GS450 starter

[ssco156]

My 1981 GS450 starter seems to have suddenly died. It was cranking alright one moment and next minute I heard just the solenoid clicking and nothing else. I shorted the solenoid terminals with the same result. I connected my good car battery directly to the positive and ground wires going to the starter; nothing, no noise or sparking. I have checked all the grounds and also measured the resistance between the starter positive and ground wires. Got a reading of app 39 Kohms which seems very high to me. I just wanted to explore all avenues before starting to rip out the starter. Could it be an excessive load on the starter? I noticed that I could not turn the rear wheel one inch when I put the bike in 1st gear. Is that normal?

[tom203]

Probably best to remove stator cover and have a look at starter clutch stuff- something might have locked up. Then you can confirm that starter motor does'nt spin even unloaded. But it does sound like your starter suddenly failed. Rebuild or replace -Pretty common item on ebay. The 450 shares same starter as the 650 shafties and maybe the gs300

[John Park]

If it doesn't draw any current, the starter clutch/drive system isn't the culprit. Probably just needs a set of brushes. Eventually they wear down to the point that they don't make contact.

As I recall, the pre '80 brushes were different; other starters [400] can look similar but have different mount tabs.

My manual doesn't show how to change the brushes, but it's pretty obvious. The only trick I remember is to assemble the armature into the end bell brushes and then slide the case over it. Mark the parts with a marker before you take them apart so they don't end up 180 out.

[ssco156]

Many thanks for your quick response; it llooks like the starter will have to come out. One good thing is that the only item that needs to be removed is the timing chain tensioner and the carbs can stay where they are. I'm not that mechanically minded but it will be much easier (and cheaper) to take the starter to an electrical shop if I don't manage to repair it myself.

[ssco156]

Thanks for your help; the weather here is getting better and I need to get it running again as quickly as possible.

[tom203]

Make sure that you understand how to properly remove the camchain tensioner,and ,more importantly, how to correctly reinstall it. Read this link...before removal,turn lock screw down on plunger shaft to hold it.

http://members.dslextreme.com/users/storagecliff/images/engine_odds-n-ends.html#A05

[ssco156]

Thanks once again.

[sam000lee]

Second with making sure you do the cam tensioner correctly. This is the rebuild kit I used when I did my starter it's pretty straight forward. If you can install/reinstall the cam chain tensioner properly you can do the rebuild kit yourself.

http://www.stockers.com/index.php?dt=RBK-4S

[ssco156]

Just an update: I put the bike in gear and rolled it forward and backward a few times, connected the battery directly to the starter wires and the starter turned! I can only think that it somehow was jammed. However, the resistance reading is now virtually 0 ohms so it could also have been a brush not making contact.

[Blue Falcon]

had the same issue with my 81 450. I took off the starter bolts, popped it back a bit, rolled it, popped it back on and it worked fine, no issues. I did order a rebuild kit tho... still have it waiting for the starter to die.... which will probably be a long time from now. Mine starts right up no grinding.

[tom203]

Starter motors can have dead spots. Take a chance for now - learn how to bump start! Personally, I'd check out the starter clutch to be safe.

[John Park]

Starter motors can have dead spots. Take a chance for now - learn how to bump start! Personally, I'd check out the starter clutch to be safe.

Starter clutches don't seem to be so troublesome on twins; at least, I haven't heard of anyone having problems. Mostly big fours. Or maybe people just don't rack up the big mileage on twins, though the short trips use the starter more than touring.

Usually the problem is brushes worn to the nubs or sticking in the holder from a mix of bushing grease and carbon dust.

[ssco156]

I finished up having to remove the starter and taking it in for repair after it played up again and left me stranded a few miles from home. As John Park said, all it needed was a new set of brushes. I didn't have any problems reinstalling the cam chain tensioner; just followed the instructions on this site and made really sure that I didn't turn the engine while the tensioner was removed.