Sup from Tampa FL. I have a 2004 vt600 that I purchased in late August of 2025. Worst. Financial. Decision. Ever.
but it's heckin cool so we are gonna roll with it.
P.O. Hardtailed the frame, then gave up on it so I bought it in parts and haphazardly put it all back together. I have a couple shiny things from TJBC on it. Performance kit, boot burners, jockey shift kit with suicide clutch. It's a fun little bar hopper now.
Thanks!
Oh, I do have a wiring question: I was running the wires for the starter switch/kill switch/front brake light through my apes and though I can't seem to figure out what I did wrong, the bike is dead now. Bike ran fine before I did this. No power, no lights, no clicking of relays anywhere when I try the starter button. Battery is fully charged. Terminals are tight. I checked and replaced every fuse in the box including the main fuse on the starter solenoid.
Think it's possible I shorted th starter solenoid? I tried jumping the terminals to bypass it with no luck.
looking at the wiring diagram in my manual I can't find any other relays to test, replace.
big fear is I fried the computer or something...
anyone have any thoughts or theories?
@Box O’ Parts did you check the battery under load? if its more than 3 years old or it drops below 12.5 volts under load you have a problem. you probbaly wired something wrong. this iw why when wiring, you do one thing at a time, then test functionality. then move forward. =) youll figure it out!
@Box O’ Parts also im sorry it was a bad financial decision dude, but thanks for trusting in my parts ot help make that bike into something fun!!
@TJ dude are you kidding? Your stuff is better engineered than Honda's OEM stuff. I can't wait to get my grubby little mitts on something new from your shop.
I pulled the wires back out of the bars just to make sure I wasn't crazy. Everything is reconnected exactly as it was before I touched it. No obvious breaks in the insulation. And the bike is still unalive when I turn the key. I'll test the battery but I know it was reading over 12v and the tender reads that it is charged. I picked up a new starter solenoid so I'll get that in tonight and report back.
What a head scratcher... it isn't the solenoid. I'll report back after I think this through some more...
@Box O’ Parts check the connections and clean everything inside the kill start switch housing and check all your safety interlocks
@Box O’ Parts Did you check the 30A main fuse? It's on the starter relay. Also check the headligt fuse 10A and the brake light fuse 15A. Its possible a hot 12V wire insulation got nicked running them through the apes. If I were troubleshooting, I would unplug the start/kill switch - Front brake switch connector, check replace any blown fuses. Visually inspect the wires pulled through the apes. If any copper is visible, repair the insulation. Then plug in the connector to the main harness and check electrical functions again. Good luck.
Boy do I feel silly. It was the battery. The bike wasn't pulling a stupid high draw, I had it all wired correctly. The friggin battery was just trash...
It was a new ish battery so I didn't think that would be it... if this new one seems like it gets prematurely killed too, maybe regulator rectifier?
@Box O’ Parts so my initial diagnosis was correct. imagine that! LOL! even a broken clock is correct twice a day LOL!
new batteries can be absolute garbage. I've had dozens be crap right out of the box. the anitgravity batteries - never had a single issue. you can test your stator and regulator rectifier to see if they need ot be replaced. ricks motorsports electronics has all the good replacements.
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