Starter failure?

[plehman]

Hi all,
I'm new to Airheads (have a R850R) and it's not going so well. I found a '76 R90/6 that I could afford (maybe that's the problem).

In the first 40 miles riding the bike home I snapped a throttle cable (easy fix). Now a week later, I went to start it up. Battery OK, throw the clutch, kill switch on position... it was turning over but not starting. Then, nasty noise from the ?starter? and nothing. I got one grunt from the starter but that was it. The lights light up, the kill switch works (i.e., the right hand switches seem OK) but nothing from the starter.

Question: How to tell if the starter ist kaput? and if so, is my only option a new one from Bob's or Capital Cycle (+ $400). Other ideas?

Thanks in advance.
Peter

[ccolwell]

Check the battery charge and ground connection first. You could have enough juice for the lights and not enough for the starter.

[plehman]

Here's a photo of the beast

[tghsmith]

make sure battery is truely good(charger, voltmeter) make sure battery connections are good,make sure starter relay connections are not crudded up, pull plugs and make sure engine rotating smoothly(up on stand, use rear wheel in tallest gear) ground plugs, check starter and spark condition,(starter should spin engine freely with plugs pulled) best of luck...

[cjack]

Here's a photo of the beast

Very nice. These starters can be fixed sometimes at your local automotive starter fixing guy...if that's the problem. Also sometimes they just need to have their bendix lubed which might account for the noise if it didn't throw out fully.

[brentde3]

+1 on the starter relay. I'm also new to the airheads (also a 76 r90/6), and the under-tank master cylinder had leaked all over the relay, gumming up connections and generally causing trouble.

Go through and check your electrical connections. That has helped a lot. 33 year old bikes get all kinds of dirty.

p.s. Check out Motorrad Elektrik for refurbishing (or replacing) your starter, if it turns out to be dead.

[crazydrummerdude]

"It's always the battery."

If the "nasty noise" was like a jackhammer, it's your battery. If it was a few faint clicks, it's your battery. Pretty much, it's the battery.

Two, three, I don't know how many times I searched around the starter, solenoid, etc on my R75 thinking I had an a-ok battery, only to find out that with a newer new battery, it'd start back up.

[DennisDarrow]

First of all, WELCOME ABOARD..................Nice looking machine, so it is worth a bit of fix up patience............

Yes, the battery is the first place to check.............Put a voltmeter across the battery terminals and see what happens when you hit the starter button.......Dropped voltage?????

I agree with ol "crazy" that more than often it IS the battery; but many times it is poor connections.............

Keep us advised and God Bless.........Dennis

[Stappenbeck]

Plehman,
That is a beautiful beast. I use dielectric grease now on all my electrical connections.The starter relay was a problem for me too. I had to take some fine sandpaper to get rid of the corrosion then greased them up. My bike was refusing to start on its own this spring. I remedied that by putting in a Deka # ETX30L maintenance free battery. It's great, sorry I didn't get one sooner. I love it because when winter comes I can slide it out thru the top without disassembling the bike.
Kurt

[plehman]

It's the relay! I gave it a few taps out of frustration and it worked. Got pretty good at jump starting today.

Thanks for all the great advise.