Quote from: suzyj on June 13, 2010, 06:35:48 PM
Oooh! Monster cables for motorbikes.
LOL that crap is such a ripoff
Quote from: suzyj on June 13, 2010, 06:35:48 PM
Oooh! Monster cables for motorbikes. The wonders of linear crystal oxygen free copper!
The OP would have gotten 90% of the way there at zero cost by just giving the contact surfaces of the oem cables a good scrub, and putting some contact grease on before tightening them up again.
Trust me, I've cleaned the contacts dozens of times and it was nothing like the difference wider gauge starting wires made.
But yeah, you can make you own kit for ~ $25 if you're comfortable doing heavy duty soldiering, etc.
Heavier cables and better terminals will help most any bike, particularly if compression is raised. Voltage drop on most bikes is excessive compared to cars. On the other hand, most bikes are not asked to start at sub 0o F temperatures. If your stock bike does not crank well in typical motorcycling weather get out the trusty multimeter and start troubleshooting.