Why won't my four wheeler start?

I have a 1988 yamaha yfm 100, that I recentlly got running. For some reason it will push start, but the electric starter is not working to start it. When I hit the elctric stater it will crank all day long but will not start the bike. I do a lot of trail riding and jump starting is not something I want to be doing every time the bike shuts off

I have a 1988 yamaha yfm 100. It will not start with the electric starter, the main point is it will crank all day, no ticking noise. It will infact start right up whenever I push start it. Please help

try getting a new starter

Id go through the whole wiring system starting with the battery and clean the connections with a wire brush and fine sandpaper until their shiny , plus buy a special anti-moister lube that works especially on electrical connections and spark plug wires.

Hope that helps and best of luck.By the way if that electric starter switch has been used since the bike was new it could have bad connections right inside of itself too causing your starting problem.

Sometimes when a starter starts to go bad, it is said it's "starting to drag" meaning that the brushes aren't making good contact or there is a bit (or a lot) of an internal short. If the starter is unusually hot after maybe a few seconds when you try to crank it, it's going bad. This results in not enough RPM. Another cause, perhaps it's on the edge of just too low of compression, which the faster RPM from bump starting would overcome. Also check for poor starter wires or corrosion.

Have you checked the battery?