The battery may not be bad, it could be it just needs a charge. Most batteries have been sitting around for a while before you get it and they typically recommend throwing them on a charger for a bit before install.
You could either have problems with your starter button, key switch, and kickstand kill switch (assuming it kills the bike when in an open condition) or there is a short somewhere bypassing those and sending juice directly to the starter from the battery.
Out of curiosity was the kill switch on when all the cranking was happening?
I would lean toward the short to the starter theory for a few reasons. One, it sounds like someone did a pretty good job "fixing" a lot of the wiring already which lends itself nicely to the short idea. Second, it is unlikely all three switches mentioned above failed (four if you toss in the handlebar kill switch). Third, that would turn the bike over even though either/both the kickstand kill switch or handlebar kill switch could have the ignition shut off. Cranking without ignition would also provide a nice explanation for why the bike won't start.
|