Anyone ever have the starter/Bendix give out?

[Keppelj]

New to me '02 RR with a chirp at startup cold. I though it was the alternator belt but turned out to be the starter. The gear does not pull out of the flywheel immediately at startup causing the grinding sound. Fine when it's warmed up. The bike has 15k+ miles. The flywheel teeth show a little burring but not much. I ordered a new starter.

[MikeCam]

Good diagnosis. Good solution. Send the old one to Chibbert, please.

[MIXR]

The early starters (Valeo?) were not known to be long-lived, but I would make sure I checked the flywheel (ring-gear) teeth very closely. All the way round. Mark a start point and slowly rotate the gear.

The bikes have a bit of a reputation for having poorly heat-treated teeth. You may find that one or more teeth are chipped, or bent, or completely missing. You cannot determine this from just looking at one section down where the starter bolts on and assume it's just some wear that's even all the way round.

How do I know - Because I ended up with all of the above, and a completely useless starter as it also did some damage to the starter cog. Came from pumping water out of the cylinders out bush one trip. I have a nice collection of scrap metal sitting under my desk at work.

If you have checked all the flywheel teeth and it's just some small signs of wear (polishing of the teeth), then maybe it is just a starter. Odds are it might be the bit that the starter engages. Oh - A new starter on damaged flywheel teeth will just delay the inevitable by a very short number of starts, so use a good strong torch to check all the flywheel teeth.

Good luck.

[Keppelj]

Thanks, Mixr. It is a Valleo starter. I did check the rest of the flywheel and it all looks the same, very slightly burred at the edge of the teeth. Gear on the starter looks fine. I'm guessing the PO didn't have this going on for long.

[AirForceDirt]

I had the same problem with mine, and it started getting worse as time wore on. There was almost no wear on the flywheel teeth or the starter. I cleaned it out with brake cleaner and that worked really well for a bit. The battery died shortly thereafter (unrelated as the battery was 5 years old) and since I put the new battery in, it hasn't made a sound. So it would seem that the battery wasn't supplying enough juice to engage/disengage the starter quickly enough. Just a thought, before you order a $300 starter.

[boxermania]

AirForceDirt +1

Take the starter out and clean the shaft that the gear slides on, to engage the flywheel. When electrical power is applied the starter gear is propelled onto the flywheel and held there during the starting process, once the engine catches, the engine will run at a speed higher than the starter and briefly unload the gear teeth, when this happens the spring behind the gear will push it back into the home position.

Dirt on the shaft and or the associated sliding surfaces will slow/deter the process resulting in what you have been experiencing. There are a couple of threads with pics by Brian and Boxer that address the issue.

[Keppelj]

Yes, I did the above including separating the starter and solenoid from the housing so I could put lithium grease on the helix shaft below the clutch and on the retraction mechanism operated by the solenoid. I reassembled and installed it. Starting the bike the initial grinding is gone but I got a definite ticking on that side of the engine. So I shut if off and pulled the starter back out. The ticking is a mystery. I don't see how it could be the starter and the bike had just come from Ride West in Seattle where its valves and throttle bodies were adjusted. They rode it, listened for noises I had wondered about, and said it was surge free and good. Gave it a clean bill except for the starter which they didn't have in stock. I'll have a starter replacement Wednesday and will try this again. I'm not eager to hike it back down to them for investigate the tick.

[owldaddy]

The ticking sound maybe normal. Most R1150R's do tick. These engines make a lot of noise, something we just have to get used to.

[boxermania]

Tapping on the left jug is typical of an old design cam chain tensioer. Ask trhe dealer if it has been updated on your bike. The early models 01, 02 and a few 03's had that issue. Good luck.

[MIXR]

The quick check is that the old tensioner has a 17 mm head. The new ones have a 15 mm head. However, there was a stage where the new tensioner (Mk 1) wasn't a great fix, and a revised one came out (Mk 2). It's not really a tensioner, just an anti-slap device. The cam chain noise is just noise. It's not really hurting anything, but can get very annoying.

[Buff]

I have a 2004 1150 R with 8700 miles. I was on a road trip about two weeks ago when I started having what I thought were symptoms of a bad battery. The starter would click continuously when I hit the starter switch. Had to push start the bike several times to get going (not too hard on the Blue Ridge Parkway.) Finally got off the Parkway in Boone, NC and took it to a good local bike repair shop (Action Cycle Sports).

In spite of my excellent diagnosis of a bad battery, Lee and Frank of Action Cycle Sports concluded that it was the starter motor. The Bendix wouldn't turn at all. After a bit of cleaning, it would turn but the motor would heat up dramatically because of the high amp draw. Had to have a new starter overnighted to Boone and this fixed the problem.

Can't tell what caused it to fail. The new starter was from Mitsubishi and cost $370 plus shipping. Am wondering whether to have the old one rebuilt or not. Any advice?

I recommend Action Cycle Sports to anyone who lives around Boone or who may be experiencing problems when traveling through. They're friendly and competent. A good combination in my book.

[Keppelj]

Is the cam tensioner noise a tap? Noticeable Tic tic tic tic at idle?

[boxermania]

Based on what you describe it could also be a valve(s) out of adjustment........

[Keppelj]

Boxermania, it could except it's unlikely since it had just come the day before from the BMW dealer where the vales and t-bodies were set particularly because I had a complaint about surging. I'm replacing the starter to exclude that (unlikely, I admit) and then I'll go from there, considering suggestions here. May not have the new starter in hand until Sunday.