Bonneville America Forums Forums Technical Forums General Tech Spinning starter motor...

So I had an issue with the bike not starting. Solenoid clicked but nothing.. After lots of messing it appears the fuse box wire was loose.. But started up and then it dies... Probably Just cause it was cold.

Anyway.. Go to start again and solenoid clicks, relay clicks and starter motor spins.. Whirring away.. But nothing, no engage or turn over. Just spins.
Battery is showing 12.7v and the. 11.02v when switch is pushed...


Any thoughts guys.. I'm miserable :-(

You need a sprag cluch. Trying to start them with a low battery wares them out. You can 100% do it yourself.

Thank you for the reply.. Wow.. That's an expensive item from triumph! I'll hunt around.. See what I can find. :-)

If the starter spins and doesn't engage anything, then you have one of two problems.

1st, the sprag clutch is slipping. Other fellows have had this happen. Make sure the battery is really charged up then try it again. It seems to slip when the battery is low on power. 12.7 is not that high for a charged battery. If it continues to slip, you might have to replace the sprag which is situated behind the left hand side engine case. It is part of the starter gear train. I think Grezgorz had to replace his some time ago.

The 2nd problem is a cracked case where the started idler gear rides. This is a major problem and could require the engine case to be replaced unless you have some machining skills.

Try the battery before pulling the side cover off.

the magnets inside my starter casing imploded recently and my bike wouldn't start either... hopefully yours is as easy to fix, the cracked engine case would be my worst fear

Thanks for the replies guys. I'll give the battery a go first.. (I could hook it up to the car battery (with the car off) for a test yeah?

Cross your fingers thsts its not a bad case. And if you turn out s.o.l. - I have 100% new sprag clutch set up. Mine did the same, I bought all the stuff to do the sprag ro find out the case was cracked. So now they're in a box.

What was your symptom on that one? Hard current draw with no spin?

Yeah, but no spin of the starter motor either, just the click of the solenoid, the drop in voltage.

my saga

Haha oh man.. read threw that, carbon copy to my other bike.. its kick start only now..

Well to add to that I rebuilt the starter twice to to not have it work. Found out last month when I was rewireing it that it had a dead "saftey relay" that only that year had and no one ever mentions on any fourm on this planet.... I bet.. I never looked....

Things like this is why a kicker would be so good. Broken case at the starter gear would not be such a big deal if you could still kick start it.

EFI 865s don't have the case problem so no kicker needed. Just push start the older ones.

Shoot...my 2005 is doing the same thing...but the problem goes away once the engine is warm...starts fine everytime, only when cold does she do this....Seems that if the broken case was the problem, it would do it all the time, right? Im thinking sprag clutch for mine....

Got it out, not really seeing anything obviously worn or broken...no cracks anywhere on the case....$218...probably should do the clutch too since Im in there....

Make sure the wavy washer goes back where it belongs on re-assembly and everything is located correctly.

I replied on your other post but you are already there so .....

Let us know what's going on.

$218.44 for this part....anybody have any ideas? No way to actually "fix" this part? If you could find a way to repair this part, someone could make ALOT of money! E-bay has nothing....crap!

try contacting Jryan and see if he still has the one he had still in the box.

Check with Pinwall Cycle on Ebay. Any of the 270 or 360 twin starter drive mechanisms should fit. Give em a call.

Thanks for the info. Here is my present saga,
Go to leave work at night. It is cold out. Bike wouldn't start, battery goes kaput and starter just spins.Get a jump it starts and go home. This thursday same thing, jump doesn't work, just spins. Trailor home.
Take clutch cover off and take sprag clutch out.Mind you I have afriend who is a very good mechanic helping . He checks sprag and cleans it. Says it is not that bad, it doing what it supposed to do.
Triumph of daytona wanted $488.00 for sprag clutch and new cover gasket. bke bandit less than $300.
Put cleaned old one back in and put back together. Disconnected plugs and tried it. Works so far.
Was asked if I ever used a oil aditive. I did ,there was residue on got to hit a ace hardware fo a new bolt.
Used RTV Blue to seal cover, Shouldn't leak. Will know tomorrow.
Just turned 137,000 miles, Had a 120 miles on oil change, Saved oil.

That's just about the best news ever right there

Bike works fine, so far. No leaks and runs good
Had to wipe residue of additive off Had used it 2 oil changes ago hope it is not to much left in motor that can gum up clutch again . road about 10 miles so far.
Had warrenty work on bike done about 10-11 years ago and they had a different bolt in cover. Only 2nd time that cover been off.
Next comes a new battery.

Stupid bikebandit tells me 3 weeks later that the part is "no longer available"...whatever that means...bike still sitting, nearly 2 months now....The bike has never had a brand new battery, always "re-conditioned"....Think Im just gonna buy a brand new battery and put the thing back together....

Problem found.....the boss that holds the pin for the starter gear is cracked...about 1/8th to 1/4 inch long (not sure exactly), and only in one place...Devastating find. My only hope at this point is to find an expert welder that can close the crack up, and zap it with a MIG or TIG welder...I missed the crack before somehow, but it's definitely there...65,000 miles on the bike, and if it can't be fixxed by welding, It will be a total loss, as $2000 for a salvage engine, labor and all, simply won't be worth it...$4700 for a lower engine half from Triumph...Any ideas for the disposition of this bike would be welcome....

you could have a ring made that fits over the boss. the ring would have to have a thick wall of probably 3/8" and make the ring as long as you can. the bore needs to be an interference fit on the boss. If you measure the diameter with a micrometer you can file it round enough so that when the ring is tapped on it will keep the boss together. You could also use JB weld to strengthen the casing by putting it around the ring and over some of the webs nearby. I'm a machinist and could make the piece for you. Another way to keep the ring from trying to move is putting a couple of bolts from the OD to the case and when the bolt is snug tighten it with a locknut. Basically it's what we call a 'spider'. It's an easy fix. e mail me at blymeylymey@gmail.com Des

Got the collar installed, looks good....new gasket installed for the side cover, but the cover won't seal around starter housing area....leaks as fast as I put the oil in...something holding the cover off...I have 2 washers, one is a flat washer, the other a thin "wavy" washer...any idea which one goes where? Should the thin wavy washer go on before the gear or the flat washer? Can't find a parts manual reference...right now, the flat washer is on first, then the gear, then the wavy washer...Im hoping the washer configuration is holding it off...will try swapping the position of them tomorrow....e-gad!

I don't show 2 washers in my manual, I have not had that apart so I have not seen them 1st hand. When you put the collar on did it seat all they way in? The collar couldn't be preventing the gear from sliding in to it's proper position?

I know that wavy washer goes on the outside of the gear

I didn't check, but isn't there a exploded drawing on the BikeBandit website available? Yes, I guess there is. #6 is the wavy washer

Side cover back on, no leaks, everything back together, hit the starter, and same CRAP...turns crank maybe 1 revolution every 4th or 5th try, then just spins....PIECE OF CRAP! Anyone want a POS America????

If the intermediate gear is fixed sounds like the sprag clutch is bad.

if it was cheap enough and you were close enough I would take it.

Guess I'll have to come up with another $200....piss poor design....

I wonder if the sprag clutch contributed to the failure, slipping then catching putting extra stress on the case.

Hey Mark. How did you repair the case. Did you get one of these and fill in the missing metal?

Ian's point is also one you have to consider. Can't remember who had a sprag clutch issue not long ago due to adding some kind of snake oil additive which cause the sprag to slip.