Lazy-ish starter, easy to remove?

fraserwaters

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I am a bit concerned that the starter on my 2012 R1200GS is lazy, it takes a few cranks to fire and when warm it really isn't keen on turning over. Battery is a motobat and shows a decent voltage, I've not got a 911 so haven't checked alternator oomph yet.

If i was to remove the starter to give it a clean and grease, is it relatively easy or do I have to remove large chunks of bike to get it out as per the Haynes? It looks like it would come out pretty straightforwardly but just wanted a second or 3rd opinion before I wield the torx heads.

Any other thoughts on a potential cause?

Cheers.
 
Very easy to remove ,they often respond well to a new set of brushes from ebay.
Not sure of your milage but while the starter is out it is possible to see the clutch plate for wear 6mm new & 4.5mm service limit.
Being a high compression twin cylinder engine with no means of de-compression they do take a lot to spinning them over. ( Try bump starting one) :)
As good as Motobatt batteries are I have to change mine every 3 to 4 years probably keep spinning a Jap 4 cylinder over for twice that life.
 
My 1200 ,,,, never cranked fast , always started though ,,, but it kinda refused one day .
New battery -a little but not much better
Stripped cleaned ,,,lubed ,,, + new brush box again a little but not much better
A set of new extra add on started cables ( Motolec) from Motor works if I recall = staggeringly better !
 
The good news is any of the 3 supplied variants will fit if you go 3rd party or for a SH unit

Valeo Long fits
Bosch long fits

Bosch short fits


The current fitment on the 2012 is the Bosch short , due to the exhaust flapper stepper box

To confirm, i fitted my old Valeo long unit, it fitted and i was able to refit the stepper box
 
Mistacat said:
Very easy to remove ,they often respond well to a new set of brushes from ebay.
Not sure of your milage but while the starter is out it is possible to see the clutch plate for wear 6mm new & 4.5mm service limit.
Being a high compression twin cylinder engine with no means of de-compression they do take a lot to spinning them over. ( Try bump starting one) :)
As good as Motobatt batteries are I have to change mine every 3 to 4 years probably keep spinning a Jap 4 cylinder over for twice that life.
Click to expand...
I'd never thought of clutch inspection at the same time, that's a great shout, thank you.
 
Santa-2512 said:
The good news is any of the 3 supplied variants will fit if you go 3rd party or for a SH unit

Valeo Long fits
Bosch long fits

Bosch short fits


The current fitment on the 2012 is the Bosch short , due to the exhaust flapper stepper box

To confirm, i fitted my old Valeo long unit, it fitted and i was able to refit the stepper box
Click to expand...
Mine is flap free but the box is still there so that's good info to have. Cheers.
 
Is there an uprated battery over the OEM that people have used with success? In case a new battery is needed...
 
boatman said:
My 1200 ,,,, never cranked fast , always started though ,,, but it kinda refused one day .
New battery -a little but not much better
Stripped cleaned ,,,lubed ,,, + new brush box again a little but not much better
A set of new extra add on started cables ( Motolec) from Motor works if I recall = staggeringly better !
Click to expand...
Do you mean these ?
IMG_8951.jpg
 
fraserwaters said:
Is there an uprated battery over the OEM that people have used with success? In case a new battery is needed...
Click to expand...
From an RS12 owner who has just followed a recommendation for a new battery.

Purely preventative as my original battery is/was into it’s 11th year - and 56K miles.

ps - I didn’t need the buttons and returned them.

IMG_8374.jpegIMG_5592.jpeg

From Motorworks (along with a new starter motor and relay).
 
I read on here a few times that the extra cabling can make a real difference.
Mine always starts - just always sounds like it’s having second thoughts !
🤣
 
boatman said:
Yes that’s the ones ,, admittedly , ain’t much to look at , but in my case the difference WAS dramatic .
Ps - I know from my previous work life that undersized starting cables give all sorts of problems 👍
Click to expand...
I’ve got some tinned copper 110a cable kicking about, I might make up a replacement set of cables and see what the difference is. Do they replace the originals as it says in some cases to run them in parallel.
 
fraserwaters said:
I’ve got some tinned copper 110a cable kicking about, I might make up a replacement set of cables and see what the difference is. Do they replace the originals as it says in some cases to run them in parallel.
Click to expand...
They run in Parallel ,,, when I dug into the matter I could hardly belive how small the cross section of the earth ( neg ) cable seemed !
 
Another thing you could do, is to run a freash set of battery cabes from the battery to the starter alog side the exsisting cables

Its a bit of a squeeze, but can be done ( i have done it)

Battery wise, the reccomendations are

Mottobatt - pretty sure its the MBYZ 16AH (stock is 14Ah)

Odyssey - used to be the "top battery" but only 14Ah funny enough

Noco - Lithium battery, i used one on the hexhead, but only took it off as i was going to be using it over winter, and I didnt want to risk it not charging due to the cold weather and short journeys
 
Loads of good advice.

However, before embarking on starter motor repairs, it's always a good idea to get the battery tested for CCA & check all the relevant connections.
 
Nippy Normans supply Touratech, Wunderlich, Desert Fox and many other makes of accessories.
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