Starter dead on 89

[mbova]

My starter makes a terrible noise and won't turn over the bike. I have ordered a 4 brush replacement and should be here soon. It looks like it is just two bolts and a wire? What do I have to remove to get to it?

[greg_in_london]

You don't have to remove anything internal so far as I recall, but even once everything is undone the starter motor can need some encouragement to remove as it gets quite used to being where it is after thirty years. On the other hand you will need to pull off a few bits to get access - exactly which ones will depend on how your fairing etc has survived. I had some bits that should have come off easily that were impossible to undo that would have been in the way if they didn't flop a bit loose. There are a couple of threads with walkthroughs on them if you do a search though. It's clear enough once you start though.

[Flyinfool]

It depends on what kind of a noise your starter is making.

If it is a grinding noise it might be the starter.

If it is a loud banging that someone is inside the engine with a hammer trying to get out, then it is likely the starter clutch.

 

Bad noise while starting is not always the starter.

[mbova]

It's a grinding noise followed by a spinning noise, then it just spins and won't even try to turn the motor over.

 

Thanks guys so so glad I found this site.

[Flyinfool]

A spinning sound that does not turn over the engine sounds more like a broken starter clutch.

 

The starter clutch is not in the starter, it is on the flywheel under the left engine cover.

[mbova]

I hope not. I have read some articles on hear about the starter clutch. It doesn't have any of the hammering sound. I planned on changing the starter anyway.

[Yammer Dan]

Hate to say it but not starter. We have a guy that sells the fix for this. Hey Dan?? Not sure if he has that thing listed and my puter is acting up again. If I can get info I'll post it.

[mbova]

So question. I bought this bike at an auction and have no history on it. So if I have to pull the covers to fix the starter clutch should I change the stator why I'm at it?

[mbova]

Also want to say paying for this website was the best $12 I have ever spent.

[Yammer Dan]

Not necessary. Stator could last a long time. I can't find info on starter clutch I'm sure someone will. My puter is sick. It should be listed in classifieds. I can't get into hardly anything this evening.

[Flyinfool]

The guy that does the starter clutches is @Dano.

 

I would inspect the stator, it there are any signs of overheating then yes replace it, If no sign of overheat then leave it.

[Yammer Dan]

Stator has three white wires coming out of it that have connectors about 1/2 way up side of bike. Should be cleaned and snugged up. A lot of guys solder these connections.

[comingbackdown]

Yammer is right there. Yep! Under the (Left? Am I right here? Not staring at the bike so memory is a bit fuzzy) side cover should be the three white wires. When I came home from maintenance day last year I snipped and soldered all three. The spade connectors were not making good contact. Very bad. Got so hot they were turning black and touching one could've yielded a serious burn. If they get that bad definitely hard wire them before something bad happens.

[mbova]

I found the wires and they were grimy. I soldered them and retested. It was a little better but never got over 12.9v.

[bongobobny]

Hmmmm! You unfortunately have to have the motor running to test the stator dynamically! So now I'm a little confused here, you say you are reading 12.9 volts, is this with the bike running?? If so, you need to disconnect the connector at the voltage regulator and read the AC voltage across all 3 combinations of the white wires at both idle and rev'ed up past 4000 RPM. At idle you should see around 15 volts AC an all 3 combinations, and around 70 - 90 volts AC (voltage increases with RPM's) at higher RPM's. All 3 combinations (A and B, A and C, and B and C) should be very close to each other. if one set (or more) is extremely different, your stator is toast! If you have good readings from the stator, then I would suspect the Regulator/Rectifier is bad, but some regulators may regulate at a lower voltage, I have one that works but regulates around 13.0 to 13.1 volts. Out of spec but it still regulates!

 

Now, is this 12.9 volts at idle, or at higher RPM?? You will have a lower voltage output at idle than at RPM's...

[yamagrl]

Dano's Starter Clutch Mod is here http://www.venturerider.org/forum/showthread.php?44547-Starter-Clutch-Mod

 

Not necessary. Stator could last a long time. I can't find info on starter clutch I'm sure someone will. My puter is sick. It should be listed in classifieds. I can't get into hardly anything this evening.

[yamagrl]

Also, the starter can be pretty stubborn and not want to come out. If that's the case asserting a little influence might be required.

 

This is what I used... a paint paddle... free at any paint counter.

 

With the lower fairing off, just slip it through between the frame and the engine and the just smack it with your favorite mallet. Anything smaller than a 12Lb sledge hammer should be adequate! Seriously though, a bit of tapping with a mallet or a hammer will help it out.

 

 

(P.S. this is a picture of a parts bike)

Edited April 28, 2016 by yamagrl

[mbova]

So I finally tackled the starter clutch today and it was a *****. I broke one pulley puller and finally got a 20" breaker bar and another pulley puller and the flywheel came off. It took the two of us 5hrs and half a bottle of vodka to do it. Still didn't finish the job but got the cover back on. So I have replaced the battery, stator, resister, starter clutch, and starter on the bike so far. Should be ridding soon.

[bongobobny]

Yah! I remember a story from Marcarl where he struggled with it for 2 days and suddenly it just broke loose and sort of fell off...