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Weird starting issue (SOLVED)

Posted: Wed Jun 14, 2017 1:06 pm
by Crimson
Just noting this, in case it helps anyone.

I had a problem starting the bike, but only sometimes. It would sometimes just give a single click, and then require shifting into second and rocking into place, before back down to neutral and starting as usual. Went through the whole checklist and tried everything you could find online. But it wasn't battery power, solenoid, starter cutoff relay, wiring, starter motor brushes, etc. It was something I couldn't find any mention about, when I Googled the problem.

I found that it was the starter motor. It was bolted in too loosely. You could turn the bolts with your fingers. This meant that the spline wasn't flush with the starter gearing mechanism. As it was at an angle, there was just too much load on the motor. Therefore, it couldn't turn over. Rocking it in second gear aligned the splines with the starter gearing mechanism, and this allowed it to work, but riding the bike would shake it out of position again. Just tightening the bolts so that the starter motor sat flush against the engine case appears to have solved this problem.