Starter motors are of particular concern to Airhead owners. Obviously, for the vast majority of owners it's the only way to start the engine. But for all owners, a burned up starter motor is serious money. Therefore, any maintenance we can do to prolong the life of the unit is money in our pocket. And, any owner maintenance always leads to a better understanding of the machine.
The basis for this article is simple. You may have recently read on this forum where several owners complained of dodgy steering, and the cure was to disassemble the steering head bearings and replace the oxidized and solidified 40-year old grease. The bearings were generally fine, but the grease had morphed into a compound as thick as molasses in January. That same transition occurs to the grease in the starter motor bearings as well. These sluggish bearings result in very slow starter motor revolution, which results in higher than normal current draw, which can result in death of the starter motor. Replacement starter motors are now $350, so considering that this repair can easily be completed in 3 hours, that's like paying yourself $100 per hour.
The work is simple and straightforward: Disconnect the battery. Remove the fuel tank. Remove the starter cover. Disconnect the starter cable connections. Remove the 2 starter mounting bolts and the starter. The starter disassembles like any other starter or generator with 2 fasteners which secure both end caps. The bearings you need to access are in those end caps. Although the OCD owners among you may wish to install 2 new bearings, the occasional use of the starter usually means the old bearings only require new grease. For this I highly advise the use of synthetic wheel bearing grease since it is non-viscous and very slow to oxidize. Reassembly is simply the reverse.
Having the starter is out of the engine presents and excellent opportunity to carry out 2 other additional tasks...
Starter Cable - The OEM starter cable is known to wick battery acid under the black jacket, all the way from the battery up to the starter. This generally destroys the cable from within and results in a very poor electrical connection for the starter and the alternator output. ANY sign of trouble and the cable must be replaced. Signs of trouble show up as a green hew along any part of the starter cable copper conductor.
Engine Breather Update - On the RH side under the starter motor are 2 small covers and connected by several hoses. These are your engine breather system. The pre-formed hoses are generally no longer available, so be very gentle when handling these hoses. If there is excess oil leakage, then both these covers can be re-sealed with modern sealants rather than gaskets. One of these covers also conceals the breather valve itself. Pre-1978 (?) breather valves using the phenolic disc should be directly replaced with the later model stainless steel reed valve. Consult Snowbum for details HERE.
Hope this helps.
Owning an old Airhead is easy.
Keeping an old Airhead running great is the true test.
removing the starter is far from simple, at least with the Bosch unit. one of the 3 mounting bolts is a real bear, IMNSHO the toughest access bolt on the bike. Bud Provin at the Nickwackett garage states to use a 1/4" drive wobbly socket to make it pretty easy. the socket is a combination universal joint and socket. remove the easy bolt first to know the size socket to buy, no need to spend on an entire set.
look for the bracket at the front and remove the screw.
if you have an early Valeo starter they were prone to catastrophic failure. See Snowbum.
The last starter I was into on the bike was a Bosch on my /5 @100k miles or so. It had plain bearings, not balls. Those just get replaced if the armature has any wobble in them.
The solenoid linkage should be cleaned and regreased. Take pictures, take your time and it's easy.
@100k miles I would just take the starter to an electric motor shop. It's a standard item. You want the armature cut in a lathe, the brushes inspected and maybe replaced, the solenoid contacts maybe replaced, etc. Not a huge expense if you carry it in.
Replacing the starter with a Nippondenso from Rick Jones at Mottorad Electrik is a big bill but a very sweet starter. Lighter weight, more power for less current draw.I treated my new build to one. No kickstarter, I wanted the best. I had one on my Toyota truck and the solenoid contacts wore out at 250+k miles. new contact kit was $8 on Amazon. took longer crawling under to R&R than the repair on the starter it self.
see Snowbum on fitting starters.
Good luck Mr. Phelps.
I decided to follow this advice. My starter has not been touched in 43 years. It seemed to be working fine. I went ahead and replaced the bushings (bearings), brushes, and brush springs. I also installed a new positive battery cable, and new starter relay.
Well, let me tell you, what a difference that made! I guess pushing that start button for over 40 years, one just doesn’t realize that the starter is slowly working harder and harder to get things spinning. It really spins now! Thanks for the tip.
Did the same myself this wnter on a 77. rebuilt stater and installed new cables, Haven't started it yet, but hitting th button it fires fast.
Bob
Bud Provin at the Nickwackett garage states to use a 1/4" drive wobbly socket to make it pretty easy.
By definition, every socket I own is a "wobbly socket". ?
Owning an old Airhead is easy.
Keeping an old Airhead running great is the true test.
Delighted that tip helped someone. It's not original to me, but one that was offered early on in my Airhead career. And the transformation, as per Bob and David's experience, was just as amazing. One day you're making all sorts of mental excuses for your sluggish starting, the next day it sounds like someone coupled a jet engine to your starter !!
That oxidized grease occurs so slowly that you don't really hear the difference in the starter day to day, or even year to year.
Owning an old Airhead is easy.
Keeping an old Airhead running great is the true test.
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