This is what $200 got me

Nice score.
Rule of Zeros
Pay zero attention what the previous owner says it needs
Pay zero dollars for parts until you confirm its necessary
Pay zero attention book values
Pay zero dollars to local bike guru
Pay zero attention to your wife/friends
Pay retail for a shop manual learn to use a test light
Pay zero Attention to the urge to tear it completely apart before you ever ride it
Pay your internet bill you will need the access
on second thought maybe it should be the rule of paying but either way take your time its amazing
what you can accomplish in a weekend.

my daily job consists of consumers walking in the door telling me all it needs is an alignment
after they spend 80 dollars for my alignment tech to do an alignment because they are always a little out I find out it has a tire pull & rotate the tires for 15 bucks and its all good again.

Make sure you jump the solenoid before you layout any money for a starter or other components. confirm whats bad before replacing anything. read up and ask questions is my best advice.

A good friend of mine road one of those forever I ben trying to talk him out of it for last couple of years
didn't last year maybe this year

Hey. Good purchase there. Perhaps the starter is not the issue,,,it may be something cheaper, or something else.

Have you tried to start it? What happens?

Chris

Thanks for the responses.


Unsure if the battery is still charged right now, charged it up a few months ago when I got it. It worked then, lights come on and stuff. Turning the key in the ignition resulted in the feeling that something tried to turn. Only tried it once. I'll spend some time with it this weekend.

Here is my 81 LTD same color. That was a great buy I wouldn't sell mine for that for sure with 17k miles. Once you get it running check to see if you have a leak between the cylinder and head those old rubber seals like to leak on these old girls.

Charge the battery. Ensure you can get that battery above 12V and that it holds it for a spell.

Pull the tank off, drain it and put in fresh gas. Assume what you have is bad.

Try again. When you do..only hit the starter for short bursts at a time. Dont hold the starter for longer than 2-5 seconds. Let it cool and recover.

That's the best, cheapest, chance to get it to fire for you.

If you get nothing then there are ways to figure it out. Let us know.

Probably want to get a cheap volt /ohm meter to add to the tool kit in your avatar.


Cheers
Chris

What he said... Make sure the battery is up to it.

If the starter is bad (and you won't know until you do the diagnostics) then look for a rebuilder near you. It is usually much less than buying a new /rebuilt one and you get a better guarantee.

Nice find! Wish you the best on the resto.

BTW, I just snagged a two stroke Kawasaki enduro for $178.50. It looks good enough I may not cannibalize it for parts but end up with two two strokes! :woohoo:

lindseyss wrote: Here is my 81 LTD same color. That was a great buy I wouldn't sell mine for that for sure with 17k miles. Once you get it running check to see if you have a leak between the cylinder and head those old rubber seals like to leak on these old girls.

Great looking bike! I'm hoping mine will look that good by the end of this summer, however at this point I just want her to turn on and purr for me.

After that, then comes the cosmetic stuff.

i just took apart my starter and put in a rebuild kit that was about $20 into my 550 ltd and my starter is spinning alot better now. the only tools i need was a screw driver and 10mm wrench. it was verry simple to do. its just puting it back together the way it came apart. you could also take step by step photos of u taking it apart so u know where every thing goes when u put it back together