i have been having this prob. for a bit now. my 04 ds runs only off of the battery, and there is no support from the charging system. i have run a direct ground from the battery to stator casing alan bolt. the dealer said they got 19 volts from the stator, i get nothing.now here is something i find strange as hell. ill try to explain as good as possible.......i leave the regulator plugged in, and i poke the positive voltmeter plug through the jacket pf the yellow wire(one of them) and was getting .5 volts, and of course clamp the negative lead to th battery neg.now here is what is weird, the pos. lead i was using is not covered in plastic, so i was holding bare metal on the yellow wire, my free hand happened to touch the bike, and the voltmeter started reading 9 -10 volts(only when touching the frame with my free hand ) when i let go .5 when i touch 8-9. then i had my wife rev it a bit and it sent a little shock through my finger at the positive lead through the yellow wires insulation. so what i want to know is why would it make power only when i touch, ground it with my body , and yet not with just the voltmeter?even though the battery is directly grounded to the motor? god i really would like to just get rid of it, but still owe 3 years on it, god i hope someone can help. thanks

 

I have a complete wire harness from an '03 model I dont know if it will work with the '04, including the cdi,retifier,taillight,fuses,both ignition coils,starter cylenoid,etc.......basically everthing, If you would like make me an offer if interested, Hope this helps, Matt

 

Did you sand the paint off where you grounded.From what ive read here
the powdercoat is very thick and hard to get a good ground.Ive got an 04
also and havnt had this issue.But i still follow the threads just in case.Good
luck.Someone else said to sand where the subframe and frame are bolted
together.Was your hand touching the grab bar?

 

it did not seem to matter where i touched it. even the rear shock res. and i grounded the battery directly to the motor and checked with an ohm meter and checked out good and solid. also get good battery voltage reading through the aditional engine ground so i am at aloss for words at this point. i might just band aid it with a battery tender for now.....i think that all of us people who are having electrical issues (it seems like a LOT) should get together and put a class action lawsuit on the s.o.b.'s for not fixing it after the pathetic 6 month warranty.

 

well i have nothing to say anymore...just give up and lay down...

i been down the tender route also..its only good for so long them you will be stranded...i was

i am clueless on this...charge it up and trade it in on a reneage...i am doing this if my electrical strap doesnt work..

 

when you used your tender did you hook it up after EACH and every ride, or every few rides? cause ill get qwite a few hours out of mine before it'll die.just wondering what im up against.

 

I would just take the battery out and let it charge over night instead of putting the tender of and taking it off and leave it up off of the concrete or else it'll drain the battery becuase it is important for the ds650 to have a good and fully charged battery in order to work correctly maybe the battery is shot who knows...The ground could be a prob also or even the a few other electrical things obviously...does it seem to be cranking over fine or is it really slow and when you put on the battery chrager and try and start it does it crank over alot faster and start up becuase if thats the case I would say you need a new battery.

 

it cranks and starts fast, all the way til the battery is totally drained. runs flawlessly until the battery is COMPLETELY dead(wont even turn the fan fast enough to feal/hear it.)

 

how are your valves because I know with my honda 450r if you don't adjust the valves at all the bike will be harder and harder to start.

 

i tend after each ride everytime, brand new battery and it still happens....no answer...no body has an answer....sorry man wish i knew...