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'84 Honda Gyro starting issues

Posted: Mon Aug 25, 2014 9:11 pm
by beno
Hello again!

I'm happy about finding an '84 Gyro NN50 but in the process of getting her goin I've found a couple of issues I could really use some help on.

So before I even put gas in it I cleaned tank replaced fuel lines, spark plug, oil change etc.

When I finally went to put gas in it I held the brake in to attempt starting it... And just a click from the relay. So, being anxious to get her going, I just went ahead and ordered a new relay and starter motor.

Put them in today and it when I went to start it it spun! For maybe 2 seconds : ( and now it is just clicking again.

Any ideas?

I will say that the starter is intended for an Elite but was told from the seller and in reviews that by rotating the case on it it will work correctly on the Gyro. This is the only thing I can think that maybe I did wrong.

Again any help is greatly appreciated!

Re: '84 Honda Gyro starting issues

Posted: Mon Aug 25, 2014 9:23 pm
by Johnniespeed
For what its worth, the Spree ten tooth armature can be installed into the Gyro housing and will operate just fine. I always bench test the starters before installing to verify that is spins quickly and that it is the correct rotation.
Once you get your starter operating, I would suggest to check compression, pay close attention to the amount of compression on the first stroke.

Re: '84 Honda Gyro starting issues

Posted: Thu Aug 28, 2014 8:20 pm
by beno
Alright, so for an update. I pulled the replacement starter to do a bench test and it spins perfectly in a counter-clockwise direction. Which I believe is the right direction. However when it is installed it just returns to the clicking.

When I had the starter pulled I felt the gears inside and it spins pretty freely. Is this normal? I would have thought it would have had quite a bit of tension on it. That puzzles me as well that the starter can't spin that gear that spins freeley when the starter is pulled.

As far as compression goes I don't know of a way to test it if it can't start.

Again any help is REALLY appreciated!!!
Thanks!

Re: '84 Honda Gyro starting issues

Posted: Fri Aug 29, 2014 9:21 am
by mousewheels
I pulled the replacement starter to do a bench test and it spins perfectly in a counter-clockwise direction. Which I believe is the right direction.
When looking directly at the shaft end, a Gyro starter should rotate Clockwise. Counter-Clockwise is the AF05 (Elite/Aero) starter rotation. I verified starter rotation this morning.

Here are pics showing the case rotation mod to reverse starter rotation - Photo Link
When I had the starter pulled I felt the gears inside and it spins pretty freely. Is this normal? I would have thought it would have had quite a bit of tension on it.
Good chance all's ok with the starter gears. The gear inside is tied to the 'bendix' drive. You cannot spin fast enough, nor enough rotation to get the bendix to wind up its thread and engage to drive the engine itself.
And just a click from the relay. So, being anxious to get her going, I just went ahead and ordered a new relay and starter motor.

Put them in today and it when I went to start it it spun! For maybe 2 seconds : ( and now it is just clicking again.
Couple places to look, all easy to check:
1) Starter relay contacts may be intermittent. Try jumpering across the starter relay switching contacts (Red wire to Red/White stripe wire)
2) High resistance electrical connections - check battery, ground, starter connections
3) Battery may be discharged or bad
4) Rare failure - A bad oil injection pump can cause the crankcase to fill with oil while the bike is sitting unused. First turn or two of the engine goes ok, then the engine is hydrolocked. Try removing the spark plug and cranking. If oil comes out the plug hole, you will need to get the oil out of the crankcase before starting.