Removing a starter on 1980 GS750L

[The Fiddler]

Hi all,

I have been reading the forum for a while now, soaking up lots of great tips and info about my GS. Thanks to all who make this site happen.

I am a long time shadetree mechanic and take care of my bike and my Toy pickup with pride, but I am not too proud to ask for help when I am stumped. In this case I am hoping someone can point me in the right direction on how to get at one of the bolts holding the starter on my bike, a 1980 GS750L.

On my bike the two long bolts that hold the starter (and end cap which is where I want to get to) onto the bike are of the cross head variety and one of them is buried deep in the well the starter sits in and there is hardly room to fit any kind of driver head in there. I have removed the starter cover ok, and I can see how you could get at the top bolt, it's a bit of an angle but I hope I can break it loose. The one that is down in the cavity for the starter I can't figure out how to get at. If it was a hex head like the bolts that hold the starter cover on I can see fitting a small wrench or eve socket in there, but since it is a cross head I can't see how to get enough pressure onto the screw with the driver to do any good.

I am doing this without removing the gas tank, carbs and airbox because up until I came to this bolt it seemed there was plenty of room to work. Do you really have to pull all this stuff just to get at the one bolt from the top? The manual is unfortunately no help in this area.

Thank for any replies or experience with this problem,

F

 

[Guest]

I pulled my carbs and cam chain tensioner to remove the starter. I also pulled my stator cover and removed the gear, dowel and washer.

 

[rphillips]

Should be two 8mm bolts holding the starter cover, then two 10mm bolts at the very back of the starter, holding it in. Don't know what end cap you are speaking of. It's a tight spot, & you'll think it won't, but starter should come out without removing anything else

 

[earlfor]

A 1/4" drive ratchet and short extension always worked for me.

E.

Should be two 8mm bolts holding the starter cover, then two 10mm bolts at the very back of the starter, holding it in. Don't know what end cap you are speaking of. It's a tight spot, & you'll think it won't, but starter should come out without removing anything else

 

[The Fiddler]

ah, there's the thing though. The two long bolts holding the starter on are not hex head bolts, they have a star/cross head like a screw, or like the bolts that hold the various engine covers on. I did remove the two 8mm bolts holding the starter cover on, no problems, but without a hex head to attach to I can't come up with a good way of getting any torque on those cross heads. Just wondering if anyone else's bike has these instead of a normal hex head bolt and how they might have got them undone.

F

 

[Art Lacroix]

leverage

leverage

:-D use a ratchet with a philips bit. You can wedge something (a hand or a block of wood) between the ratchet & carbs etc. to get pressure on it if you have to.

 

[The Fiddler]

Ahah, I see... I do not have a philips driver to fit my 1/4" ratchet but I will go procure one and then try that. With a little heat it might just be able to crack them free. I will certainly take the bolts to a local bolt supply shop and see if I can come up with a pair that have 10mm heads to replace them. I am thinking of doing this for all the cross head stuff on the bike actually.

Thanks for the tip eh.

F

 

[rphillips]

Watch e-bay. There is a complete set of allen head stainless bolts for the GS 750's there now, ending in about 1 1/2 hr. The sets are on e-bay most all the time. I put together a set years ago, believe me, buying a set is much easier

 

[DanTheMan]

Ahah, I see... I do not have a philips driver to fit my 1/4" ratchet but I will go procure one and then try that. With a little heat it might just be able to crack them free. I will certainly take the bolts to a local bolt supply shop and see if I can come up with a pair that have 10mm heads to replace them. I am thinking of doing this for all the cross head stuff on the bike actually.

Thanks for the tip eh.

F

Good idea, I have all those tools around so when I run into something like that, I just find the next tool. Be very careful though, and don't round out the phillips head screw, because then you'll need to drill and ez-out the thing.
BTW, I see you're a fiddler. I do a bit of that as well, and I play a variety of other instruments. With all the musicians on this forum, we could have a regular band if we all showed up in the same place with our instruments....:-D

 

[earlfor]

I just stick a phillips bit into an SAE socket and snap it onto my 1/4" drive ratchet.

E.

Ahah, I see... I do not have a philips driver to fit my 1/4" ratchet but I will go procure one and then try that. With a little heat it might just be able to crack them free. I will certainly take the bolts to a local bolt supply shop and see if I can come up with a pair that have 10mm heads to replace them. I am thinking of doing this for all the cross head stuff on the bike actually.

Thanks for the tip eh.

F

 

[scotto58]

Fiddler

Do the 2 bolts you are trying to remove run along the body of the starter? If so, those hold the starter together NOT IN the engine. The mounting bolts are located at right hand(sitting on the bike) of the starter--probably out of sight if you don't have the fuel tank/carbs off.

Scott