Starter motor doesn’t always engage. Should I be concerned?

chasbmw

chasbmw

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A couple of months ago I fitted to my very low mileage Rockster a rebuilt exchange starter motor.
Recently it doesn’t always engage with the flywheel. I have sometimes dealt with the issue by rocking the bike in gear, so so far it’s not left me stranded.
Should I be concerned and what might the fault be? I’m still within the Motorworks warranty period
 
chasbmw said:
A couple of months ago I fitted to my very low mileage Rockster a rebuilt exchange starter motor.
Recently it doesn’t always engage with the flywheel. I have sometimes dealt with the issue by rocking the bike in gear, so so far it’s not left me stranded.
Should I be concerned and what might the fault be? I’m still within the Motorworks warranty period
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I have just had the same problem on my R1150RT and went for the new non BMW starter motor from Motorworks for £139 and it looks good. If you have any doubts about the one you have and its still in warranty it might be worth considering the new one instead.
 
It's not a problem.till it actually is and your stranded.....

Then you will think......i wish I had sorted this yonks ago.....
 
chasbmw said:
Recently it doesn’t always engage with the flywheel.
Click to expand...
Can you be more specific pls, does it spin but not turn the engine or not spin at all, if it doesn’t spin do you hear any click when the starter button is depressed?
 
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I had this problem when my 1150 was new, service manager at Alan Jeffries at the time just ‘brushed it off’ and didn’t want to look into it, I fixed it my self by removing the starter and flushing it out with WD-40. No idea if this was the right thing to do but it fixed the problem and 24 years later it still works perfectly.
 
hops said:
Can you be more specific pls, does it spin but not turn the engine or not spin at all, if it doesn’t spin do you hear any click when the starter button is depressed?
Click to expand...
These are the key questions.

If the motor spins but doesn’t engage, a bit of lubrication around the gear / spiral / pre-engage solenoid may well fix it per Jeff’s response.

If it clicks and doesn’t spin, it’s probably dirty contacts on the solenoid, or the solenoid is jamming.

If it doesn’t click, check the wiring between the button and the solenoid.
 
It spins but doesn’t engage…. But if Motorworks give me credit for the motor, the extra cost in buying a new replacement Valeo copy, is not very much. So that’s probably the route I’ll go down.
 
I have this occur on my 1150GS.
300,000km, original assembly but been rebuilt / serviced a few years ago.

I did strip it down, clean, and reassemble, but it still did it.

You're right, its ok till its not ok.
Need to have another look at it and see if i can fix it.
 
chasbmw said:
It spins but doesn’t engage…. But if Motorworks give me credit for the motor, the extra cost in buying a new replacement Valeo copy, is not very much. So that’s probably the route I’ll go down.
Click to expand...
I had a similar issue cause eventually was traced to the starter ring teeth worn on the flywheel.
 
SBD said:
Unfortunately, WD40 won’t fix that…
Click to expand...
No, on the upside you can see if that might be the case through the aperture when the starter is off the bike as the teeth, or a section of them, are then visible.
 
I’m pretty sure it’s not the ring teeth, as the bike has only covered around 16500 miles.
 
I had a similar issue with a R90/6, and in this case it was a poor earth leading to the solenoid dropping out under load. That was a serious PIA to diagnose
 
Nippy Normans supply Touratech, Wunderlich, Desert Fox and many other makes of accessories.
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