Stuck starter?

[terry]

Well being the woose that I undoubtably am, I am preparing my poor old GS1000S for another Aussie summer, (lasts about 9 months here) after riding my BMW K1100LT with it's inbuilt heater, over the winter months.

I drained the stale unleaded outta the tank (thank you Mr Pingle.........) and drained the float bowls, pulled the plugs and bead blasted them, checked the oil, and cranked the engine with the plugs out to get the oil circulating.

I then replaced the plugs, filled the tank with fresh gas, hit the button and it burst into life, woohoo! I ran it in the driveway for awhile, but as the registration needs to be paid before I can venture out into traffic, that was as far as I got. I switched it off and left it in my driveway, then that evening I went to start it again, but it wouldn't crank?

Hmmmnnnn, maybe the battery is flat? I jumped it off a fully charged car battery, but to no avail. Starter solenoid? I tried "arcing" the poles with a scrwdriver blade, but all this did was cause it to spark. I tried jumping the car battery directly to the cable post on the starter motor, but that did no good either. I tried rocking the bike back and forth with engine in gear, but that didn't loosen it either.

I can "bump start" the bike pretty easy down my sloping driveway, but nothing seems to unlock my starter motor, so where do I go from here? Any help will be much appreciated guys, the warm weather is here and I wanna get out there amongst it, and that BMW is waaay too hot to ride in summer! Cheers, Terry.

[Alan Schlosser]

I don't know if this is related, but the same thing happened to me last year, but at the end of the season. Last ride of the year. Changed the oil and filter. Started the bike up ok but stalled it somehow. Went to start it again and nothing. Just the solenoid click. Push started it fine and drove it into the basement. Over the winter, I pulled the starter and all the brushes were shot. Go figure.

[argonsagas]

Worn brushes seems the most likely cause. They do wear, and that is how they show when they are gone.

Stockers Starters are good and also inexpensive. You can get a full plate, or just the loose/DIY brushes.

www.stockers.com

[argonsagas]

Sorry....I forgot to mention

Before pulling the starter

CHECK THE CABLE CONNECTIONS at the solenoid

[Hap Call]

If you have to pull the starter, make sure you clean the commutator. While it is rare, if the commutator has copper corrosion (which is green in color, not brown or coffee colored) on it, it will not conduct enough current to spin the motor. Use a mild abrasive pad (these are green scrubbing pads here in the States) and some spray electrical contact cleaner to get the job done. Scrub very lightly, only enough to remove the corrosion and not the actual copper, and make sure that all the mica slots are very clean before putting the motor back together.

Hap

[t3rmin]

How about the clutch safety switch? I'm not sure where in the circuit that is in relation to the solenoid, so maybe bridging the solenoid with a screwdriver already eliminated that possibliity...? Thought I'd mention it tho.

[terry]

Thanks guys, I've got a couple of spare starters, one of which I know is fine, so I'll swap it out this weekend and get back to you once I pull the recalcitrant starter in mine apart. I'll be happy if it's just the starter and not jammed starter gears or starter clutch! Cheers, Terry.

[terry]

Well I pulled the starter out today, hooked it up to a battery, and it spun fine? Hmmmnnn, well I grabbed a spare starter anyway, did the battery thing and it spun fine too, so installed it, hit the button, and Ba-Room! Away it went, no problem? I think the other one must have been stuck, but what the heck, it works now and I'm going riding! Cheers, Terry.