www.boxertrix.com

So I fitted a new battery around 2 weeks ago and finally got out for a decent run on the bike on Sunday.

Took it to work and back on Tuesday, a round trip of 60 miles or so, and parked it outside the house as I was in a rush to go and pick my son up after school (he's too small for the bike unfortunately).

Came back home, arsed about for a bit then went to put the bike away. Turned it on, pushed the starter button and 'clunk' - a solid single clunk from the engine / starter area, with no turning over of the engine what-so-ever.

Tried rocking the bike back and forward in gear, and the engine turns using this method so it's not seized. The clunk is very solid and makes me believe that there is plenty of juice in the battery, so I'm wondering if it's the starter motor, although it has given me no trouble up to this point.

I had to leave it last night as I had other duties, but tonight I'll try smacking the starter with a knocking stick to see if that makes a difference. If not then who knows!

Any one else experienced a similar failure?

Well starter motors on R11xxs do have a finite life and a bit like shoelaces they can be fine one minute and die the next. I've got through three so far on 2 bikes and ~90,000 miles, so about 30,000 miles each? My last one got totally gunged up and not only wouldn't throw out the starter cog, but I couldn't free it either so all it did was grind away pointlessly. Others have not even fired up - the clunk could be the relay engaging but the motor windings are fried so it won't turn?

There are various diagnostic resources you can try, like this: http://bmwsporttouring.com/ubbthreads/u ... ber=570859.

Might be worth just getting in a recon unit from Motorworks or similar. They take the old one in return and there's no deadline to sending it back. So you can swap for a known good starter and if it's not a starter problem you have a spare. The old one will go eventually and then you have one on the shelf to swap in, and return the known dead one.

saving grace , they do come off very easily ,,,

The starter motor on my 1150GS had the magnets come loose which gave similar symptoms. It's not uncommon to happen, especially at the age they're getting to now.

If you feel up for it there's a great explanation of how to strip it to check (and clean / rebuild if it's OK) here: http://ukgser.com/forums/showthread.php ... rter-Strip

Start with the basics. Battery terminals, earthing point and starter terminal---- all should be clean and done up tight.

Haven't had a chance to check it out yet, life's got in the way, so it will have to wait until the weekend. Thanks for all your suggestions so far

The Teutonic Tangerine wrote:Start with the basics. Battery terminals, earthing point and starter terminal---- all should be clean and done up tight.

As I just put a battery on it 2 weeks ago, am I 100% sure that I did the terminals up? Of course I am.......

Well 80% maybe - I am getting on a bit! Of course this will be the first thing I check - if only the battery was easier to get to

McBoxer wrote:Haven't had a chance to check it out yet, life's got in the way, so it will have to wait until the weekend. Thanks for all your suggestions so far

The Teutonic Tangerine wrote:Start with the basics. Battery terminals, earthing point and starter terminal---- all should be clean and done up tight.

As I just put a battery on it 2 weeks ago, am I 100% sure that I did the terminals up? Of course I am.......

Well 80% maybe - I am getting on a bit! Of course this will be the first thing I check - if only the battery was easier to get to

Battery End my be good but what about the other ends of the big cables that have been done up and not touched since the bike was built - maybe corroded.

yep , thats a handy link , the gs guys are a great source of info.
i must join the forum just to thank them , ive read their forum a fair bit.
and the info gained is great.

Well, it looks like it's definitely the starter motor.

Checked, cleaned and tightened all the terminals, gave the starter motor a few good taps with a persuading implement but no difference.

And, yes, they do come off very easily. Dropped the belly pan first to get to the bottom bolt, but it probably took longer to remove the starter cover than it did the starter itself.

Can these be refurbished or is renewal the only option?
Who's the best / cheapest source?

strip it and have a wee look in , it may be as simple as sticky brushes ,,
total cost , nothing ,,
they come apart easily too.
just watch for the big spring inside the back cover , and pay attention to the fiber board insulation on the brushes.
its all on the gs forum , or i have the document saved if you need a pdf

Stripped it down tonight. Magnets have come loose and jammed the mechanism. Not a lot of damage - unsure if they can be re-attached somehow?

Bit the bullet this morning and ordered a new starter motor. I'm meant to be riding to Scotland the weekend after next I only have this weekend to fix the bile and service it, so time is of the essence!

Found one at Manchester Auto Electrics for £69.99 inc delivery on ebay, but I phoned them direct and got it for £65.00. Let's hope it lasts.....

Al

Keep the old one as a spare.
You can re-glue the magnets to the case if they have "lands" that locate each magnet in its correct position.

The glue I have used in the past is Loctite Hysol 9466 with success, assuming everything is cleaned properly beforehand.

However I have NOT done it on a starter motor.