Expert help needed!!!!

[Guest]

So my dad has a '77 GL1000 he has been attempting to ride for the last 5yrs. Same problem and I don't know how to fix it or what the actual problem is. It used to take forever to start, I installed an electric fuel pump(I think the info came from the old MSN site thanks by the way ) rebuilt the carbs now it starts fine. Just kick on the key wait 15 seconds and hit the starter and it fires right up. Problem is that once the bike warms up to normal temp the starter wont kick the motor over. He has gone thru 4 starters now(mostly due to the fuel pump thing) I just installed a brand new starter, solenoid and the bat is only a month old, took it for a test ride got it up to NORM temp and stopped to run in a store and come out and starter tried to kick over just wouldn't. It was like the bike motor was putting up to much resistance. I forgot the kick starter at the house and luckily I had enough slope in the parking lot to push start it. Had it been my 60yo dad he would have been stranded again. He really loves this bike, his wife just died last month and I want him to be able to ride. Any one had similar problems??? I am at a loss here guys and I know there are a couple of experts here that really know these bikes much better than I do. Any advice, insite, or ideas would be greatly appreciated!!!!

[admin]

Sounds like a bad ground inside the starter to me among other things. There are little tabs on the brush plate and these provide the internal ground for the starter, bend these tabs up slightly so that they will make solid contact with the starter cover. Also make certain that the areas where the tabs contact is spotless clean to ensure good contact.

[Guest]

I tried that as well before and just now to be diligent. I took a good set of jumper cables and went directly from the bat to the starter. Bypassing all cables. I even checked resistance values of the cables when they were cold and hot with no significant difference in resistance. Battery is at 12.2V so that isn't the issue. It just wont turn over warm. I can kick start it warm and I am not noticing any major increase in resistance when It is warm but there is a little. Like I said I am at a loss here.

[Guest]

This is also a brand new starter not rebuilt. I can't imagine that 3 different starters would all have the exact bad ground problem. I am really thankful for the help.

[admin]

You have checked all grounds on the bike I hope, if yes, I would take that new starter out and bring it to a good auto electric shop and let them go over it carefully. Perhaps they just might find something simple like you're not using 2 wrenches to tighten the 10 mm nut on the starter lug and by doing so you break the connection on the lug which creates high resistance when hot. You could also have poor insulation on the windings which would only act up when hot. There's a problem there somewhere in that starter it's just a matter of tracking it down.

[Badorderbob]

This may sound crazy but did you turn off the fuel when you went in the store?? Fuel may be going past the carb needles if the floats are to high! What is the pressure are you putting in the carbs, anything above I think 3lbs is too high and will cause the needles not too seet. The fuel pressure should be between 2lbs and 2.5lbs sounds like your carbs are causing hydro lock ( I think that's the term) where the fuel does't shut off and keeps running into the chambers causing it to lock up. Also you could get an inline anti siphon valve/check valve to stop the fuel from running into the carb. Hope this helps!!! Bob Something else came to mind, would points cause any of the problems mentioned, just a thought :roll:

[Ed Z]

This is a common problem with the 1000's and the 1100's... Check on the timing (points) and insure they are set correctly... A little trick that works well is to turn the kill switch to the off position prior to hitting the start button... Once the engine begins turning over then flick the kill switch to the run position... What happens is a pre-ignition condition (timing advanced to far)... If you continue to strain the starter like this it will soon be in need of replacement... First thing is to get the timing set correctly, and second is to learn the kill switch trick for when the timing drifts out (advanced) in the future...