Starting a big block

Can anyone tell of there experiences with starting big blocks with a starter . I have a 76 crank. They have the small rotor bolt and my worry is that I may shear the key. This happened to me before with my 1135cc motor. I have since replaced the rotor end of the crank and used a harder bolt to increase the bolts torque a bit.it worked fine this summer.
Is it likely to reoccur? Or was it a fluke? I have ordered a Honda starter.

I noticed that with my recent M2 project, after installing an 1135 kit, the starter does seem to struggle to turn over the motor. I have a new battery, fully charged. But it sure seems to struggle.

You mentioned getting a Honda starter. Is there a specific model that would work for me? Is the Honda starter more powerful or something?

My 1171 seemed a little harder to turn over, also.
the starter used in the CBR900 of the same vintage is a few tenths of an amp more powerful, I had read on the dragbike.com forum about using it. I bought a used one on the E to the Bay, and it was almost a direct fit. the position of the hi-power lug is different and I had to notch the inside of my bevel drive cover (shaft-driven bike) to get it to fit. I have a few snaps in my flickr stream showing what I did.

It still seems to struggle some times, I will probably go to a new starter at some point. I had used a rebuild kit on my original starter but it didn't do a whole lot for me, I think the non-replaceable parts were too worn.

I'm sorry I can't add anything about the rotor bolt key, but maybe you could check on dragbike.com.

You may need to upgrade your battery to one with more cca's. Some guys will use a gel-type battery like the one FBG sells. It has more than a common bike battery but not sure how big. Those that have went this route says it works great with the added battery output.Problem would be if it would be a direct fit. It may need a bigger battery box.

hows your die grinder and filing skills?cut longer keyway slot into end of crank and put full length wooddruff key in place of half moon .does wonders for blown v8s and more z1 cranks than i can count;)

Wow .that is a great to hear . i actualy thought of that last year but didnt have the nerv to try it.i tried to drill and tap the bolt hole bigger but it was so hard i could not do it.can u give me more details or pics on this procedure? i have a spare end that i am going to experiment on to see how much torque the threads will take. then i will use a harder bolt and more toque in mine. i can practice the key slot groove trick on this too.

any older honda cb starter 900 and up will work, but you have to clearence the starter/output cover to clear the POS bolt.

i dont know how many cca's i have in my bike (i'm not planning on taking the seat off right now) but its a gel with the most cranking amps offerd by interstate, it was the biggest i could physically jam in the bike, and cost me 97$

i messed my starter clutch up during the first 150 miles of my 1175 breakin, it still works but skips alot, especially when the engine is hot, one of the spring guides that press on the steel rollers exploded,i'm planning on fixing this.

i don't know what type of starter i have in my bike as i orderd a rebuild kit that was correct for the bike but not the starter so it's been replaced.

Skyman. the info i got on the honda starter was to use 1 from a:
79 to 83 cb750 ,900,1100,c or f model.
The machine. if the spring holders in yours are the same as the 76 and earlier z1"s i have a spare set u can have if u like.

i'm putting a 4 brush j starter on mine.
if that fails, i still have the tried and true kick starter.

no thanks, i already got a set, i just havent had the time to pull the rotor off.

I have 1325 10.5:1 & used a 1980 CB900 Custome starter and had no problem with the key breaking. I did break a key with the stock starter because it just had enough power to turn it over and sometimes it would kick back and then break the key. With the honda starter it turned over great. Another thing to change is use a bigger wire going to the starter when you change the starter.

im suprised nobody mentioned adding a small second battery you can hide somewhere and go with a 24v starting circuit. really helps bike bikes start, especially when hot. the rest of the bike is still 12v....
for example on a zx12r that had a 1361 kit with about 13:1 compression ratio(pump gas) sometimes had trouble starting when hot. switched to 24v. problem solved. now hes running a 1427, over 16:1 compression ratio(c44 race gas) still starts fine....