James.A
03-25-2008, 09:55 AM
Here's the deal, 2 R75/5's. Both 1973's. Odyssey batteries in both. Both over 80,000 miles.
1 of them, (white) which I acquired in 2000, started right up after 30 seconds of cranking last week, having been in hibernation over the winter.
The other, which I acquired in 1989, has always been been reluctant to start in cooler temps. When I installed the odyssey 2 years ago it helped with the slow starter problem, but this year, the starter performance has degraded to more typical difficulty. The battery shows good surface charge(12.6v) and stands up well to a load test. Still the starter rolls slow and makes the ratcheting solenoid sound usually associated with a weak battery. At this point I swapped out the starter with a spare that I saved from a 1974 R90/6 parts bike that came my way several years ago. The result was much the same. My next operation involved a bench re-build of the original starter that involved new bushings and brushes, polishing the commutator, a good cleaning and lubricating the drive mechanism. Still the same result when installed. At every step, I pulled the plugs to compare the starter performance with and without motor compression. In each instance, the starter (either of them) would roll the motor faster and with minimal solenoid ratcheting when not fighting compression. For todays effort I connected an automotive battery as a jumper, and then the motor cranked for less than a minute and started right up.
Now I'm quizzing the readers here. I'm not opposed to buying and installing one of those Nippondenso starters that have come available in recent years. What are the chances that 2 Bosch starters of nearly equal age would be similarly rendered lame? Am I missing something? Any ideas? I am less inclined to dismantle the running bike to swap out parts.
1 of them, (white) which I acquired in 2000, started right up after 30 seconds of cranking last week, having been in hibernation over the winter.
The other, which I acquired in 1989, has always been been reluctant to start in cooler temps. When I installed the odyssey 2 years ago it helped with the slow starter problem, but this year, the starter performance has degraded to more typical difficulty. The battery shows good surface charge(12.6v) and stands up well to a load test. Still the starter rolls slow and makes the ratcheting solenoid sound usually associated with a weak battery. At this point I swapped out the starter with a spare that I saved from a 1974 R90/6 parts bike that came my way several years ago. The result was much the same. My next operation involved a bench re-build of the original starter that involved new bushings and brushes, polishing the commutator, a good cleaning and lubricating the drive mechanism. Still the same result when installed. At every step, I pulled the plugs to compare the starter performance with and without motor compression. In each instance, the starter (either of them) would roll the motor faster and with minimal solenoid ratcheting when not fighting compression. For todays effort I connected an automotive battery as a jumper, and then the motor cranked for less than a minute and started right up.
Now I'm quizzing the readers here. I'm not opposed to buying and installing one of those Nippondenso starters that have come available in recent years. What are the chances that 2 Bosch starters of nearly equal age would be similarly rendered lame? Am I missing something? Any ideas? I am less inclined to dismantle the running bike to swap out parts.