Would appreciate some info on starter motors for GS1200

Hi There
I have an 08 GS1200. Love it. But it's starting to age and have recently moved to a rather rural location in scotland, so having to diagnose problems myself more. When pressing the starter button just get a click occasionally then it starts. decided to change the battery. Exactly the same problem. So have decided that it must be the starter motor. Vines of guildford quoted me £420 plus vat I started looking on ebay. Don't yet know if mine is a Bosh or Valeo but prices look a lot better. Does anyone have experience of buying a starter motor for my model of bike? Can't see immediately on the bike without starting to strip which brand of starter it is?
Would appreciate some advice on what to buy on ebay etc.
Thanks

Check out the electrical connections to the starter motor first.

If the problem persists, then it may be a case of replacement, but always remember BMW build bikes, they don't manufacture starter motors. They do however like to add a massive mark-up to the core price, as you have seen with Vines quote, with an often ridiculously complex supply chain in the background all wanting to be fed £s by us punters.

First of all you need to properly diagnose the problem. Then source the item if needed. Could be a bad lead or connection. A simple test would be to connect jump leads and if that cures your starter problem then you know it’s the battery. Bit late for that now. Check all your connections carefully use a jump lead directly from battery negative to good earth on frame. If that cures the problem it’s the negative lead. Very carefully use a jump lead from positive on battery to terminal on starter if that cures it you get the picture? Now there is the possibility of doing damage so be careful. If the starter is Donald ducked Motorworks is a good place to try for new used or reconditioned. I’ve found them very helpful. JJH

The first units were the Bosch type,

They were changed to Valeo type which had more cranking power.

Both will fit the hexhead single cam motors (they should fit the tc as essentially its the same engine )

The Valeo has a plastic cover over the motor, which is more of a pig to get on / off than the starter it's self

Replacement wise

SH unit from breaker £xx

Valeo - re manufactured unit £140

Arrowhead - Pattern replacement £160

Mine started with poor hot starting, i stripped and cleaned the starter - little improvement 1 restart from hot / stalled

I then added a separate +ve & -Ve direct from the starter to the battery small improvement 2 restarts from hot /stalled

Bought a reman Valeo unit & a new motobatt Fixed no issues hot or cold restarts

Sounds like a common fault, where a wire to the starter relay loses voltage to the point where the bike wont start.

I posted this when I'd solved the fault, but only after buying a new starter which made no difference. The best bit is it will only cost you a short length of wire

"Key in, ignition comes on, no warning messages on the dashboard, but the starter motor is not turning the engine over;

1. Check battery, if the lights go dim and you can hear a loud clicking sound as the solenoid tries to kick in, chances are the battery has low charge. Recharge or replace.
2. If the battery is good, can you hear the relay faintly clicking as you push the starter button? (Its under the front seat on up-to 2007 bikes, under the tank on later model hexheads, not sure about twin-cams and toilets).
3. The relay is clicking? Good. To save a lot of time and hassle, do this next: Remove the cover over the starter motor (one screw and pull it back and off).
4. You can now see the thin black wire that goes to the solenoid. Pull it off. Now connect (i.e. just touch) a wire from your battery +ve terminal direct to the spade connector the black wire went to. The starter should now kick into life, and if the ignition is switched on, the bike will start.
5. If you have access to a multimeter, put the +ve probe to the black wire, the -ve to earth. You will probably find that you have much less than 12 volts coming through, which is the cause of your problems.
6. The "official" fix: Go back to the relay, trace where the thick red wire goes to in the loom, find the dodgy connector or broken bit and re-wire/re-attach/re-solder accordingly.
7. The quick fix: Cut the thick red wire that goes to the solenoid. Cover and seal the end that goes back to the loom. Attach a new wire to the end that goes into the relay, fix the other end to the battery +ve. The bike will now start off the button as normal. Sorted!
And don't worry about that red wire being permanently live, the bike won't start without the key in and starter button being pushed. I think its permanently live anyway.

This appears to be a fairly common problem and hopefully you'll now be able to sort it a bit quicker and easier than I did!"

This is the thread, https://www.ukgser.com/forums/showthread.php/443912-HELP-BIKE-WON-T-START/page2, start at Post No.25
Good Luck!

Starter relay

I have a 2011 R1200GS from new. In that time I have gone through 5 starter relays. They fail every 1-2 years. Just happened again as it got to local dealer for its MOT which was handy.
They aren't expensive around £15.00 but its a faff getting at the unit to change it because its under the tank and ecu.
Symptoms are typical, won't start with loads of power in battery, change the relay and off we go.
Now this time the Bmw fitter said that the reason it fails could be linked to a fault with the starter itself although when the relay is changed it works fine.
I know there have been many posts on this subject but wondered if anyone has cured it by changing the start motor.

One day its going to happen on a ferry ramp going uphill and I don't won't the better half to put her back out pushing the bike