starter spinning/chain?

my starter just whirls..not engageing anything could it be as seriuos as the chain inside or is there something else to check for?thanks for ANY help...

Depends on the model of your bike, kinda need to know that in order to answer your question

81 kz 550 ltd,elactric start only

My 750 twin was doing the same thing. It thought it was the starter, but it turned out the bolts that secured the starter clutch to the dynamo rotor had all broken off. Everytime I hit the electric start, it would spin and the bolts would just sound like rocks in there.

I'm not sure if this will help, but it might give you something to look for.

Hey, Don't know if yo uhave solved this problem or tried this yet.

Inside the starter motor there is a slip gear which allows the starter to disengage rather than get messed up by a back fire or other malfunction. If the bolts holding the starter together are not tight enough, there is not enough friction to hold the slip gear and allow the starter to turn