made a quick last minute trip to the badlands today (only rode the day then came back)
Met dstroyer (know how i showed you that "starter sound?")

well last hour of riding i had a lean pop (pulled the lid off for a few minutes of riding to make sure it was in fact the main i was rich on) killed the quad...went to restart and the starter freespooled with a few loud clanks every few rotations (barely got it running) it was a really loud sound effects show while starting it, but after running for like 5 seconds, sounded like the starter finally stopped spinning and i was able to ride back to the parking lot)

all i have to do to take the starter motor out is the two bolts on top of the left side clutch cover right? I thought i would go ahead and pull the starter and try to crank it to see if its the starter itself busted, or the gears that attatch to it. if a gear were busted would it be visible by pulling the starter out? or would i have to take the right side cover off to see anything?
I figured if it is the starter i can just have a local shop rebuild it, but if it isnt i figured i could pull the exhaust and cover off (if its not possible for me to do the work myself, at least it wouldnt take a shop long to do the actual gear replacing)


i dont think ill have a chance to work on it tonight, but i want to get on it asap. Nobody likes a quad that dosnt run! [img]i/expressions/face-icon-small-sad.gif[/img]

 

Take the starter out and hook 12 volts to it. I t would b best if it was on a switch, but I guess you could take a pair of jumper cables and hook your starter up to it and a battery and listen to it run. You will have to take the side cover off to check the gears. With the starter out you sould be able to spin the gears one way but not the other, also you can visually check the gears from here. one of the gears has a washer in front of it, don't lose it. It should turn freely 1 way, if it don't and the gears look fine it could be your sprag clutch. If you need to check that, you will need a flywheel puller. I would just buy 1 if I were you, the sparg clutch is easy to replace but I believe it is pricy...but what isn't. Good luck

 

im 75% sure its a gear.... but just so i know, giving the motor power, should it just sound like an electric motor (a high pitch and the shaft should just spin freely?) im hoping the starter is ok, as i know its Big bucks to replace/rebuild that...

 

Your starter should have a "wizz" type sound to it when you hook it up tp a battery.

 

i took out the two bolts (above clutch cover) and it moved abou 4-5 mms but i couldnt get it any further. Do i have to remove the two long thin gold screws that go the length of the starter motor? (it looked like that just held the motor itself together)

is the starter just stubborn to get out (possibly because a gear is busted maybe?)

i figured it was a gear on the end of the starter shaft that just slid into that housing and met up with another gear....

 

The starter should not get stuck after it moves a little. DO NOT take the long screws out! That is what got me in trouble[img]i/expressions/face-icon-small-blush.gif[/img] Take the side cover off, it is not that hard. BE careful not to tear the gasket. The magneto will want to fight you a little. There may be a little oil in there also because this is where your crank case vent is. Once you take that cover off you can see the gears. I believe you will see your problem there. Remember when you are putting it back together, tighten every thing to 89 inch pounds.

 

so since its not supposed to get stuck, i assume there are probably gear teeth or bent teeth that are locking it up?

when i take the side cover off, obviously the headers need to go (hate doing that...such a pain...lol) do i need to put it on its side, or is there not enough oil sitting in the bottom to warrant tilting it?

when i talked to you/showed you that sound at the badlands, i remember saying you had some crunchy sound similar to what i had, what was it that your problem was? (couldnt remember if you said it was the starter, or somthing different)

 

Not sure what my problem is, but I hope to figure it out. When I had my side cover off, the motor had no oil in it. It may be easier to work on if you tilt it anyway. I did nothave to take my header off ( woods pipe) I think it is the gear on the starter or the one next to it that is messed up...from what you have been telling me.

 

o, you can get the case off without pulling the headers? Unless its an ULTRA close fit? (and the RW pipes are just out of the way enough?)

that makes me a lot more willing to take it off (i HATE putting headers on ANYTHING...never have found an easy set)

 

No problem really, the magnito trying to pull the cover is more of a problem.