Motor locked?

[Mdyson4]

I rode my 81 gl1100 yesterday with no issues! Today I went to crank it and it he starter barely moved, then not at all!! So I figured I could bump start it if the battery was low... ran it down the road and bumped it just to have it squeal to a halt. Pulled the plugs and it still won’t budge.

Any ideas?!? It’s stuck at the bottom of the hill on my road now

I did notice about a week ago the clutch didn’t seem to be totally disengaging when it was cold. Not sure if that’s related at all, but that’s the only odd thing I’ve noticed recently.

Im a little perplexed as to how something like a motor locking could happen over night when I parked it with no issues.

Thanks!

[DenverWinger]

Probably a carburetor needle/seat leaked and filled a cylinder with gasoline - You are hydrolocked. Not all that uncommon an occurrence on 4cyl wings.

Take out the sparkplugs, put a rag over the sparkplug holes and try the starter. I bet fuel comes shooting out of one of them.

This is why to turn petcock "off" when bike is parked. If the tank is over half-full fuel can gravity-feed to the carbs when the engine isn't running.

[dingdong]

Mark, he stated that he pulled the plugs and still nothing.

You need to: 1. Check voltage at starter when trying to start. You could have a bad connection from the battery. 2. Pull and rebuild starter motor. Cleaning, lubing and new brushes can make a world of difference.

[MattMcCoy]

Can you turn it over by hand?

[Mdyson4]

Thank you for your responses! Yes, pulled the plugs and nothing. I did try to bump start it and the back wheel totally locked when I put it in gear... with the plugs out.

[DenverWinger]

Mark, he stated that he pulled the plugs and still nothing.

Oops, missed that part, my bad! I usually can read better than that!

[Mdyson4]

Hey guys!! Just a follow up, the project was pushed off until now. Just seemed like more of a project than I could take on with a baby on the way etc. But Im back at it!

Any more ideas? Right now I’ve got the exhaust off, carbs off, plugs out and it won’t turn by hand. I pulled the valve covers it’ll turn just enough for two valves to open/close. I’m about to remove the headers to get a better look at the valves and what could be interfering. If it’s not that, I’ll be contemplating the crank case but more than likely I’d sell it cheap

[Rambozo]

Check for broken or jumped timing belts.
Next step would be to pull the heads.
About how many degrees can you turn the crank?