Terrible grinding noise coming from starter when trying to start '82 XJ Maxim 550

Also, about the planetary gears, my aren't "sharp". They're a bit rounded. No damage though. Is this expected?

 

I figure on a bike this old, it's a miracle if rubber bits are still in good shape, so certainly go for the new o-rings since you'd rather not open this up again for another 30-some years.
Glad you weren't afraid to tear it down!

 

Rebuild kit inbound.

 

Pics please.
The edges of spur gears will round off a bit as they are used. If the faces are shortened by wear that is a problem.

 

IMHO, those look good. You'd look for asymmetric teeth on the gears, which would be a sign of wear.

 

Ok cool

 

I put synthetic oil in my 82 XJ650, immediately started grinding, very hard to get started. Put conventional back in and it went away. Read about it in some other forums too, besides my own experience. I believe this is a fairly definite thing. No synthetic oil with a wet clutch!

 

Ther are syntetic oils now that are wet-clutch compatable.

 

I rebuilt the starter motor using the the rebuild kit and when I tested it using my battery, it sparked once and didn’t spin at all. Now it won’t spark.