starter spinning

[Marko116]

hey guys!

so I finely got my bike up and running! after 2 weeks in the shop, all my float needles got replaced and a few other odds and ends.

yesterday after a nice hard ride I parked her abd this morning she won't start! I can hear the starter motor spinning but not engaging to turn the bike, I was able to bump start her to life after running that heavy beast down the back ally.

I searched around here and another member had a similar issue and fixed it after tightening a bolt in the starter clutch case. would this be worth a shot trying? and what size of a wench would I need for that? I live in an apartment with limited tools and work space...

please help me gods of katriders!

[suzuki99]

Sound like starter drive is defective and is not engaging the flywheel to crank the engine, or the flywheel has some broken or damaged teeth that are preventing the starter from engaging. Best thing would be to remove it and test it. Good luck!

[Marko116]

thanks for the info! once you pull the case off, do you need to replace the gasket? or can you reuse it?

[suzuki99]

according to the manual, you should. Maybe before you take it out, try something. Place the bike in 3 or 4th, push it manually without engaging the clutch. Once the motor has moved slightly, put it back in neutral and try starting it. See it engages then and if it does, then it's probably not your starter.

[Marko116]

I'll give that a.shot this morning.

anything thing I'm going to check is to see if there is any gas in the oil.. that's one of the reasons I took it into the shop and one of the problems was the spinning of the starter.. after I got it back it was fine, then after a long ride I'm back to the starter spinning.. could the oil and the spinning be related?

[suzuki99]

anything thing I'm going to check is to see if there is any gas in the oil.. that's one of the reasons I took it into the shop and one of the problems was the spinning of the starter.. after I got it back it was fine, then after a long ride I'm back to the starter spinning.. could the oil and the spinning be related?[/QUOTE]

I think so, but not 100% sure. your spinnig could also be caused by the starter clutch not engaging and being faulty.

Should have asked you this before, what year is your bike?

[Marko116]

1998 katana 600, about 33000k on her

[suzuki99]

mine is a 1999 so we have the same bike. Do you have the repair manual for it?

[Marko116]

Here is a video of my troubles if it helps any

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gIlRNR0bmuM&feature=youtu.be

[Marko116]

Here is a picture of the oil.. I dropped about a half a litre, and it did have a gas smell to it, not strong but it was there.

The oil only has about 250k on it.. if that

[Charlesphillips]

I'm having the same problem. Any suggestions please

[kevin2502000]

Gas in the oil has nothing to do with the starter not working. It is mounted externally from the crankcase for the most part and is sealed.

[ike0909]

I am not sure if you have resolved this issue yet, but my starter spun this morning (depressed all day) so I frantically read through some posts. I came across your post and it was the closest issue to mine. I do not have a gas issue, at least I don't think I do, I don't really know because I have no sense of smell.... meh

So after reading and reading, I decided I would have no choice but to drain my oil and take a look. What I found was that the starter clutch mounting bolt was actually loose.

I emptied the oil and only have about three quarts, the parts store is closed now so I can't fill tonight. will do so in the morning and report back on post.

Ike

[Xeryus]

Hey Marko116,

I'm having the same problem with my bike-thanks for posting that video. Did you confirm that it was a loose bolt? Did you just tighten it up or did you find the torque specs?

Found my Haynes manual. It says the bolt should have semi-permanent thread locking compound applied and then torqued to 150 Nm (110.634 pound foot)

[ike0909]

Hey Marko116,

I'm having the same problem with my bike-thanks for posting that video. Did you confirm that it was a loose bolt? Did you just tighten it up or did you find the torque specs?

Found my Haynes manual. It says the bolt should have semi-permanent thread locking compound applied and then torqued to 150 Nm (110.634 pound foot)

I am not sure if Marko has resolved his issue, I sent him a PM when I posted my issue. I also started a thread titled "starter spinning" to give people more opportunity to catch something.

My issue was resolved once I tightened the bolt. The manual I got off wiki said 108 ft-lbs. Once I tightened it down, it started with no hesitation. There is a specialty tool for holding the clutch assembly while torquing the mounting bolt. I simply used a large flat head driver to bind the assembly gear and the idle gear so it wouldn't move. I only torqued about a quarter turn, then rotated the gears to a different pair of teeth for the flat head. I did that because I figured the teeth weren't designed to take that much torque and didn't want to stress them too much.

I also want to add that I used conventional and synthetic oil, 2 quarts each, and my bike is shifting smoother than ever before.