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Help! Starter went out yesterday!

5K views 45 replies 6 participants last post by  rnexussix 
#1 ·
Hey Fellers,

Yesterday as I stopped for gas on my way home from work my starter went out on my 09 Triple... 25k miles. I wasn't sure at first what it was, but when I got home and took the starter cover off it was pretty evident.

My questions are:
1. I understand after 06 they fixed the sprag gear issue, but I've also heard that the sprag gear going out can cause the starter motor gear to grind down. Any chance I can do just the starter motor and not the sprag? I haven't pulled the cover off yet to see if its facked yet....

2. there's an oil line that runs right above the starter motor bolt closest to the front of the bike. looks like i'll have to remove that to get the starter out. anything I should know before pulling that line off?

3. what are the odds I can take the starter to a repair shop and have a near gear put on the end of it?

4. do i need to worry about those shavings getting into the engine? should i run a couple cycles of oil through it? ...or if i clean them all out really good should i be ok?

5. is that gear in the third picture that the starter engages ok? doesn't really appear to be in bad shape... opinions??

6. any other advice would be greatly appreciated..

Motor vehicle Gear Auto part Gas Automotive tire
Motor vehicle Automotive tire Rim Auto part Automotive exterior
Hand Automotive tire Automotive lighting Finger Gear
 
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#2 ·
Holy shiite, that's alot of metal shavings in there. I would be very concerned about that. The gear on the right is the idler gear. Mine sheered off a coupla teeth some years back. Fortunately I caught it early and found both missing teeth before they could wreak havoc in my motor.
Did you have trouble starting the bike before this? Could you hear a shitty metallic sound?
 
#3 · (Edited)
Well, no not really. If the battery slightly weak it would do the woosh / clack thing that is common in the triples but since I've had it on a tender I've had no problems. I literally stopped for gas, and when I went to start it, it sounded like death. I push started it to get it home - about 2 miles, parked it and pulled out apart and that's what I found. At first it reacted as if the battery had gotten weak so I tried to jump it but no luck.. Which is when I figured the starter was going.

I did hit the start button a few times when I had it parked and heard it grinding like hell but I didn't run it after that.


As a side note, I bought it back in October and have put less than 1000 miles on it.
 
#4 ·
These bikes need to have a decent charge or they eat sprags. You haven't had it that many miles, the prior owner may had a habit of starting without a decent charge and this is the result.
 
#7 ·
So what about all those shavings? Am I ****ed? What should I do? Do I replace the sprag along with the starter?
 
#6 ·
thanks man! i actually already picked up a new starter for it. i saw this earlier on ebay and was questioning whether or not i should snag it.... hence why i posted a pic of the gear (the one i'm holding in the third pic). thing is, it looks ok to me so i'm not sure if a new one is a worthy investment. the gear on the end of the starter is very obviously a goner.
 
#8 ·
Hey bud, I can't see the pics on my phone. I know a few here have had to deal with this. You will get an answer.
 
#11 ·
Alright Gents,

I have ordered a new starter, new sprag clutch, new starter gear, starter cover gasket, and clutch cover gasket. I have an action packed saturday in my near future.

In terms of the shavings, the dealer told me to clean as much as I could out by hand while I was working on it. After I got it buttoned back up, drain the oil, change the filter, fill it with regular old 10-40, drive it around the neighborhood for about 20 minutes, drain the 10-40, put another new filter on it, fill it with the good ol' synthentic, and it should be fine. Based on the amount of shavings in the pictures this makes me a bit nervous, but I'm not sure what else to do short of dismantling the whole engine.

Any other suggestions?
 
#13 ·
I've been looking for one actually but can't seem to find one... I know that sounds stupid, feel free to blast me for it... But if someone has a link it'd be greatly appreciated
 
#15 ·
Sump... That's the word I was looking for.

Now should I pull the strainer while I'm in there?
 
#16 ·
So I've been wondering why Joe Houle hasn't shown up to offer his usual quality advice and then I read this guys thread and realized he's probably still weeping in a dark corner somewhere...

http://www.thespeedtriple.com/forum...-11/25835-another-wont-start-thread-here.html

…..so I ordered the sump (oil pan) gasket. I think that should just about do it for parts. I've already had it apart to take a look and I'm confident I won't need this last poor fellas level of hand holding. Seems to be a fairly simple thing as long as I take my time with it.

I also downloaded the shop manual thanks to Crash, and am going to fabricate my own sprag holder tool thanks to Joe Houle's walk through.

One question I have though, is about the second bolt holding the starter in place. Theres an oil line literally right on top of it. The shop manual says "gently move out of the way", but the one on my bike won't budge. I'm not sure if it's an aftermarket piece or not, but it's fairly immovable. Is it safe to uninstall it while I do this job or is there a reason that's a bad idea?

Shop manual also says to remove the tank to get the starter out. Doesn't look like that's really necessary to me unless there's something I'm not seeing…. thoughts?
 
#17 ·
Shop manual also says to remove the tank to get the starter out. Doesn't look like that's really necessary to me unless there's something I'm not seeing…. thoughts?
Long ago I stopped trying to save myself time by not removing anything possible that might be in the way. Removing the tank is simplicity in itself. Why try fighting your way around it?
 
#18 ·
Well... I can't see how removing the tank will make getting at the starter any easier.
 
#19 ·
Also, the underlying question which hasn't really been addressed in all of this... Is why did the sprag fail on my 2009? Everything I've read makes it seem like triumph had it well figured out in 09.......
 
#21 ·
I thought that was part of the problem they fixed after 06...
 
#22 ·
"Improved" not "Fixed."
 
#23 ·
I come from a long list of Japanese sport bikes. I'm not used to the fickleness of the triumph quite yet. Are there any other weird quirks with this thing that I should know about? Anything else that could turn into a $1000 repair bill if I don't pay close attention?
 
#25 ·
Are there any tell tale signs of this happening?
 
#27 ·
Yes, your bike isn't charging the battery. But, you may not know it's happening if you're on a long trip. If you have an early 1050, I'd recommend changing the RR and then getting something like a SparkBright. That's a LED that provides you with the status of your battery. It saved a member's arse on a trip because he could see that the battery wasn't being charged.
 
#28 ·
Just ordered a spark bright. $30 shipped to Seattle Washington
 
#29 ·
So when it died on me at the gas station the battery voltage meter on the jump box I tried to use read 12.3... It had only been off long enough to fill the tank. Should it be reading higher than that? If so, rectifier regulator? Battery?
 
#30 ·
Anybody try the rmstator rr on eBay? Comes plug and play for 109... Or should I go for the shindingen
 
#31 ·
i would think 12.3 is enough. But, to know if crap is going wrong, you need to charge while it's sitting, while the lights are on and while charging. I can't give you the numbers but someone will chime in.

I've heard that Shinedan is good but Compufire is better. I'd go with either.
 
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