Triumph Rocket III Starter Upgrade

[Boog]

Obviously this is the wrong bike for this forum but it is a good learning point for me and maybe can apply as a general upgrade (out-of-the box thinking) for other bikes and other applications.

The Triumph OEM starter for the Rocket III (1.2kw Denso unit ) is an under-powered unit. When the temperature drops below freezing, the pull on the battery to turn the big engine over is often times too great; especially when battery cables are old and have some corrosion. My bike is now 5 years old and has 58K miles on it. The R3 Forum has great tips just like this one and one of the starter fixes is to use a Toyota/Lexus starter motor (1.2 kw or 1.4kw) to upgrade the OEM Triumph unit. I went with the 1.4kw unit since I ride anytime of year as long as there is no ice on the roads. So, in other words, if the bike starts, I ride.

First, I took out the long screws on the OEM motor from the starter assembly, (the entire Toyota assembly is not used as it will not fit the Triumph). I had to use a non-Triumph box end wrench as the open end wrench from Triumph was starting to strip the heads. I mention this because I have always tried to use the tools supplied with whatever bike I have. In this case, the 8mm open end wrench was not up to the job.

Then I disconnected this 12mm nut which secures the power cable to the motor.

Taking the OEM motor off was tougher than I thought as the exhaust brace was in the way. But, as the motor cover came apart, not a problem any more. I slipped the outer cover off by inserting a straight slot and twisting it to open the gap. Make sure not to ruin the rubber seal inside in case you need to reuse it later.

Here is the empty slot. Notice the corrosion on the power stud. Clean that off and apply some dielectric grease.

The new motor went on quite easy though.

I tightened the 12mm nut, recovered with the rubber cover and hit the starter button, all done.

All in all it took me 25 minutes from the time I uncovered the bike till it was recovered. I have no garage and no lift so this was done laying on the cold pavement of my parking spot.

Keep thinking outside the box folks. This saved me around $500 in OEM parts and labor.

 

[gggGary]

hmm nice post, but no images?

 

[Boog]

hmm nice post, but no images?

I can see the photos on mine. I have them in line. Is there another way to post them maybe?

 

[gggGary]

Some pics started showing now .... thnx. yeah often thought a lighter stronger starter could be found for our 650's with some research.