More electric starter info

[Pat D]

When I had my engine apart, I did the standard starter bendix spring squeeze trick, prior the starter had been doing the standard "kick-out" issue associated with the weak spring. Results were ambiguous, at best. But I bought a bike with a kick starter for a reason, so I didn't really worry about it. This year I put a new battery in the bike, and it really woke up the electric starter, but the "kick-out" issue persisted. In addition, now that the starter was getting a good shot of voltage, it was making a horrific noise as it spun down.

So today I pulled the starter, disassembled it, gave it a thorough cleaning inside and out, brushes, commutator, etc. Flushed a lot of dust and grime out of the unit. Then added a wee bit of grease to the bushings(no bearings in there as it is not a continuous duty motor, but the bushings do want some cleaning and lube from time to time). Bench tested the unit and it spins free and silently.

Put it back on the bike, and it feels strong and is much quieter. I have to deal with a broken clutch cushion spring over the winter, and at that time I may replace the starter spring and see if I can't get this thing working properly. At this point that seems to be the only issue.

So, if your electric starter is noisy, or turns slowly, might be worth pulling it off and going through it, you might be surprised at what you have when it's all done.

 

[5twins]

Since you have a '74, you're probably dealing with the older, skinnier drag clip on the #4 gear. Squeezing that tighter probably still won't work as well as using the later heavier wire clip. Even with the later clip squeezed tight, these still aren't the greatest starters. They'll still grind a bit and kick out if worked hard. I've gotten into the habit of kicking mine for the first start on colder days (say 45° or below). Once the oil has warmed and thinned, the starter has an easier job for the rest of the day.

 

[Pat D]

Aye, I've got no illusions that it's gonna be perfect, but it'll be nice to have everything working as well as it can. I've been kicking the bike exclusively for 2 seasons now, and it generally starts on the first or second, but it would be nice to have the option sometimes. And getting 40 years worth of crud outa the starter motor made a big difference, so that was a worthy exercise.