Had my first "failure"
 

After almost 42000 miles and 9 years I had the first component failure on the VTR. I saw this one coming from the signs it was giving but it finally had enough. When I put the ole girl back on the road last fall sometimes the starter solenoid would fail to reset and the headlight would not turn back on. Then last week on a ride she wouldn't turn over for me (remedied by bump-starting). Now even with 14.9V on the battery + charger I still get nothing but clicks from the POS. I've got a very lightly used one coming from ebay for $25. A new one of these bastards is over $70! Most bikes over 600cc after 97 or so use the same part - CBR600F4/F4i/RR/1000RR/RC51 so it's not difficult to find. Yes, I did all the troubleshooting like checking the battery terminals, cleaning cable connections, even took the starter apart. I'm 100% confident it's the solenoid. Sucks I can't ride her for a few days though. At least I have a backup.

[Update] It's not the solenoid, though that's a problem too. It's the starter. It has a short to ground and even bypassing the solenoid it wouldn't turn the motor over. This sucks. :(

That sucks. Good luck with it.

On a side note. I took mine in and let the local shop do the Manual CCT's. Should of done it myself but don't have a place to do it except outside but with 100+ temps it wasn't happening. Dropped it off that morning and it was done that afternoon.

Verne

Hey, you got a ton of miles without having any major replacements, I'd say that's pretty damn good....

???? Was that me that just posted that positive statment??? what no sarcasim???? What the hell????? Relapse...

Well, it wasn't the starter. A 0.5Ω positive to ground is normal for the starter motor. Of course the Service Manual doesn't mention this....

The problem was a failed battery. I just bought the battery in April so this was the least likely component in my mind that would fail. Seems it had good voltage but very little amperage capability. I had my old original '98 battery sitting on the shelf with 12V and it cranked the motor over fine.

I'm replacing the solenoid anyway and now have a perfectly good (used) starter for sale if anyone needs one, otherwise it goes to ebay. :banghead: