Grandson's V Star has been iffy to start from the get go. DPO (Dreaded Previous Owner) blamed it on a tired battery. Which, in truth, it was, but replacing it didn't fix the problem. Fortunately it bump starts very easily.
A bit of surfing shows bad starters to be a thing with that engine. Usually what happens is that the magnets come unbonded from the housing and/or disintegrate.
New starter: $125 Remove and replace: <30 minutes and most of that was because the engine was still hot. One 10mm nut to unhook the cable, two 5mm socket head screws and a little tappy-tap to remove the dead starter, assembly is the reverse of disassembly. My double-swivel extension did come in handy to get at everything without having to remove the front pipe. Starts before you can let go of the button now.
Disassembled the old starter and yes indeed...two of the 6 magnets were broken with pieces missing and the entire inside of the housing was covered in a thick layer of black dust that used to be magnets.
A bit of surfing shows bad starters to be a thing with that engine. Usually what happens is that the magnets come unbonded from the housing and/or disintegrate.
New starter: $125 Remove and replace: <30 minutes and most of that was because the engine was still hot. One 10mm nut to unhook the cable, two 5mm socket head screws and a little tappy-tap to remove the dead starter, assembly is the reverse of disassembly. My double-swivel extension did come in handy to get at everything without having to remove the front pipe. Starts before you can let go of the button now.
Disassembled the old starter and yes indeed...two of the 6 magnets were broken with pieces missing and the entire inside of the housing was covered in a thick layer of black dust that used to be magnets.
