Starter Motor PM

ralfcape

ralfcape

Joined
Aug 9, 2016
Messages
11
Location
Wenatchee, Wa Oberusel, Deuschland
Bike
2002 ST1100
My father always used that term PM for preventive maintenance. Which seems like a good thing until old things break trying to PM them and then I think why didn't I just leave it alone. So what I'm thinking about breaking is my starter motor. My 2002 is getting close to 100 thousand miles and has had plenty of the usual PM stuff like, grease splines every tire change, timing belt, coolant elbow o rings, carbs have been apart many times, of course countless oil changes. I really enjoy doing those things. So when out riding (far from home) and I hit that starter button for the millionth time I think, should I have a starter relay with me, should I replace the brushes, clean the armature, grease some tiny bearing? Or a tiny voice says, no keep your fingers out of there your going to break some unavailable part, those things last for ever just leave it, have you ever seen a guy on the side of the road with arms raised to the heavens, tears rolling down his cheeks saying "I wish I gave my starter motor more love" no.
I'm posting here to the higher mileage ST guys, is this a thing or keep out of there you're fine. Thanks, JR
 
ralfcape said:
My father always used that term PM for preventive maintenance. Which seems like a good thing until old things break trying to PM them and then I think why didn't I just leave it alone. So what I'm thinking about breaking is my starter motor. My 2002 is getting close to 100 thousand miles and has had plenty of the usual PM stuff like, grease splines every tire change, timing belt, coolant elbow o rings, carbs have been apart many times, of course countless oil changes. I really enjoy doing those things. So when out riding (far from home) and I hit that starter button for the millionth time I think, should I have a starter relay with me, should I replace the brushes, clean the armature, grease some tiny bearing? Or a tiny voice says, no keep your fingers out of there your going to break some unavailable part, those things last for ever just leave it, have you ever seen a guy on the side of the road with arms raised to the heavens, tears rolling down his cheeks saying "I wish I gave my starter motor more love" no.
I'm posting here to the higher mileage ST guys, is this a thing or keep out of there you're fine. Thanks, JR
Click to expand...
Have a weissbier, put your feet up and forget about it.
Of course, you won't.
Upt.
 
ralfcape said:
... PM for preventive maintenance ...
Click to expand...
Interesting turn of events... :unsure:
Whenever I (mbrII) even dared to mention/suggest any "PM" I got flamed on that German Pan-European board... :nuke1:

Not many failing starter motors known on the 1100 though...
Depending on age and usage (i.e. winter use) its peripheral should be observed; corroded wiring, corroded ground connection points...
I saw heat damage on the load terminals of starter relays caused by increased resistance rooting in wire/crimp corrosion...
Even more sensitive is the red connector on it... annual visual inspection and treatment with corrosion inhibitor... (I'm happy with ACF-50 there)
But this applies to pretty much all electrical connections, front to rear, top to bottom, including the ignition lock switch-plate...

I've knocked apart '96 onward 40A alternators and found worn, noisy bearings as well as dirtied armatures with brushes worn down to 50%...
Safe to assume that on aged bikes (from the 90ies) the starter motor has seen some action, hence shows some/minimal wear...
On even older vehicles (like GL1000) the field of the permanent magnets in the stator weakens/collapses...

But I doubt this applies to a '02 model...

I'd snipe a decent looking used one at eBay, knock it apart to clean and overhaul it, and store it in the shed for peace of mind...
Doing such ensures that you'll never gonna need it... ever... according to Murphy... ;)
 
There’s an alternative to PM. It’s RTF (run til failure). No joke. I learned about the term in a news item, where a bus company was being sued for a wrongful death, due to lack of maintenance. The judge ruled that the bus company actually had a RTF policy in place and was following policy.

I prefer PM, myself.

John
 
Nashcat said:
There’s an alternative to PM. It’s RTF (run til failure). No joke. I learned about the term in a news item, where a bus company was being sued for a wrongful death, due to lack of maintenance. The judge ruled that the bus company actually had a RTF policy in place and was following policy.

I prefer PM, myself.

John
Click to expand...
I think that's what has happened on some of my body parts - but they didn't come with zerk fittings installed .... :biggrin:
 
My opinion is that the biggest determining factor affecting starter wear is the type of riding that the motorcycle has been subjected to throughout its life. If it was used as daily transport in lieu of a four-wheeled vehicle the starter has probably seen a lot of use. Increased use equals increased where. If it was used the way that I use mine it has not seen a lot of use and little use equals little wear. I use my ST1300 for pleasure, which means traveling and joy riding. As a result it gets started and run for a long stretches with very few stops in between fuel stops, so my starter does not get used anywhere near as much as it would if it was being used as a daily driver to run errands and for commuting.

If you have absolutely no idea of the riding type that your ST has done for most of its life before you got it I would still lean towards leaving it alone. There just isn't any reports of starter problems with the ST line, or at least none that I can remember reading about on this forum, which means that there are not many. Overwhelmingly starter problems mentioned on this forum end up being as a result of something other than the starter motor, the most common culprit being dirty contacts in the starter switch .
 
nobody here reports issues with the starter motor, and its not all that difficult to get to if you did eventually have issues. Worst case if it fails while on a trip, you can push start the bike a few times a day and call it a gym workout.
 
I'm in the camp of leave it alone. Imho if you go looking for trouble trouble you will find. Btw 90K plus miles on my the original starter:)
 
Most comon problem I used to find on starters was with the copper washer inside the starter solenoid . It the contacts get burned up over time. We would flip the washer around and it would work fine. Now a days starters use less amps, the contacts can't be flipped around and many solenoids are crimp sealed so you can't take it apart. More works than it's worth IMO.
 
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