Turns over with difficulty and smoke

[terryk]

1) Returned after 15 miles of riding with high RPM much of the time. Got off the bike, stopped it, and the restart was like and anemic battery. Once cooled off a little started right up and much stronger cranking. Is this the battery, the starter going south, something else?

2) Smoke on start up, might be getting worse. Is this likely the valve stem seats, or something else. Bike runs strong.

[Arnie]

I'd guess that you're hard riding has improved the compression pressure and its making life a bit hard on the starter.  You could just barely crack the throttle when you go to restart hot.  Also, if you haven't cleaned up and re-lubed the starter then this might help a bunch more.

2. How much oil are you needing to top up the level with between changes?  If less than about a litre (quart) in 5000kms (3000 mi), just keep riding it.  When there are no more mosquitoes in S.Cal you can tear it down and rebuild.

Arnie

[terryk]

Thanks Arnie. I am just starting tracking oil consumption. I will need to live with the compression change I guess.

[terryk]

Arnie, what are the main points of procedure in cleaning up and lubing a starter. If you open the starter up how hard is it to take it apart and then reassemble the starter correctly?

[Arnie]

Pretty easy job.  IIRC -- I haven't had to do this for 5 or 6 years now.
Remove the starter, then you remove the bolts holding it together and remove the end caps.  Be careful with the brushes.  Once its apart, clean all the old grease and grit from the sleeve bearings, clean the commutator, especially the grooves between the contact areas.  If the commutator is badly grooved, you could sand it lightly.  If the brushes are badly worn, replace them too.
Then grease the sleeves and re-assemble.

Be impressed when you next push the starter switch :-)  BTW  The contacts on the starter switch can also get worn and not make good contact.  You may need to dis-assemble and check this switch too.

Cheers,
Arnie

[RichBaker]

In addition to what Arnie said, there are grooves in the commutator with mica insulators in them. The mica should be a few thousandths of an inch lower than the metal they separate. Use a broken hacksaw blade to get a slight bit of depth, if necessary.

[flips]

Hi there.
+ 1 to what Arnie said.I just recently rebuilt my starter.(86 1200 1tx)
Got this on ebay....
http://www.ebay.com.au/itm/270528655107?ssPageName=STRK:MEWAX:IT&_trksid=p3984.m1423.l2649.
Found that the new plate that holds the brushes was a bit rubbish so used the new brushes on the original plate.My original brushes were very worn.Changing the bearings was a bit of a challenge but probably not necessary as original bearings seemed ok.To remove the starter,disconnect battery,out with the carbs and heat shield,off with the clutch slave (just undo the mounting bolts and be very carefull not to pull the clutch lever with the slave loose),out with the alternator then disconnect/remove starter.I found that the rubber boot that covers the cable connection had perished sufficiently to fall apart when I disconnected the cable and had to improvise a new one as the kit does not come with one.
My starter now works great.Randy sells a complete new starter if you want to go that way...
http://www.rpmracingca.com/proddetail.asp?prod=Electrical%3AStarter&cat=39
Hope this helps.
Cheers
Jeff P

[terryk]

Thanks Jeff

[mijohnso]

This link might be helpful:
http://www.fjowners.com/index.php?topic=4384.0

This is a pretty common problem. I would try cleaning it first (it is really easy, take off the side cover, 3 bolts to take out the alternator, 2 bolts to take out the starter, 2 screws after that and your done). That helped me, but only for a small amount of time. I ended up trying to do it twice before just getting the rebuild kit, wish I would have only tried once and then gotten the kit.

Have fun! This was maybe one of the first mechanical things I did on the bike!