starter not disengaging

[stuart]

hi has anyone had problems with there starter not disengaging until the engine is switched off ?

[rosco]

Yes, I've had several of them do it. All the one's that I have seen have been a clearance issue between the bendix and the ring gear. Usually an extra flywheel cover gskt. will do the trick.

[Neil E.]

Did it work OK from the beginning? Starter fail-to-release is usually from lack of clearance between the gears. An extra (or thicker) gasket on the ignition cover works well.

Does the bendix spring back OK when you cam it out by hand? If not, you've got to correct that first. Keep in mind that the crank location may change during a rebuild and you have to make a matching change to the bendix gear location.

[stuart]

the 1st starter broke 4 or 5 teeth of the ring gear within a few months .

the dealer changed the bendix & ring gear about 4 months ago & it seemed to work ok .

yesterday i noticed when i switched the bike i could hear the bendix disengaging .
the bike is only 9 months old now .

[gasgasman]

When you add a gasket to the cover, you will need to add spacers to the starter mounting bolts on the cylinder.

[stuart]

i had a look there , there's 2 teeth broke off the fly wheel gear & the bendix doesn't spring back when pulled out .

[Neil E.]

Hard to say what's the cause or what's the effect, but I doubt the starter motor is powerful enough to break the ring gear teeth. I suspect the bendix hangs up, then when the ring gear tries to overrun the bendix, it puts too much load on the ring gear teeth and they break.

The bendix parts need some lubrication. If moisture gets inside the ignition cover and the bendix rusts or dries out, then the bendix will hang on release. Slow action will also mean missed starts.

Mangled (but not broken) teeth would be from too much play and the teeth trying to climb over each other.

Clash marks are normal on the bottom of the pinion and the top of the ring gear. This happens even if the flyweight spring is stretched. The spring stretching does help to provide a faster more reliable engagement.

It is still best to kick start the engine when it's cold outside. Once warmed up, the estart usually works OK.