Starter solenoid recommendations please

N

Nick

Full member
I'm assuming that it's no longer possible to buy original solenoids for the RGS or the Atlas in the UK or that those sold through 'dealers' are not Laverda stock.

I was surprised to learn the other day that separate starter solenoids are now not common as they are part of car starter motors (I was going to fit something off an old Ford or somesuch). So what do folk in the UK use nowadays as a replacement?  I did once fit a cheap knockoff that I got off ebay which led to a massive short so want to fit something that's small but also a quality item.

Any suggestions welcome

Nick :-)
 
Got one from Wolfgang recently, off a Jap bike, better working than replicas these days.
 
I'm using one from a Gold Wing I got out of a salvage yard for $2. Just about any solenoid from a large bike or a car will work if it fits in the available space. Ducati used Lucas items from a MG midget[I think] on the F1.
 
I needed a new starter relay for my SF3 recently. One from a BMW K100 fitted. Even the mounting holes lined up perfectly.
 
Nat Magee said:
I needed a new starter relay for my SF3 recently. One from a BMW K100 fitted. Even the mounting holes lined up perfectly.
Click to expand...

Several Beemer Flying Brick models used the same Bosch relay as Laverda, just a later version with a plastic housing.

It is actually not quite just a simple 75A relay, it has an internal resistor/diode thingy to prevent electrical peaks entering the electrical system during or immediately after the cranking process.  The starters can draw 250A and more while cranking, if that shoots into the loom, something can/will blow.  Very few relays have such a precautionary device, most other bikes use smaller starters with far lower draw, making such a measure unnecessary.  Will probably be quite OK to use a simple relay on a bike running on points ignition, but most electronics are far more sensitive to high voltages.

piet
 
The Beemer flying brick starter relay is actually Bosch 0332002161. This is the one which has the diode/resistor thingy as mentioned by Piet, not included in Bosch 0332002160 AFAIK.
 
This little fellow (made in Malaysia) did not like good Lav vibes  :D
Fried last Sunday during a track session
 

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I salvaged the rubber mounts from my old starter relay with sheet metal housing and added them to the new relay with plastic housing. The lugs of the plastic housing needed to be slightly altered to take up the rubber mounts, though. Best hopes this will help to avoid this kind of damage.
 
I have used a proper starter solenoid from Austin/Rover/Leyland/land Rover on TOG (1200TS for those that don't know) for many, many years, it is mounted under the battery tray, and can cope with a  4.1 litre six cylinder diesel (Perkins 6247) it cost about ?15 new and has lasted so long I had forgotten about it. Of course it works as a starter solenoid (it is not a relay) but has other useful electrical tabs, such as 12v permanently on (clock maybe), 12v on only when ignition on (sat nav maybe), and (very good for Lavs but never hooked up by me) a direct 12v  tag that can by pass the ignition volt droppers (Bosch resistors), to give high voltage at the coils which only operates when the starter is cranking,
CLEM
 
Steph said:
This little fellow (made in Malaysia) did not like good Lav vibes  :D
Fried last Sunday during a track session
Click to expand...

we had the same relay fail on Paul's track bike a few weeks ago, first thing in the morning, installed tyre warmers, went to warm the bike up, starter relay stuck on, flattened the battery
 
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