Not starting

Ok I pulled the starter to clean and check the brushes. That went well as it was pritty crudy inside. Reinstalled it on my 1982 Seca 750 and have nothing but the starter turning over and over but not starting. It was fine last week but I have done some research in the Hanyes manual and found a little paragraph on the starter clutch. Now the question is how do you make that thing work again?????

 

Howdy! Could you expand upon what all you have done to the bike? How long have you had it? Where and how has it been stored? Did you change the oil recently?
Some oils do not play well with the internal clutches in our bikes, you may be the latest victim of this diabolical plot.
Starter clutches are not easily fixed if they are messed up but it is possible to fix them. Let's see if you can fix the problem the easy way first before we split the case.

 

I have had the bike for about 11/2 years and have kept it in the garage.The PO stored it for 7 years when i got it from him. I changed the oil about a month ago with Castrol 20w-50 regular oil no synthetic. I have rebuilt the carbs about 3 months ago and has never run better. I have replaced the battery, pulled the stator cover cleaned and checked brushes and thet were fine. Then pulled the starter cleaned and now I'm here.I hope I can resolve this problem without splitting the cases as I don't have the funds to perform that job at the moment. Thanks in advance for any assistance.

 

Glad to hear you have done some of the important things.
I was re-reading your original post and I'm curious, you said "have nothing but the starter turning over and over but not starting". What are you using for reference that the engine is not turning over? The timing reluctor?
If you are, then it's a good bet your starter clutch is shot and you will have to split the case to either rebuild or replace it.
Castrol 20/50W will not hurt the system so you are ok there. Have you run/shot any type of solvent into the clutch? You can access it through the alternator shaft hole but that is a whole nother pickle (do-able but with some nashing of teeth).

 

Robert,
I have confirmed that the starter is turning as I actually removed it from the case were it engages the gear behinde the clutch basket and it spins. The engine is not turning over but the starter is. Now the question is how do I get the solvent to the starter clutch? Can I spray solvent through were the starter came out from or do I have to remove the stator to get to the starter clutch? I don't understand how it can just stop working as three days ago I removed the starter to dissasemble but reinstalled till I had the proper tool to remove the bolts on the starter because they were stripping out. It fired right up after reinstall then but i get nothing now. Can I try and bump start it? Will i do any damage to anything or what???? I have also gone through the entier brake system replacing all pads front and rear.

 

Ok, I gave her a bump start today and she ran great but the starter will not turn the crank shaft over. How do I get the starter cluch clean and working properly????? A little more back ground on this bike. When I first got the bike it was rough. It had 100 psi compresion test across all cylinders. I had a shop clean the carbs and should have done it myself. I put new tires on her and got all the lights working properly. From that point on no one was going to touch her but me.Then it was paint, recovering the seat, building a front faring for her, rebuilding the front MC with fresh pads. Since then I have redone the carbs the right way and have come to the conclusion I will do all the work on this thing myself. I have been seeking information from this site and find you people have better advise than anyone anywere. I will get this thing figured out with the help of this form. Thanks in advance for the help. Sorry to be long on the tooth....

 

There is the range of easy fixes to try first.
#1, pull the alternator rotor and remove the shaft. You will be able to look right into the starter clutch through the hole once the shaft seal and seal carrier are removed (a bit of an undertaking in it's own right). Cost:$15-20 for seal/o-ring and rotor removing bolt. Inspect the assembly for cracks, they will put you out of action quick. No cracks? Good, grab a can of brake/carb cleaner and, using the snorkle tube, hose out the roller/spring cavity (x3)
#2, at your next oil change interval (or if you just want to get it over with), drain out a quart of oil and replace with a crankcase cleaner (Berrymann's B-12 or SeaFoam). Run that in the bike for 15-30 minutes (do not ride it while doing this), drain and change the filter/oil. This should clean up any gunk causing any stickiness.
Now for the hard part, the last resort.
#3, pull the engine, split the case and replace all affected parts. Cost-about $100 in parts and seals.
That's it. take a shot at the cheap and easy stuff first, who knows, you may find happiness in the first round.
Good luck!

 

How about before all of that you ensure the starter is turning in the right direction? It is possible to reassemble the starter in such a way that it spins very nicely-- BACKWARDS.

Worth a check...

 

Thanks for all of the sugestions. Now I need to know what the proper direction the starter is supose to turn. How do I ensure the starter is put together properly? Now that bigfitz mentioned it i had some problems putting the starter back together.