RGS starter banging noise

W

woodlawn

New member
Location
CT USA
Hey all, first time poster here. I have been riding "Laverne" (1983 RGS) for about a year, purchased with 52k miles from the original owner. Recently she has developed a VERY loud banging noise (like something banging against the cover) while attempting to start and the starter (SJCE  MOD.100) takes many attempts to engage before she starts.  I removed the cover and intermediate gear and hit the starter, it spins freely w/o noise. The shaft has approx 1/16" or 1.5-2.0 mm fore/aft play. When pulled in and out by hand it knocks a bit (not nearly as lound as the knocking when attempting to start) against the rear of the starter housing. All of the gears are in good condition and there is no sign of debris, however the freewheel has a lot of play and seems quite wobbly when rotated counter clockwise by hand. It does grip firmly clockwise and the bike will start and run well once it engages. I would appreciate your thoughts. I know I should probably rebuild both the starter and the freewheel, but am trying to limit my expenditure.
Thanks
 
A new needle bearing in the freewheel with a set of springs and rollers should not break the bank. If it has been ran for a while and its complaints have been ignored then there is a chance the centre has broke up. Best thing to do is pull it apart and have a look.


  Keith
 
Make sure you check the housing thoroughly, Mine locked up at low speed and had multiple cracks, you should be lucky, you are very lucky it didn't and spun the starter motor up, also some Loctite on the countersunk screws in the retaining plate, im betting they've come loose and that's where your clunking noise is coming from
 
Starter sprag, where the little rollers and springs live, that will popout and run all through your shed when you pull it out  ;)
 
1.5 to 2 mm play seems a bit excessive to me, I just rebuilt my starter motor (SJCE Mod 1.00 like yours) and the play is much less than yours. Could the armature be banging back and forth under load?
 
That's a possibility, but the noise seemed way louder than that. I'm going to pull them both apart. Speaking of that do I have to use the official special tool to pull the flywheel or have any of you used a different method?
 
Never done it myself, but I do believe that the front wheel axle has the correct thread to be used as a tool. Would wait for confirmation from another, more knowledgable, forum member to confirm.

Terry
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top