I'm having some starter issues lately on my 06 1200C. It has a little over 37,0000 miles on it. It will start fine when its cold but if I ride it and stop to get gas or stop for a short time when I try to start it the starter doesn't fully engage and grinds on the flywheel. When I let off the start button and try to start it again it will engage with the flywheel and start like normal without any grinding. This has happened about four times in the past couple of weeks.

My guess is the starter drive is going out on the starter. If I'm right, can this be replaced without completely removing the starter and what parts will need to be replaced to do the job correctly? How difficult of a job is this to do? Would it be better to just replace the starter or repair it? Has anyone else had this happen and what did it take to fix it. Thanks for any help you can give.

 

Your "starter clutch" gear is stripped, it's a common problem on 1200s, especially in hotter climates. I went through 2 starter clutches in the first 24,000 miles, so you've done well.

The starter clutch is an assembly and can be replaced, but you have to pull the starter and that means the primary cover and usually the rear exhaust pipe.

After stripping and replacing 2 of these clutches, I replaced the whole starter with an "All *****" 1.4Kw starter. That was 61,000 miles ago and I've never had another problem.

 

Eastern Performance has a good price on the All ***** starter at $239.95

http://compare.ebay.com/like/120725747007?var=lv<yp=AllFixedPriceItemTypes&var= sbar&_lwgsi=y&cbt=y

 

cHarley,

Thanks for the information. I was afraid that was the problem. I was hoping to not have to take the primary cover off again this summer. I've had it off the past two summers/fall to replace the clutch and then the stator. It looks like I get to take it off again to replace the starter. I think I can take it off in my sleep now. I need to get this fixed before I leave for my 10 day trip out west at the first of August. Thanks for the link to the Eastern Performance listing on ebay for the All ***** starter.

Earnie

 

Yea, that's why I finally went with a better starter.
Pulling the primary cover, exhaust pipe, redoing the clutch and primary chain adjustments, etc, add up to a lot of work, just to remove 2 starter bolts so you can lift the starter out.

Good luck and enjoy your trip.

 

I don't like taking things apart more than once and I've already taken the primary cover off twice. I called a dealer just to check to see what they want for a starter and the starter clutch kit. The starter is $375 and the kit is $113. At the price of the kit and knowing it won't make the starter as good as the All ***** starter plus the price of gaskets to reinstall the starter it doesn't seem like a good option. For the price of the All ***** starter from Eastern Performance on ebay at $240, I can save $135 over the price of a stock replacement and have a better starter. Looks like I'm replacing the starter.

 

A smart move IMO. I was really pissed when I had to pull the starter out for the second time in less than a year, when the replacement clutch gear stripped again. It's just wasn't worth the aggravation.

 

I was able to get the starter replaced a few weeks ago. I ordered the All-***** starter from Eastern Performance and as luck would have it I screwed my back up and it took a week to get to where I could work on the bike. The job isn't bad to do, just annoying to have the primary off for the fourth time. I left the original battery in when I first fired it up to see how the 6 year old battery would do with the new starter and it cranked over better than I thought it would and started. Since I had a new battery for it so I went ahead and put it in and fired it up. The combination of the new battery and the All-***** starter is amazing. That starter really spins the motor over and it starts better than it has since the bike was new. It does a great job of spinning it over even when the motor is hot after a long ride. So far I'm very happy with the All-***** starter upgrade to my bike. I would recommend it to any one that is needing to replace the starter to go with the All-*****. I put new Metzeler tires on the front and rear while I was replacing the starter and I should be good to go for my 10 day, ~4500miles, trip out west next month.

 

Glad it worked out for you. I've yet to hear from anyone who installed an All ***** starter that wasn't happy with the outcome.

Have a good trip.

 

Thanks, cHarley.

I am so looking forward to seeing some new parts of the country from the seat of the bike.