The new battery probably needs to be charged, low voltage after sitting is normal, low voltage after charging all night is indicative of a problem. You did the right thing replacing it. Try bump starting it, it's possible that the ring gear on the motor is missing teeth, which could cause it to not be able to turn the engine over, when you stop it after starting it, the ring gear will probably be at a different place.

Thanks for the reply franque, wish I had seen it before returning the battery! Yeah I thought it might not be fully charged after sitting. Ok, I'll get the new battery and try bump starting the bike. That's an interesting point about the ring gear, I wouldn't have thought of that.

PM me and I'll put you in touch with some guys in Salta that may be can help you out.

Worst case I can get parts for your bike in China and send........
DHL etc wont be cheap tho....
Just saying just incase etc

Hey all,

I got some more info if anyone wants to guess what the hell is going on with this bike. I found a moto mechanic in town, and he checked the spark plug, the valves, took out the carburetor, cleaned and inspected it, checked the fuel filter, checked out the air intake box and discovered it wasn't getting any air to the carburetor, so adjusted it. Got the bike to run! I went on a test ride, but the bike wouldn't start again after stalling it. Mechanic checked the high coil (on right side of bike near spark plug, called the "El cable de la bobina"), made sure it was connected, then went on another test ride. Mechanic went on test ride as well.
He checked the idle one more time, and called it good. I rode the bike home. This morning, I was hopeful the bike would run... nothing. Same noise, engine whirring but not engaging. I checked the spark plug again, it's still good.

Any thoughts as to what could be going on??

Ring gear !.... they use a centrifugal clutch..
totally different to a car...



..

I'm talking about the gear on the clutch basket/flywheel that the starter engages (in this case, since I've never had one of these motors in front of me, I'm speaking generally). It could be that gear, if there's an intermediate gear, it could be that, or it could be the teeth on the starter itself, it's possible that one of those gears is missing teeth. Calling it a ring gear is an appropriate, if imperfect analogue.

I had an NZ customer with the pin mount point for one of those gears broken
He needed a new engine case and transmission as well.
There are 2 versions of them gears etc and I suspect 1 caused issues hence the update

More common is sprang clutch and drive gear tho
I can only supply from china..,

Well, looks like the solution is much simpler than expected. Apparently there was a short with the starter relay and the contact drum, as well as the carburetor was set in too much of a fuel saving mode, not supplying enough fuel to get the engine to start initially. Fortunately now I know how to check/adjust this, just moving the small circlip(?) on the center jet of the carburetor (if that makes any sense).

I am relieved it isn't an electrical or starter gear/clutch issue, but I still don't have much confidence in this particular bike since it hasn't started right off the bat the last 3 days.

How many spare fuses/what type do you carry around?

So far my go-to steps for trouble shooting are checking the spark plug and quality of spark, the battery voltage, and that the fuel line & carburetor are getting fuel. Anything else to check/steps to follow if those are all good?

Thanks for all the recommendations! As frustrating as this can be, already learning alot about this particular model of bike.