starter motor

hi everybody,i think i have a failed stater.for about a month or two when i start the engine the first time during the day,the starter engages with no problem, then after riding for a while when i stop for gas and restart it,it would first sound like a dead battery for a second then start up,but it's not the battery.today i shut it off and it would not start again.it sounds like the starter is making a clicking sound when pushing the start button.starter replacement? :thanks:

Try running the starter directly with jumper cables, negative to the case, positive to the cable stud. If the starter relay is bad, this will bypass it and the starter should work fine. If the starter is bad, it will act the same. Try this after riding for a while.

Oh, if the starter is bad, rebuild it. Much cheaper that replacement, and not difficult at all.

should i run jump cables from a car to try this?

after having the bike towed back to the house,i thought i would try again.still just clicking.then i tried gently tapping on the starter itself.i tried to start it and the starter started to turn very weakly.then it sounds like a dead battery again.battery is at 12.8 v

Or maybe just bypass the solenoid, I have seen some bad starters turn over with the high current of a jump yet with a normal good motorcycle battery will not turn them.
It sure sounds like a starter though, best to rebuild the one you have, rebuild kits are cheap enough.

Does sound like rebuild time for the starter.

+1 definitely starter :yes:

i forgot to mention,i got caught in rain.after a couple of hours in the shed i tried to start it.it was turning very weakly 2 or three tries then about the fourth try the starter was spinning like new i tried about 6 times and started perfect? .i'm guessing that the starter got wet.

I'm having much the same problem with my starter.....works fine initially, but after riding when she's hot, will barely turn over at all. No clicking, no nothing.

I watched a few videos on how to pull and rebuild a starter, doesn't look TOO complicated (well, I would probably farm out the rebuild for the $75 it will cost me) but I do have a question.

On an '83 Interstate, are there two bolts holding the starter in place, or just one? I looked and I can see only one (up close to the bottleneck where the rotor inserts into the case) but it seems to me like there should be another one at the 'rear' of the starter (front of the bike).

I know I'll have to remove my heel/toe shifter to get the starter out, but will it fit past everything else? very cramped quarters in there?

And....if I send for a rebuild, that means the shaft will be rotated out of position.....how will I get it lined back up again when I go to reassemble it?

[url=https://www.classicgoldwings.com/forum/viewtopic.php?p=126796#p126796:3srz6roc said:

ludwig » Sun Jul 27, 2014 12:15 pm[/url]":3srz6roc]
i forgot to mention,i got caught in rain.after a couple of hours in the shed i tried to start it.it was turning very weakly 2 or three tries then about the fourth try the starter was spinning like new i tried about 6 times and started perfect? .i'm guessing that the starter got wet.

Click to expand...

This is typical symptoms if worn out starter brushes. :yes: A rebuild or replacement is required :builder:

2 bolts hold it in.
1 on top and 1 at the front end bottom.

It will go back in ok even though it's been turned.
I've never had a problem there.