Stater seems pooched

[azr]

Hey all. Trevor and I are planning on a ride for two days starting tomorrow. Trevor is already out of town and I'm meeting up with him tomorrow. Problem...sounds like his starter has bit the bullet. He went to start the bike tonight and just get a couple of clicks and then nothing, same thing if he try's again. His lights and signals are all working fine. I'm thinking if we were really lucky it could be a bad connection on the starter relay or a bad ground but he's been having troubles with the bike starting recently when it's warm. So..two questions. Is he going to do any damage by bump starting the bike for a couple of days? I'm pretty sure the answer is no but just want to make sure for him. Nothing like a good 'bump' to the start of a break in trip. Really the trip is for me to test the 1000G on a good ride before the summer trips but I think this is a bit of a test for his bike as well

[posplayr]

Hey all. Trevor and I are planning on a ride for two days starting tomorrow. Trevor is already out of town and I'm meeting up with him tomorrow. Problem...sounds like his starter has bit the bullet. He went to start the bike tonight and just get a couple of clicks and then nothing, same thing if he try's again. His lights and signals are all working fine. I'm thinking if we were really lucky it could be a bad connection on the starter relay or a bad ground but he's been having troubles with the bike starting recently when it's warm. So..two questions. Is he going to do any damage by bump starting the bike for a couple of days? I'm pretty sure the answer is no but just want to make sure for him. Nothing like a good 'bump' to the start of a break in trip. Really the trip is for me to test the 1000G on a good ride before the summer trips but I think this is a bit of a test for his bike as well

start in 2nd gear, there is less stress on the transmission/drive train

[azr]

Thanks for the tip, Trevor said the bikes easy as butter to bump, so that's a bonus. Not sure what gear he's using but I'll let him know (he's an old hat at bumping bikes I think anyways). Do you think it will damage anything though bump starting it for a few days??

[cableguy]

The amount of torque applied in the backwards fashion of a rolling bump start has got to be less than a medium to hard launch, although you have the clutch to apply it smoothly. As long as you do it in second gear and your chain doesn't have a mile of slack in it I can't see how you could generate enough force to hurt anything. Hope you guys have a good trip!

[Dogma]

In 2nd gear, the ratios work out such that you're more likely to turn the motor over than skid the tire, but it will still turn fast enough to start.

[trevor]

Thanks guys. Sounds like this will be safe to do for a couple days until I can get it home to fix the problem. I Like the funny looks I get anyway. Lol

[kawfeedave]

My first GS was an 1100G I picked up in high school. The day I bought it the starter failed, and I proceeded to bump start it for the next 6 months because I was too broke to fix it. I got into the habit of parking on top of hills/slopes to make my life easy.

I took the bike in for a new front tire, and told the mechanic that it needed to be bump started. He took it upon himself to check the starter and found the brushes had crumbled and were gone. He found some brushes at a local junkyard, replaced them, and it worked like a charm. He didn't charge me more than $20 for the starter repair, he said he felt sorry for me having to push start that beast everyday.

[bccap]

Thanks guys. Sounds like this will be safe to do for a couple days until I can get it home to fix the problem. I Like the funny looks I get anyway. Lol

Especially the one you're going to get at Customs.....
If you need it I can buzz down with a multi meter ? But I don't know what your time frame is ?

[SVSooke]

Remember the trip to Spunky's last year when I had to bump Yeller every stop?Other things in that trip over shadow that but you will be fine.

[bluewool]

If you need a starter relay there's been one recently listed on craigslist in Vancouver. I'd jump on it fast though it probably will sell pretty quickly.

[eil]

Have you tried the old screwdriver-across-the-solenoid trick?

[MAC10]

Bump starting, as others have mentioned, should be no problem and not harmful provided you do it artfully in second gear. When you get some practice it will be second nature. I did it once for three months, long ago when I was broke.