Bonneville America Forums Forums Technical Forums General Tech Finally starter repair done!

My bike was in the shop for 8 WEEKS with a broken starter problem. Although it was 8 months out of warranty, Triumph did cover all the cost. All the parts came in right away but the engine casing was backordered and had to come from the UK. The casing socket broke that held a starter gear shaft. This has been beefed up on later models.

I got it back yesterday and have put about 150 miles on it. It's scheduled for 500 mile oil change (re-break-in) this week barely in time for my NC trip I've been planning for months. The part broke at the dealer while it was there for my 1000 mile check and adjust after the BB kit install.

One plus, they had to completely tear the engine down. On re-assembly they carefully checked the bearings, gears, and matched the pistons. I had a bothersome vibration 3300-3600 after the BB install that is gone now. The bike has some vibration but no more than it did before and probably less than most. As a general rule, our bikes don't have enough vibration to complain about.

I'm just really glad to be back riding. In the process, they did my one year service to boot. All I need to do is get the break-in oil changed and let them check it over after the 500 miles. The bike is running great, but I'm taking it easy. Don't see making any more changes - one happy camper now.

well its about time. enjoy it

Frank

Glad you got it back.

The starter shaft races breaking happens to alot of these motors..mine being one.
Had the cases replaced last Dec/jan. took about 4 weeks due to chrictmas and new year holidays and shipping etc..

Pics of my broken parts and other pics can be found here:
http://picasaweb.google.com/EDG1911



Also have a thread over at trat with links to other posts about the same issue:

http://www.triumphrat.net/modifications-...ngs-broken.html

This is one of those failures that we all dread. Not much you can do to fix except spend $$$'s. Glad things are running well for you.

Did the dealership state why the starter idler bushings failed? Might be good to know to prevent others from having the problem.

That pic shows the identical break I had. There's really not much you can do to avoid the potential. My dealer was aware of about 2 in 100 bikes (mine being one) sold prior to the change that broke. Apparently the casing socket that the shaft fits into can break the top part off (see picture above).

Triumph is aware this is a potential weakness which led to a casing change. They also are repairing most that are out of warranty like mine. It it happens to anyone, be sure to force your service dealer to "take it to the top". They may initially say it can't be fixed on warranty. We're lucky that Triumph is basically a small company that still cares about pleasing and taking care of their buyers.

That is cool that they admit to the problem and fix it. Having a starter bearing in the engine case that is so thin is an obvious issues. Most vehicles have the bearing built into the starter end case. My Austin Healey Sprite did not even have a bearing supporting the Bendix gearing. I regulary had to physically turn it to unjam the gear from the flywheel.
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if i ever had that problem i would be sooooooooo tempted to do an 1100 or 1200 kit

Frank

I didn't have time to think about it. It happened at the dealer while getting my BB904 follow up service. I only had a 1000 miles on the 904.