So, I've done a ton of searching on here and lots of reading and learning that these bikes have their fair share of starting issues. Mine is a not uncommon issue, but I need some help troubleshooting it.

I bought the bike last spring and it started fine for a while. Then towards the end of fall I noticed one time each time in the moring when I'd try to start it, it would grind and the gear on the jackshaft would not engage the ring gear correctly. I'd let it spin down, try again, and it would catch fine. The whole rest of the day it would start fine.

Then as time went on - it got worse and worse. Now we are not engaging even 20% of the time. When it does engage, it will crank for 2-3 seconds and then disengage again and grind. Here is what my train of thought has been so far....

Started with the idea the battery might be low from sitting. I put it on the charger over night and checked it out today. It had a standing voltage of 12.1v. I kept the leads of my multimeter connected to the terminals of the battery when cranking and it would dip into the 8v range, once even into the 7 volt range. I was pretty sure that was too low, so I took it into napa and had them load test it. The guy there said it tested just fine.

Here is where I'm going next. This bike is not stock, and it has an aftermarket starter on it that is a 1.9 kw starter from all I can tell. This aftermarket starter may be putting more strain on the battery than "normal conditions". So under the added strain, the battery may be just old/bad enough to not cut it.

Am I doing this test correctly? Or should I be measuring from different points? I should also point out that + post on the battery is a bit junked up. It looks like the previous owner tightened the bolt too much and cracked the post. Also there is what looks to me like solder or something that had melted and cooled again right by the post. I'm guessing it's not solder and it's something from inside the battery. Again, pre existing condition.

I thought of pulling the entire starter and having it bench tested to make sure nothin is wrong in there. If it were the starter clutch, I would imagie that it would not grind like it does.

I'm just not sure where to go from here. I have someone coming by to look at buying it tomorrow so getting it running tonight would be killer

I'll post the youtube video below.

 

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Pxv6KsiCS1A[/youtube]

 

Well, I decided to go out and yank the starter to have that thing bench tested too.

Having a belt driven open primary drive and apparantly an after market starter made that a breeze. Pics of said starter follow. I'll update this thread if I can find out how to bench test it myself, or if I have the shop do it tomorrow.

 

 

Ugh, I never claimed to be a professional photographer either :/ Those look terrible!

 

Took the starter and battery to an electrical rebuild shop today. Battery tests out fine for them as well, so I don't think I'll be replacing that.

They could tell something was going on with the starter just by messing with it though. They said their best guess right now is the clutch, but they are tearing into it today to find out for sure.

Will keep this post updated with more info.

 

Following along here. Thanks for the posting of this issue. I don't have it ...yet...but it's only a matter of time before it happens when you hang onto a older bike.

 

Well, 180 bucks and 1 starter rebuild later and I'm good to go.

When I asked what was wrong, they said basically everything ont he top side of the starter had to be replaced. Solenoid contacts to the actual shaft itself. *NO* idea how it got that jacked up, but I guess I'm glad I took it to someone who had experience

 

So that fixed it...looked like the Bendix (starter drive wasn't engaging right...what was the problem.

 

Sometimes it's cheaper to take it to someone who knows more. I try to fix all issues myself at first. If I find myself spending too much time on something, I'll cut my losses and get it to a pro.

Troubleshooting by parts replacement can get pricey real quick! lol