anyway to test a starter clutch?

hi guys
I have a spare parts motor that came with my bike when i bought it. The po didnt know much about the motor the top end is off and all 4 pistons are removed.

Ive been thinking about trying to put this motor back together since the motor in mine is low on compression and the starter clutch is on its way out.

is there any way to tell if the starter clutch in the "parts" motor is any good? if i Tore it down would i be able to tell for sure? if i send power to the starter the enige instanly turns over but i understand that its not under compression because of the missing top end.

 

Are you sure your current starter clutch is "on its way out" or is your starter itself in need of service or are you running the wrong oil?

The starter clutch is "buried" on the RH side of the motor. Yes, you get to it by splitting the cases. Other than "operationally" there's no way to test/diagnose it other than by close visual inspection.

The thing is, most "starter clutch" problems are due to people using the wrong oil, or a weak starter. Yes, they do crack; and wear out after some SERIOUS high mileage. But those are 1 time out of 10, maybe. The rest are what I mentioned above, or a combination thereof.

 

yep im sure. Ive ben burning Castrol 20w50 motorcycle all summer and fall. No synthetic or car oil for me. I think this motor had a hard pervious life before. Starter works good. I ve seen the "sprag " problem before in many Honda atvs. Which are alot easyier to change

 

There is a way to tell the condition of the starter clutch, if you look inside the opening where the starter goes you will see the starter idler gear, if you reach in with your finger, try to spin it in both directions. If it does spin both ways the clutch is bad. If it does only spin in one direction, try to spin it in the locked direction with a screw driver to see if the crank moves. Be sure to protect the o-ring seating surface with a shop towel.

 

Not really.

Reaching in there and fiddling with it by hand won't spin it FAST enough to engage, so it probably WILL turn freely in both directions.

If you DO manage to get it to engage, you won't have enough leverage with the end of a screwdriver to turn the crankshaft. Unless it has no pistons or camchain attached; and I still don't think you'd be able to turn it over.

 

yes really,
they catch at finger speeds even if their cracked, they just slip under starter torque

 

Hi Fitz, I have done it. You CAN reach in and spin the idler gear with your finger; mine spun in one direction only. My point here is if you can spin the gear in both directions, then you know you have a bad clutch.

 

yea i starting to think it would be really alot easyer to drop in a used good compression motor with a known good starter clutch. Shame Kijiji Nova Scotia doesnt have any used motors at this time.

 

I agree Rebel, an engine switch out is the easy way to go.

 

So if it "catches" in one direction, and not in the other, it's still no guarantee that it's OK then? Since a cracked one will only slip under torque...

Which means the answer is still "not really."