Struggling Starter - HELP

[RZRob]

Hi folks, I just got an '85 Spree (not running) with no background. I bought a fresh battery and it's charged. Starter turns bike over a couple seconds then after that I get clicks (starter engaging, but not turning) and that's it. While it's turning, it turns reasonably confidently, but only that first spin until I perhaps turn key off and come back a few minutes later. Then, same thing maybe a spin if I'm lucky.
It doesn't seem like the engine itself's tight beyond good compression. Bike has 4,000 miles and isn't too rough.

What do you think?

RZ Rob
PS: I got another engine with kickstarter, but I couldn't seem to get that to work properly, so I kept the original electric-start-only (I want the kickstart eventually as a back-up.

[bradmeehan]

Here's a couple of things to check based on past experiences:

Loosen the belt cover. If there's no gasket there there won't be enough room for the starter bendix to push out and fully engage the starter drive gear. Loosen all the screws on the cover, give it some gap, then try it. Don't try to start it with the cover OFF though.

Grease the end of the bendix. Mine was frozen in the case and wouldn't turn at all. You'll have to remove the starter drive gear to get it out.

Charge the battery (again)

Here's another common gotcha: if it's a new starter but the previous owner did not also swap in the same years starter bendix, it will jam after one turn. Every time. One has more teeth than the other.

[Bear45-70]

The clicks you are hearing are more likely the starter relay and generally that means your battery is low or you have dirty connections. When you crank the starter, have a voltmeter across the battery. Before cranking a fully charged battery should read 12.6 volts or more. When you crank the starter, if the voltage drops below 10.5 volts, generally the battery is low or bad. The reason I don't think it is your starter is that it turns over to start with. Then again it could be the starter, but before I went there I would double check the battery for charge and then clean all the battery connections, all the cables, including the grounds wires.

[RZRob]

Wow, some good ideas folks. I'm going to check the starter connections tonight. I'm also going to investigate the fact that I'm fairly sure there's no gasket. When I tried the kickstarer and cover etc. I just never got the kick mechanism to behave. I think the circlip holding the kickshaft on is not staying in the groove.

BTW, I tried another new battery that starts my Aero just fine, so I know it's not the battery.

RZ Rob

[bradmeehan]

Rob:

Keep this thread updated. It'll start.

Brad

[RZRob]

Turns out the problem wasn't the starter at all, but rather the engine was filled with gas causing the motor to "hydraulic." Liquids don't compress. After removing the spark plug, the starter works great. After repeating process (and cleaning etc) a few times she even started.

I had to clean the tank, unfreeze the petcock and clean the carb, but except for a coldstarting issue, she runs good.

RZ Rob