Starter going bad

Ozarksflyfisher

.020 Over
Joined
Sep 5, 2012
Messages
22
Location
Springfield, MO USA
Ride
2007 Rocket 3 Classic Tourer SE. Cranberry and Black
I have an 07 Classic Tourer, with 23,000. Had since 12,000. I think the starter system is bad. Has had many occasions of just clicking when attempting to start, but when I rock it in gear, will start. Dealer "shimmed up" starter a few years ago, and seemed to help a while. Now it's worse than ever. All contacts seem clean. Starter turning over seems more noisey. Should I just replace whole starter, or just solenoid? Looking at some on eBay. Not much of a mechanic, and want to keep things factory spec.
 
Battery ..... get one with oomph.
Battery Cables ... I have a metre of 200amp cable that I'm about to have lugged and replace my Pos and Neg Battery leads. The OEM leads don't carry enough amps!
In winter I put the bike on a battery tender the night before.
Welcome to living with a Rocket.
OH ......... Dealer stuff (or stuff-ups). They will look for mechanical stuff ..... plain fact is .... big engine ...... big electrickery to start it.
 
Also contacts INSIDE the solenoid section of the starter could be miss aligned, loose or just arc,d up and require a clean.
 
If the starter makes any noise but a fast whiiiiir off the bike - there is almost certainly a bearing on its way out.
This may be repairable - but I'll be honest I have not tried. But is unusual on Denso if it is so. But that would almost certainly mean wear on the internal reduction boxes.
The solenoid contacts are a known weak spot. I'd do that first.
 
mully95 said:
Or upgrade your starter to the bigger unit. I did mine and it cranks the engine over much faster.
Click to expand...
A great upgrade and have it on mine, but won't help if power flow is not good as I think this might be the case..
 
Mittzy said:
A great upgrade and have it on mine, but won't help if power flow is not good as I think this might be the case..
Click to expand...

Oh .... I thought his starter was junk because it was noisy. Why in the heck would the dealer "shim up" his starter in the first place? Sounds like a shade tree mechanic to me.

If it was power flow what the heck is the shims for?
 
Last edited:
mully95 said:
Oh .... I thought his started was junk because it was noisy. Why in the heck would the dealer "shim up" his starter in the first place? Sounds like a shade tree mechanic to me.

If it was power flow what the heck is the shims for?
Click to expand...
????
 
mully95 said:
Oh .... I thought his started was junk because it was noisy. Why in the heck would the dealer "shim up" his starter in the first place? Sounds like a shade tree mechanic to me.

If it was power flow what the heck is the shims for?
Click to expand...
OP may have meant brushes as I can't think of a single thing on the starter motor that would require shimming - sounds DODGY.
Below is a pick of brush set.

The above is an after photo as I soaked it in vinegar and water for a week.
Below is the before shot (was submerged in water with battery connected)
 
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