What you need to remove to get to the starter motor - 1981 GS650G

[seinwave]

Sorry, I already swapped the starter successfully; I was just reporting back for future seekers of knowledge.

[chuck hahn]

Take carbs out of the way. Remove starter cover. Remove two 10mm bolts. Remove starter power cable and use a flat screwdriver between starter end and starter well to apply gentle pry motion as you wiggle starter out.

[seinwave]

My starter went bad, and when preparing to replace it I saw conflicting information on whether or not you needed to remove the CCT and carbs to get to the motor. I'm reporting back to say definitively:

1) You *do* need to remove the CCT. Or, at the absolute very least, it was already so ludicrously irritating getting to the motor mount bolts without the CCT in place that I cannot possibly imagine getting to them with it in place.

2) You *do* need to slip the carbs out of the intake (engine-side) boots, but you do *not* need to pull the rack completely out. You have plenty of room if you sit the intake side of the carbs on top of the intake boots, and slip the airbox side into the airbox boots a little bit. Shoulda taken a picture.

3) If you accidentally leave the petcock on PRIME overnight after a test fire, you will need to change the oil. Strangely, none of the guides I saw mentioned this at all.