Well my Hicap Kit arrived and i fitted it to the Paso with no problems aside from a rusty bolt on the starter. So after fitting the above i went and hit the start switch and all that happens is that the starter gets plenty of juice but is not firing the starter sprag? out to engage. The starter solenoid is making a clicking sound when i push the start button. I hope this is not to confusing , but yeh im stuck for advice on what to check next. Any help would be apprciated.

Is the battery OK and fully charged ?

Yep the battery is holding a full charge. I did read an article that said it can occur because of cold Oil and because the bike has been sitting for some time. As it happens i have been overseas for 6 weeks working and the temperatures here in Perth have been very cold by our standards. The article did say to try and bump start the Bike run it up to temperature and then try and use the starter after a run. So if the weather holds out today i will try this remedy. The only change i made when fitting the Hicap Kit was to run the Main Earth from the Battery onto the Motor as suggested by people and i have double checked all fittings to make sure they are secure. So i will let you know how i get on later today. Thanks ,H.

Does the starter motor get 12v and is it spinning ? Had you opened it ?
The original setup has two grounds running from the battery. One to the frame (near to the upper shock mount) and one from there to the engine.
The ground connection to the frame is required. I doubt a ground connection to the engine is sufficiant as the only connection points from it to the frame are the engine mounts which are painted.
The frame needs a ground connection as all the electrics, ignition system etc are connected to it.

G.

its not a great deal of fun bumping a paso unless you have two fit friends to push or a good slope to roll down.

I also have a Velocette Venom which can be impossible to start if:

1:- everything is not set up absolutely correctly
2:- someone is watching when you try to kick start it.

Take my advice, most Velocette owners buy houses at the top of a steep hill.

it can be realy off putting trying to kickstart with an audience, especially in hot weather! would it be better if the paso had a kickstart? would it be better if we didnt have electric start at all? now thats retro!

Yeh the ground conection to the Frame is attached and i am getting 12.47 volts at the Battery when tested with no load and 11.94 when the starter button is pushed i only relocated the Battery earth to the motor. The starter is spinning freely when i push the start button.So as i said above its not throwing the sprag out to engage. I did have the end cap off the starter motor but that was all and it went back together with no problems. As for the push start deal yeh im not a young man anymore and cannot see myself doing a sucsessful TT start outside my house lol, have enough trouble getting the leg over without trying to throw it over hahahaha. So i am stumped as to what the problem is other than the Bike sitting for so long ( 8 weeks in cool weather ) and the local Ducati dealership are no help with there "Oh its to old " attitude towards my Paso.

Are you getting 11.9 at the battery or at the starter post when the start button is pressed? You should be testing the voltage at the starter post (if you're not-I may be misunderstanding you) to see if any voltage is being lost enroute to the starter from the battery.

Thanks Streetsurfer, i am getting 11.5v at the starter.Is that enough power? when i hit the start button.

Ok update time. I managed to get the Paso going with a push start and she run with no problems but she still wont start with on the Electric start. Same old deal i can hear the starter spinning but not engaging to turn the Bike over so i still at square one.

I would think that should be enough. I think ideally you'd want less than 1/2 a volt drop from the 12.47....I could be wrong though. When I worked through my wiring I think I started with over one volt lost, and reduced the loss to less than half a volt. My 1.25 or more voltage drop was enough to mess with my coils supplying good enough spark to start in tough conditions (extreme cold, weak battery, old gas) and cause it to misfire and foul plugs.This was in the start switch/coil circuit though, not the starter feed. Did you wire brush, sand, file, degrease or otherwise clean the rusted starter stud real well. I think I ran a die over mine to clean it up once.

With the new wire kit I guess you may be right to suspect the sprag. I have never encountered sprag problems myself so I'm not the one to help diagnose that.

I don't know if this would be a good way to test or not. Maybe the others can help advise. I wouldn't want to tell you to do it if it could be harmfull to the electronic module. I'd maybe hook directly to the starter and then a frame or engine ground with a spare battery or the bikes battery via jumper cables (very briefly and with no sparks near the battery- you may get a strong arc so don't choose a grnd spot that would show damage-be ready to pull the cable clamp off if it should weld to the ground point because of the arc). If you could use this method to see if that makes the starter clutch or sprag grab....and you know you're getting full battery voltage, then you might rule out a bad sprag.

After more thought, maybe you ought not try that without first contacting Hicap about the problem. I am not familiar with all of the kits parts. I don't want to suggest doing something that might void the kits warranty or damage anything. Maybe they can also advise you where the problem may exist.

You'll get it sorted out with a little patience and a few barley pops.

I may not have spotted it in the replies to date but does the starter still spin with the plugs out or does it have the oomph to turn the engine over.