Starter gear & starter chain WTF FML.

Wing Nuts!

Don't ask me how but I have outdone even myself this time: I pray the gods of gold wings might save me from myself yet again.

I went to start max to begin my flush/fill and oil change ritual and the starter seized~ I did the usual rituals of tapping the starter with a block of wood, moving the bike to free it up, nothing.

So I pulled the starter and it immediately became apparent the starter cog had slipped out of the gear that turns the chain. And the gear is now wedged and I can't get it out.

So while I contemplated all the ways to use my favorite mechanics multi tool of a word (fuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuck, et al.) I opened up the starter and cleaned it up and put it back together. Then I went back at the gear. That thing is wedged. Anyone seen this? I won't be shocked if I'm the only idiot to manage this.

Thinking I may have to pull the motor and crack it to get in there. I am afraid that me trying that might be like me trying heart surgery after staying at a holiday inn express last night. Any thoughts?

Try prying the gear loose with a flat screw driver. Might also need to get some slack in the chain by fishing in there to move the chain up or down.

Try taking a turn on the stator bolt, but instead of the normal clockwise, carefully turn counterclockwise to engage the starer clutch to roll the chain backwards.

wow chis ...going by your post and words it almost sounds like it did before you put a arench on it ....starter locked up as you said ...if thats the case there might be something wrong inside ...i wouldnt use stator bolt to move anything ...might just cause a problem there also ....only the crank bolt can be used to turn the motor backwards ...under the timing belt covers .....ive never had one stuck or wedge tight like this ....as dan said try screwdriver or something to slip in the gear ..just dont pry on any mating surface at all ....its not sounding good chris and motor out might be in the cards ...be nice to see a pic of this ...good luck chris

Thanks guys, I agree Joe it doesn't sound good to me either. I'll grab a pic of what you can see through the starter port where the motor meets the gear. It moves but it's just strange, admittedly im not a mechanic so may not be best one to judge. This just feels shady to me.

By starter seized, you mean it wouldn't turn at all. Did it crank a bit and stop? Now that it's out, does it spin freely? Have you tried moving the motor at all? Okay enough questions, I'm leaning towards a possible hydrolock that made you think it was the starter...???. Pull plugs and see if there's a bunch of gas in one cylinder. It could be that's what's causing the chain to hang up. Above suggestions are all good, but I'd hate to see you go through too much if that's all it is. It's easy for a float valve to stick open and flood a jug after sitting all winter. If you smell gas with plugs out, kill switch in kill position, and turn it over to clear it out.

Hey ek

It turned then seized. I pulled the starter and it turned, I cleaned up the armature for good measure. Y'all right me how to rebuild a starter a couple years ago so it was easy to see the connections are good but there was carbon on the armature which I carefully removed with a pencil eraser and a soft cloth.

The sprocket is stuck in there caught behind the chain, the gear popped out of its resting place in the starter chain and I can't get the f*cker out. I will pull plugs when I get my daughter home from her swim meet. Hydrolock sounds like something I need to read up on, thankfully I have about 10 hours in a crowded pool deck to read up. The immediate issue is getting the sprocket out, it does move but I camt seem to free it. Not a lot of room to get my sausage fingers in thee to play around.

If it seemed like it only turned a half of a turn then stopped, it could be hydrolock. Hydrolock is usually when on carb leaks gas down into an intake. If the valve seal is excellent, it can just pool up in the elbow above the valve. When you go to crank it, the intakes opens and instead of a gulp of air/fuel it gets liquid. When cylinder comes up on compression stroke, liquid cannot compress enough and the motor stops dead. In the worst case the one cylinder comes up to compression as another has just fired and it can have enough momentum to bend a rod. I wrecked my last 1200 this way. I'm wondering if something like this could be tying your chain up into the drive and why it's being a turd on you.

For your sprocket, a set of medical clamps would be the ticket to grasp the sprocket leaving room to use a screwdriver or pick to peel the chain back.

Good point Eric, it does sound like hydrolock.

Thanks lads - I'm off to amazon to score a clamp! Will report.

In the interim. You might try removing the plugs and cover the holes with rags to prevent anything dropping in. Rock the bike in gear to loosen or reposition the chain.