Bosch to Valeo

[stuart jenkins]

Hi All,

I've been having on and off trouble starting my '82 g/s over the last couple of months. Pressing the starter it would turn over, sound like it was trying to fire but wouldn't catch, and keep turning until the battery runs flat with that clack clack sound. Other times it would fire straight up, it would always restart once it had been on a run. After searching various threads, thought I would give the carbs an overhaul, as it had been about 4 years since they'd last been done, so I gave them a good ultrasonic clean, and a rebuild kit. But the problem remained.

The bike has a Siebenrock 1000 kit on it, and is twin spark plugged (which I would have thought would make it easier to start), with Dyna coils, it also has an odyssey battery, (all these mods are about 5 years/ 50,000 miles old and the battery is 8 years old).

I tried it again today, after having the battery on charge over night, and going through all the connections giving them a good clean/wire brush, and the same thing happened, i know it is a bit chilly at the moment, and everything needs to be tip top to get full cranking beans, so decided to swop the original Bosch starter motor over with a Valeo i have on a '78 project bike. I can only assume the Valeo is a recon or new starter, as coming from a '78 bike it looks very clean. Well, anyway I fitted it all up and after only 20 mins of charging time thought i'd give her a poke, and she fired up!!

...so, i suppose after all my rambling my questions are...

1. I know batteries have a certain life span, what's the life expectancy of a Hawker Odyssey? (as i've said mine's 8 years old).

2. I haven't had the Bosch apart to see what's worn, brushes etc, is it worth getting a recon one? is it up to cranking a 1000cc engine? or stick with the Valeo? i know the Bosch is heavier and doesn't spin up the engine as quick as the Valeo, but the Valeo, from what i've read doesn't seem to last as long as a Bosch (my Bosch has 85,000 miles on it).
I don't know the history of the Valeo i've just put on, so would like to get another to put on the bike (Bosch or Valeo), and keep this as a spare.

Cheers for any input,
over to you...

 

[cobbster]

Starting from cold

Hi, I've been having trouble with starting from cold, see thread link below, No. 35 mentions the starter which may be of interest?



http://www.ukgser.com/forums/showthread.php?t=288735&page=3

Hope this helps?

 

[Beemerboff]

I have had two Oddesys, both suddenly just died under load.

On one it happened just before the two year warranty was up and was replaced without any question, the replacement just after.

Eight years is good for most batteries, even if you have looked after it well.

The starter solenoid on the Valeo draws a bit more current than the Bosch solenoid, and this can overload the relay which feeds it, resulting in the starter locking on.
There was a copy of a factory notice on ADV old school in the past week which gave the Bosch only relay number and the number for the later heavy duty one, but some bikes with a Bosch starter already had the HD relay- my 86 G/S did,

In Oz Motobatt batteries are one third the price of the Oddesy, and under test they perform as well if not better.

 

[(RIP) Arkwright]

When I've sorted a photo hosting web site so I can put up proper multiple photos, I'll put something interesting on Valeo starters that may be reassuring!

 

[(RIP) Arkwright]

ie this http://ukgser.com/forums/showthread.php?t=292363

 

[stuart jenkins]

Cheers Guys.

Beemerboff, That's interesting about the Motobatt batteries, i'd not heard of them did a quick search and you can get them over here, which one did you get? http://www.biker-discount.co.uk/batteries-motobatt-batteries-323-c.asp
They seem to be a third cheaper than the Odyssey. I suppose mines doing ok for an 8 year old, i'll run it with the Valeo and see how it performs to see if it is knackerd. I've got the old starter relay so i'll have to change that.

Arkwright, cheers for the heads up with your encounter on the Valeo, I was going to get a recon starter, but think yours is a good solution, i may get a starter body to keep in reserve for when the 'inevitable' happens!

Stuart.

 

[cookie]

I've just put a siebenrock 1000cc kit on a g/s for a friend, and the Bosch starter motor on that struggles to turn it over, doesn't matter how good a battery i connect it to.

Fortunately it's a good starter and usually fires up even when barely turned over. I see a valeo or denso in its future.

 

[Beemerboff]

I have one in my G/S , it is their 51814, which they list to cover both
51- - - sized BMW batteries.

But the 51814 is around 5 mm bigger in every dimension than the other one, and getting it in to a G/S involves a bit of dismantling, packing, trimming etc, particularly if you have a larger aftermarket shock.

My G/S has a high comp 1000 cc motor, and a $100-Ebay Valeo copy starter , and it spins it over like a watch, and there has been no change in two years / 60,000 km.

 

[Steptoe]

Fortunately it's a good starter and usually fires up even when barely turned over. .

I had an old R80/7 that had a quirky starting habit all the time i had it. It was the same no matter what the temperature was outside or the state of the battery.

You pressed the starter button, it turned over once then stopped, you could hear the starter strain and then the engine would burst into life without even turning over again. Never once failed to start in two years