Starter Clutch

[TLRam1]

You guys familiar with the starter clutch chime in.

Not many miles (29K) on my 01, when I hit the button the starter just spends, I have to hit it 2 or 3 times for it to catch and turn over the motor, not all the time but every now and then.

What say you?

[hootmon]

Starter Clutch...

[LIMagna]

Is the 'spinning' accompanied by an unpleasant whine?  That's what mine was doing this past summer.  The problem was most prevalent on warm restart (almost never on cold start) and the bike almost always started on the second try.  I took mine apart about two weeks ago and found the starter clutch body had cracked in three spots.  My new replacement should arrive today.  If you don't mind the bike being out of commission for a short while, you can pull the parts first to see just what you need.  In many cases, it might just need replacement springs (and possibly caps and rollers), which you can probably get for less than $50 (delivered).  The clutch body is one of the more expensive parts (got mine from Ron Ayers for just under $130 delivered) so you might want to wait to confirm it actually needs replacing.  I had purchased the springs, caps & rollers ahead of time but found I needed more than that.  Oh, and my bike doesn't have all that many more miles on it than yours (~35K). 

[Lurkin]

Sounds like the springs or the rollers to me.  If it is not making a nasty noise, probably the springs not pushing the rollers down, but still could be the rollers stuck.

[TLRam1]

Yes it is not making any nasty sounds, just like a "bench test" with the starter running. Yes, something is not engaging so I will probably have to go inside and see what ails the starter.   

I remember seeing your cracked one Charlie, hope mine is not. I will take a look in the diagram and see how difficult or what has to come off to get to the area.

What would cause the rollers to be stuck, could the resting place be too tight and need filing down? 

[LIMagna]

It's easy to get at Terry.  You'll need to lock the larger gears that sit behind it in place (some have used a penny, I used a large flat-blade screwdriver).  Loosen all of the bolts before removing the larger, center retaining bolt.  You'll have a tough time getting the clutch flange bolts off if you don't at least loosen them up before removing the clutch assembly from its shaft.  I basically removed those completely before taking the clutch off.  There's really nothing else that needs to come off.  I read the manual and thought I'd have to remove a lot of other things to do both the starter clutch and the main transmission clutch but found I didn't have to remove anything other than these parts directly.  The toughest and most time consuming part of the job is dealing with the cover gasket. 

[hootmon]

I posted a video on here somewhere, it's a V-65, bit virtually the sale... Don't forget You should have a clutch coger gadket on hand...

[TLRam1]

It's easy to get at Terry.  You'll need to lock the larger gears that sit behind it in place (some have used a penny, I used a large flat-blade screwdriver).  Loosen all of the bolts before removing the larger, center retaining bolt.  You'll have a tough time getting the clutch flange bolts off if you don't at least loosen them up before removing the clutch assembly from its shaft.  I basically removed those completely before taking the clutch off.  There's really nothing else that needs to come off.  I read the manual and thought I'd have to remove a lot of other things to do both the starter clutch and the main transmission clutch but found I didn't have to remove anything other than these parts directly.  The toughest and most time consuming part of the job is dealing with the cover gasket. 

I haven't looked at anything yet.

From reading above, maybe I have an idea, I take off the clutch and clutch basket to get to the problem area, correct?

[TLRam1]

I posted a video on here somewhere, it's a V-65, bit virtually the sale... Don't forget You should have a clutch coger gadket on hand...

Hoot what is a clutch coger gadket or have you had too much of a good time!

Or do you mean the side cover gasket for the clutch side, I will look for the video.

[hootmon]

I posted a video on here somewhere, it's a V-65, bit virtually the sale... Don't forget You should have a clutch coger gadket on hand...

Hot what is a clutch coger gadket or have you had too much of a good time!

Or do you mean the side cover gasket for the clutch side, I will look for the video.

Yeah, I'm having trouble with my phone spelling auto correct, it doesn't know the word "it" or "and", but knows the word "coger" and "gadket"..

[hootmon]

I found the video link and the video no longer exists, I did find this one.. Not quite as good, but gives you the right idea..

Start Clutch replacement video

[LIMagna]

Terry,

I haven't looked at anything yet.

From reading above, maybe I have an idea, I take off the clutch and clutch basket to get to the problem area, correct?

 The transmission clutch and starter clutch are completely independent.   You can do either one without touching the other.  Since I was also replacing my transmission clutch plates, I started on that and after it was all buttoned back up, I turned my attention to the starter clutch.  All you need to do to remove the starter clutch is to remove the larger, center bolt and the whole thing slides right out.  As I said previously, you also want to at least loosen up the three starter clutch flange/cover bolts before you pull it out since it will be locked on the keyed shaft.  Here's a picture I took after opening the case ... you can even see one of the more prevalent "cracks" that I found at about one o'clock on the outer edge of the starter clutch body.

[TLRam1]

Yeah, I'm having trouble with my phone spelling auto correct, it doesn't know the word "it" or "and", but knows the word "coger" and "gadket"..

Ok, understand now, the words the phone comes up with we have never heard of.....

[TLRam1]

Terry,

I haven't looked at anything yet.

From reading above, maybe I have an idea, I take off the clutch and clutch basket to get to the problem area, correct?

 The transmission clutch and starter clutch are completely independent.   You can do either one without touching the other.  Since I was also replacing my transmission clutch plates, I started on that and after it was all buttoned back up, I turned my attention to the starter clutch.  All you need to do to remove the starter clutch is to remove the larger, center bolt and the whole thing slides right out.  As I said previously, you also want to at least loosen up the three starter clutch flange/cover bolts before you pull it out since it will be locked on the keyed shaft.  Here's a picture I took after opening the case ... you can even see one of the more prevalent "cracks" that I found at about one o'clock on the outer edge of the starter clutch body.

Oh MAN, GREAT CHARLIE!! Perfect!

Just what I needed, now I can see what needs to be done, I can see the crack. Nice crisp photo to boot.

You guys are too sophisticated for me "three starter clutch flange/cover bolts" 

All you need to say was, Unloosen the three outer ones then pop the middle one off, got it.  

and the picture just ties it all together.

[TLRam1]

I guess if I see nothing I need to just replace the springs, rollers and caps, yes? Opps and my special Florida "clutch coger gadket".

Guess I could go ahead and order all of this so I can get it back on if I see nothing else. What about filing of the back plate or where the rollers touch, I can't see any  reason why this would be a problem unless machining was off.

Thanks Hoot I will watch the video.