I have a 1990 FXR Superglide with a stock starter/solenoid. 123,750 miles. Sporadically I hit the start button and the starter motor will run but the solnoid does not kick in. I hit the button again things work fine. This began to be a hit and miss affair until now I have to hit the button dozens ofd times and hope the solenoid kicks in and engages the clutch gear. It has taken upwards of 5 to 10 minutes of time to get this started. Each time the starter motor runs but the solenoid does not engage the clutch gear. I ran the pull in, hold in and return tests and things were fine. I clampeed the starter to a bench and hooked it up like it was on the bike and the starter worked fine, solenoid popped out motor ran. I have disassembled the starter and found no broken or worn out parts other than than starter contacts and motor brushes. Does anyone have any experience with this problem and what am I overlooking?

 

Does it make a whining sound when you hit the starter button ? I'm thinking the starter clutch is going south It will engauge the clutch ring gear but the starter clutch will slip

 

Sounds like squaredealgeorge is onto it. The very fact the motor will run indicates you coil is probably okay. If the coil was not pulling the plunger against the contacts...the motor would not be energized. As far as the bench-test goes, you are not loading anything and it may spin perfectly under no load. Mount it and observe what it does with the primary cover off. If it jumps over and engages the teeth in the ring gear and just sits there...it's a mechanical issue within the clutch mechanisim. Maybe there is a binding of some sort between the shaft and the case. In any event, you will be able to see if the jack-shaft is jumping out the to engage the ring gear.