1981 GS-450 Noise after starter clutch repair

[hamr1965]

Hi all. Brand new to posting - i have been searching these forums for a while to fix my 81 GS-450. The original problem started at the end of summer last year - I couldn't start it, starter just kept making this whizzing sound.

Well, it was the end of the riding season for me - I live in northern Ohio, so with the weather turning bad, I parked it till this spring. Now I have been working on it whenever I can - I downloaded the manual - figured out it was the starter clutch, specifically the bolt had backed out and the starter clutch was no longer making contact with the idler gear. So I got that fixed - put fresh gas and oil in - started it - it started beautifully. So I shut it down, and when I tried to fire it up again, we were back to the starter just whizzing. So I did some more research, and determined that it needed to have Loc-Tite on the threads and tightened down to the appropriate torque. So I did that.

Now, whenever I start the bike, it sounds as if something is stuck - the engine basically is trying to overcome some kind of resistance, almost as if the starter won't disengage once the bike starts. It makes a horrible noise, and I just shut it off again because I am afraid of damaging the engine. I have taken apart the starter clutch and checked it and put it back together again about 5 times now, each time with the same result, that laboring screeching engine sound whenever I start it, and it WILL start and idle, though it doesn't SOUND like idling so much as something bad.

This is my first bike and I have been on a steep learning curve - I got it for 900 dollars last summer during the sky high gas prices, and just fell in love with riding. I got to drive it to work 26 miles each way for a couple of months till the starter clutch issue parked it for the winter. Now,it is summer again, and it is killing me watching everyone else out on their bikes while mine is stuck out in the barn.

The bike has been around the block a few times, as it were, has about 17,000 miles on it, so I wasn't afraid to work on it - and besides, I couldn't afford a professional mechanic anyway. But now I am stuck - do I need to pull the the right crankcase cover and inspect the clutch assembly next? (Nooooooo!)

Something is stuck in my workin's, and I cannot imagine what it is. I realize I am a rank newbie, but I am willing to dig into it and try some stuff - or, if I am over my head, then let me know if it is time to find that professional.

Thanks in advance - this is an awesome site!

[Nessism]

Sounds like you need to pull the rotor gain and check/replace the clutch rollers/springs/pins as needed. My guess is that something is wrong inside and it may be forcing your starter motor to spin all the time.

[hamr1965]

Sounds like you need to pull the rotor gain and check/replace the clutch rollers/springs/pins as needed. My guess is that something is wrong inside and it may be forcing your starter motor to spin all the time.

Well, I have checked them several times - this last time I removed each spring, pin and roller and checked them - cleaned everything up and reassembled them, checking to make sure that the rollers shifted smoothly and that the spring pressure felt right. I haven't taken the entire rotor apart, maybe that is the next step?

[hamr1965]

By the by, I had a couple other questions as well. The tapered crankshaft end shows wear from when the rotor was riding loose on it, could that be part of the problem? Also, it seems I read that jumping the bike from a car, which I did after the battery croaked after the long winter, could cause problems in the solenoid or the relay switch. Just curious if either of those issues could be the culprit?