Wife's DCT will not turn over...baffled and concerned.

So my wife hasn't ridden her 2013 NC700X DCT in a while. Bike was purchased new in 2013. Last ride was a several hundred mile 2 day jaunt. No problems. Came home parked the bike for about three weeks, she went to take it out yesterday and no start. Just the clicking of the starter relay.

Battery was on a tender, is fully charged, holds a charge, tests fine. However not trusting it I tried another M/C battery that I know is also good and same result. Everything comes on, fuel pump cycles, bike is showing in Neutral, hit starter and just hear the click-click-click of the starter relay.

Checked fuses - all good

Read shop manual and it says to try and run starter directly so I try that. With the extra battery I connect black to a grounding point on the bike and red to a long screwdriver and touch the positive connection on the starter. Starter turns slightly, not even a full revolution, wires to extra battery immediately get super hot and smoke. Hmmmm.

So does this sound like a starter issue or something upstream like the starter relay? I refuse to believe that the engine is seized or locked after only 2600 miles and being properly maintained. I can pull the starter and see if it spins when off of the bike but before I tear into it I figured I would seek advice for maybe a simpler solution. What say you?

Well it's not upstream as I disconnected the positive wire from the starter and it does the same thing when I try it directly although I did at one point get a full revolution out of it. I am thinking pull the starter and see if it spins when it's off the bike. If not it's the starter and if it does spin then it's the engine or tranny and thus an expensive trip to the dealer I am thinking.

kill switch?

Did you try putting a socket on the end of the crankshaft to check how it turns over with the spark plugs out ?

mreric said:

kill switch?

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Definitely not the kill switch. Fuel pump wouldn't cycle and starter relay would not click if the kill switch was off. Plus I bypassed all that by jumping the starter motor. Wish is was something that simple.

Griff said:

Did you try putting a socket on the end of the crankshaft to check how it turns over with the spark plugs out ?

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Not yet but that was on my list before yanking the starter. Will try that this weekend when I have a chance to dig into this deeper. Thanks for the suggestion.

Try to move bike couple of feet back and forth.

The bike is not in gear? Does N show up on the dash?

lootzyan said:

Try to move bike couple of feet back and forth.

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Bike is in Neutral and it's a DCT so unless it's running you can't put it in gear.

Hati said:

The bike is not in gear? Does N show up on the dash?

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Definitely in Neutral according to the big green N on the dash and that the back wheel spins freely on the center stand.

Pulled the plugs and turned the crankshaft manually. Plugs were dry so no hydro-lock and engine turned freely without any un-due resistance. Called the dealer I bought it from and will be having it flat-bedded in on Tuesday next week. Decided I didn't feel like pulling the starter although that's what both the service manager and I are leaning towards being the issue. I think this would be the first starter failure I've heard of if that's the case and he also said it's rare but let's hope it's either that or something simpler.

Of course I've owned like eight Honda's over the years and have always taken out the extended warranty but never had to use it. So with this one I didn't...Figures this would be the one to give me issues. Murphy's law strikes again.

One would think Honda could run a 3 year warranty w/perhaps 10K mile limit, instead of 1 year unlimited mileage, which only results in ill-feeling when something craps out just past the break-in period.
I am @ just under 1K miles on my 13 DCT. In 50 years of motorcycling I've never had a starter motor failure but have replaced brushes on a Honda car on occasion. Your 'start circuit' heating up does sound like a starter failure and not a brush issue.
The motor looks fairly easy to get to and remove from the bike. Getting it on a table and apart, it would be obvious if it is overheating (and failing). Good luck.

ST13Fred said:

One would think Honda could run a 3 year warranty w/perhaps 10K mile limit, instead of 1 year unlimited mileage, which only results in ill-feeling when something craps out just past the break-in period.

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For me and many others here, one year unlimited was more coverage than your 3 year suggestion.

A one year warranty on a new motor vehicle is almost a slap in the face..........that's my point and only a ploy to sell the product. How is Silverhounds' 'unlimited' working out?
I put a muffler on a car one time that had a lifetime warranty, an impossibility........but I bought the muffler and they gambled to never see me again for another muffler.

ST13Fred said:

A one year warranty on a new motor vehicle is almost a slap in the face..........that's my point and only a ploy to sell the product. How is Silverhounds' 'unlimited' working out?
I put a muffler on a car one time that had a lifetime warranty, an impossibility........but I bought the muffler and they gambled to never see me again for another muffler.

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As someone who rides 15 to 20K miles per year, my point is the 10,000 mile limit is more limited than one year unlimited miles.

Yes and both warranties would be/are very limited. Unlimited and one year is an odd pairing of words.

Time is the bigger enemy of petroleum based products (seals and plastics), not mileage; thus we get 1 year, unlimited.
An old vehicle w/low mileage is not a good thing; having normal miles on the clock is actually better. Blue skies, green lights.

We seem to have drifted off-topic here. Any more news on what the "not starting" issue might be?

Well it was truly a sad sight seeing the wife's NCX leaving on a flatbed today to the dealer. I also had feelings of disappointment in the bike as a not even two year old bike with only 2200 miles on it that has been taken care of should not have an issue like this. The dealer listened to my trouble-shooting routine and agreed that it sounded either like a starter issue or something much worse although as stated the engine seems to turn freely so I will be shocked if it's that.

If it's the starter I could have easily fixed/replaced that myself but decided to go the dealer route because if it is the starter or worse, even though the bike is no longer under warranty I will definitely be contacting Honda to see if they will give any consideration based on the circumstances. The tow was free since I have AMA Mo-Tow on the bikes and it needed a state inspection anyhow. While I am not certain exactly what the problem is, I am confident it wasn't caused by anything I did, accessories added or anything my wife did. She rides the bike like it's made out of glass.

The dealer won't be able to look at it for a day or so but I am hoping all is rectified in time our Maine trip scheduled in mid June. This past weekend was just beautiful riding weather and my wife actually cried real tears that her beloved NCX was out of commission. I felt bad and told her I wouldn't ride either but she insisted I go because as she put it, "If your bike were broken I would ride without you in a heart-beat". Real nice...so much for mutual sympathy.

Sp please keep us advised, Silverhound. Especially us with 2013 DCT's !!!!!!

Ok so this is where I have to fess up and eat some crow although I still don't completely understand. The short story is that the dealer replaced the battery and says it now starts right up. I feel somewhat vindicated in that even they agreed that the old battery tested normal and held a charge and showed no overt signs of failure BUT when they put it on their load tester it showed an internal short. However this does not explain why when I took a secondary known good battery and bypassed everything right to the starter, why the starter wouldn't turn. Unless my secondary "known good" battery also had a problem I was unaware of which appears to be the case in retrospect.

I was just so certain I had checked everything so thoroughly before resorting to the dealer that perhaps I was overconfident in my skills. So while I do feel a bit stupid, I am glad this turned out to be something simple. All indications right from the start pointed to the battery but between it being only two years old and not indicating a problem I simply ignored the simplest solution. If nothing else hopefully someone here might learn from my blunder.

So to recap...A. Your battery can hold a charge and even show strong voltage when you turn the key or test with a meter but can have an internal short under load that will prevent your bike from starting. B. Do not trust that the second battery you have laying around your shop is any better than the first one. It may be precisely just as bad.

I've not had the problem you have had, however on the other forums I'm on, when everything checks out, the wise sages always tell the poster to have the battery load tested. 99% of the time it's the battery even though it looks like it is holding a charge. glad it was something simple!

It's not a case of being "stupid". We go with what information and thoughts we have at the time. It sounds like that's what you did!

Your suituation falls into the category of those of us who forget to put down our feet at stops signs, forget to put down or take up our side-stands and/or any of a half-dozen other things we all do when we get brain farts. HAPPENS TO EVERYONE!!! Glad everything worked out well............. and inexpensively!