difficult starting - twin cam

[birdseye]

My bike is actually starting but its laboured and the starter is turning the engine slowly. Battery voltage is good and the battery is holding charge OK so the obvious first place to look is to check if there is any corrosion / high resistance in the feed to the starter motor

Is there any location where corrosion and a bad electrical contact in the starter circuit is most likely to develop? Are there any other known weaknesses like starter motor brush wear?

 

[Paul C.]

Mine always turns over really slow when cold. I sometimes wonder it's not gonna start. But it always has ��

 

[lawvar]

There have been multiple threads on here on the same subject.
Two big pistons not like little weedy Japanese 4s so slower cranking speed.
Bit like harleys

Sent from my SM-G920F using Tapatalk

 

[Kenny Rodkiss]

Starter motor can start to fall to bits, magnets can become detached or the endplate separating the planet gears from the commutator can come loose and short out the windings. Two bolts take the starter off for an easy check.

 

[oldnfat]

They all do that...they are very slow to crank over and feel laboured.....but always start.

 

[birdseye]

They all do that...they are very slow to crank over and feel laboured.....but always start.

Maybe I ought ot have made it more clear that this is a change. I have had the bike for 3 years ( and two other 1200GS before this one) and what is happening now is new.

The bike is garaged in a modern house with the |CH boiler in the garage so at this time of year it isnt getting very cold overnight. Yet it still sounds to be labouring to start even if it has always started so far.

 

[JonnyBravo]

Recently, my battery volts was good and yes it was holding a charge but my bike was struggling to turn over -
new battery fitted (old one was coming up 5 years old) and the bike positively leaps into life now.

age on existing battery?
have you measured what it dips to when trying to start and its drawing max amps ?

 

[Lord Snooty]

Having good voltage across the battery is not the same as having the necessary Cold Cranking Amps to turn the bike over, the only way to be sure of the battery is to get a proper tester on it and that will tell you if it has the necessary CCA.

 

[lmg]

i put an odyssey battery in mine which has a much higher cold cranking amps rating that the OE battery. might be worth considering.

 

[Bendy toy]

Get the jump leads onto your car battery but DON'T start the car engine. If the bike flings over you have a weak battery on the bike. If the bike remains slow it's likely to be the starter.

I stripped my starer at 50K miles. The epicyclic gears were bone dry and the brush box was filthy. It's easy to take the motor off the bike and not hard to strip down. For re-assembly, I used small zip ties to hold the brushes back. Once it's all in place snip off the ties.

The main earth wire is under the alternator on top of engine.

I have an Odyssey battery but for what they cost I would now go for a LiFePo lithium battery. Minimal self discharge, no damage if left unused and a heck of a starting clout in a much smaller package. Ballistic is the top brand but Shorai gets good reviews.

In cold weather, they can appear to be flat so read the instructions for how to use in sub zero temperatures.

 

[King Key]

Mine used to turn over very slowly even with a great battery. Someone here mentioned about stripping down the starter motor and ensuring the bearings and little gear box are well lubricated. Stripped mine down and it was drier than a nun's downstairs department. Greased it up and it now spins over considerably faster. Well worth the effort.

 

[NZRalphy]

Been there....

http://advrider.com/index.php?threads/slow-to-wind-over.1156070/page-3

 

[Bendy toy]

Motobatt MBYZ16HD costs about £60
Quote 12 Volt 16 AH CCA 240
4 Terminals (battery Can be Rotated 180 Degrees)
Length 151mm x Width 87mm x Height 145mm

Odyssey PC535GS £106 from Motorworks
13 Ah @ 10hr rate
200 CCA (535 Cranking Amps for 5 seconds)

Ballistic 12 cell has great specs but price has gone silly. 8 cell would probably be fine for three season use.
http://www.racecarbattery.co.uk/b-e...--------30816-currently-out-of-stockb-9-p.asp

Shorai are a better price with good reviews
http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Shorai-LF...586898?hash=item1c4ab6ee92:g:dsEAAOSwEK9UDt-1

In spite of the high price my bet would go with the Shorai as it takes little space and can be moved to a different bike. Get the smaller bike battery along with a back up booster pack. Then you have backup for car starting and phone or computer charging. Especially good if you don't have a garage with mains power for use with Optimate or similar.

 

[Pukmeister]

Having used both Odyssey and Motobatt, I'd buy another Motobatt.

 

[younger06]

Having used both Odyssey and Motobatt, I'd buy another Motobatt.

I've just ordered a Motobatt MBYZ16H for £56 delivered from evil bay. Can't say fairer than that!!!

 

[GS30]

GS30

I've got the same intermitent starting problem on my 2010, GS1200 Annivesary, always garaged, Optimate, etc, etc, I went down the battery route, it was on its original battery, so 5 1/2 years wasn't too bad, I put in a new battery, after a few months the same sluggish starting, especailly when hot, regardles of summer/winter weather, I took the old girl to my local independant BM specialist, Russel, at Bemer Bikes, Woodford Green, he said the same thing about the starter motor, apparently the glue that holds the starter magnets in palce starts to fail, they move/slip in the casing and cause the sluggish/poor starting, so I'm gonna change the starter, any advice? I can twirl the spanners quite well, is it a DIY job?

Stav.

 

[Betty Swollocks]

My TC sounded like it was struggling to start, so 18 months ago I changed to a motobat. No difference, still sounded like a lazy starter.

Recently spoke to my independent bike mechanic and he has just changed up from a 90K mileage 1200GS to a low mileage TC and he has noticed the new bike has a lazy starter compared to his old faithful.

Looks like it is a trait of the bike. But if those in the know think they are drier inside than they need to be, I might consider removing the starter and getting it an overhaul and grease from a local autospark!

 

[PankGS]

I have found that a lot depends on how a battery was treated prior to purchase Has it been left to discharge ? When purchased was it charged at the correct rate before use. I have tried some exotic batteries but found the best I've ever purchased was an exide from Sherlocks. Ps and probably the cheapest.

 

[Guigsy]

Recently spoke to my independent bike mechanic and he has just changed up from a 90K mileage 1200GS to a low mileage TC and he has noticed the new bike has a lazy starter compared to his old faithful.

I went from an '08 pre-TC to a '12 TC. The old one sounded laboured and the twincam jumps into life by comparison. And anyway, this slow turn-over is a recent development.