H
hamr1965
Guest
Hi all. Brand new to posting - i have been searching these forums for a while to fix my 81 GS-450. The original problem started at the end of summer last year - I couldn't start it, starter just kept making this whizzing sound.
Well, it was the end of the riding season for me - I live in northern Ohio, so with the weather turning bad, I parked it till this spring. Now I have been working on it whenever I can - I downloaded the manual - figured out it was the starter clutch, specifically the bolt had backed out and the starter clutch was no longer making contact with the idler gear. So I got that fixed - put fresh gas and oil in - started it - it started beautifully. So I shut it down, and when I tried to fire it up again, we were back to the starter just whizzing. So I did some more research, and determined that it needed to have Loc-Tite on the threads and tightened down to the appropriate torque. So I did that.
Now, whenever I start the bike, it sounds as if something is stuck - the engine basically is trying to overcome some kind of resistance, almost as if the starter won't disengage once the bike starts. It makes a horrible noise, and I just shut it off again because I am afraid of damaging the engine. I have taken apart the starter clutch and checked it and put it back together again about 5 times now, each time with the same result, that laboring screeching engine sound whenever I start it, and it WILL start and idle, though it doesn't SOUND like idling so much as something bad.
This is my first bike and I have been on a steep learning curve - I got it for 900 dollars last summer during the sky high gas prices, and just fell in love with riding. I got to drive it to work 26 miles each way for a couple of months till the starter clutch issue parked it for the winter. Now,it is summer again, and it is killing me watching everyone else out on their bikes while mine is stuck out in the barn.
The bike has been around the block a few times, as it were, has about 17,000 miles on it, so I wasn't afraid to work on it - and besides, I couldn't afford a professional mechanic anyway. But now I am stuck - do I need to pull the the right crankcase cover and inspect the clutch assembly next? (Nooooooo!)
Something is stuck in my workin's, and I cannot imagine what it is. I realize I am a rank newbie, but I am willing to dig into it and try some stuff - or, if I am over my head, then let me know if it is time to find that professional.
Thanks in advance - this is an awesome site!
Well, it was the end of the riding season for me - I live in northern Ohio, so with the weather turning bad, I parked it till this spring. Now I have been working on it whenever I can - I downloaded the manual - figured out it was the starter clutch, specifically the bolt had backed out and the starter clutch was no longer making contact with the idler gear. So I got that fixed - put fresh gas and oil in - started it - it started beautifully. So I shut it down, and when I tried to fire it up again, we were back to the starter just whizzing. So I did some more research, and determined that it needed to have Loc-Tite on the threads and tightened down to the appropriate torque. So I did that.
Now, whenever I start the bike, it sounds as if something is stuck - the engine basically is trying to overcome some kind of resistance, almost as if the starter won't disengage once the bike starts. It makes a horrible noise, and I just shut it off again because I am afraid of damaging the engine. I have taken apart the starter clutch and checked it and put it back together again about 5 times now, each time with the same result, that laboring screeching engine sound whenever I start it, and it WILL start and idle, though it doesn't SOUND like idling so much as something bad.
This is my first bike and I have been on a steep learning curve - I got it for 900 dollars last summer during the sky high gas prices, and just fell in love with riding. I got to drive it to work 26 miles each way for a couple of months till the starter clutch issue parked it for the winter. Now,it is summer again, and it is killing me watching everyone else out on their bikes while mine is stuck out in the barn.
The bike has been around the block a few times, as it were, has about 17,000 miles on it, so I wasn't afraid to work on it - and besides, I couldn't afford a professional mechanic anyway. But now I am stuck - do I need to pull the the right crankcase cover and inspect the clutch assembly next? (Nooooooo!)
Something is stuck in my workin's, and I cannot imagine what it is. I realize I am a rank newbie, but I am willing to dig into it and try some stuff - or, if I am over my head, then let me know if it is time to find that professional.
Thanks in advance - this is an awesome site!
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