Starter trouble - Again.

Hi all,

I'm on my 3rd starter, and they all have the same problem. Hitting the start button gives off a grinding sound. The starter does not have enough umph to turn the engine. Eventualy with enough screaming, griping, grinding it does start to turn but only a 1/4 to 2 full turns, and if she doesn't start with that, we're at it again with the grinding.

No there are no problems with the starter clutch or gears or anything else.

I did notice on the Kawasaki site that the replacement part is 21163-1143

Which is also a SM-13 and a SM-8207. I'm guessing these are all drop in replacements.

Has anybody worked with these starters? are they any stronger than the original SM-226k which Honda used in their CB750

How's the battery? I think if your battery is on the weak side, it may not provide the starter clutch enough jam torque needed to hold it tight through the cranking process.

Anyone else got an idea?

Unfortunately it does the same thing when I jump it from my truck. Just much louder growling.

Sounds like a bad starter clutch. The grinding is the rollers grabbing and slipping at high speed usually. Often the shaft the rollers ride on gets small flat spots that the rollers slip over. Unfortunately, to remove the clutch the engines lower end has to be cracked open and the secondary shaft assy removed. I just changed one in a Honda CB360 that could be turned by hand, but slipped like crazy under power.

Thanks Wargoth,

I've already check the starter clutch. That was the original problem I had with the bike when I bought it. I've checked it again and the rollers are fine.

The motor does not turn when the whining occurs. I can tell when I pulled the stator cover and put a socket over the starter gear.

The rollers in the clutch aren't all of the problem with the starter clutch, the springs that push them out break or get weak, the hub of the gear it rides on gets flat spots, also the housing can get wear spots and burrs that hang up the rollers. I just rebuilt mine and just replaced it all and it works flawlessly.

k,

Is there a rebuild kit available? How bad was it to replace the needle bearings?

Z1 enterprises sells a kit for it includes the rollers, pins and springs. but you'll need to replace the gear that it rides on or it will just do the same thing very shortly. since I'm not sure what bike you have, if it is a kz650 the starter clutch comes out the oil pan. If you use the search function you will find many others who have done it and posted tutorials.

Just so its not overlooked, check your ground. Mine was rolling slow and sounded funny and the ground was all that was wrong.

Sorry KZipper thought I had posted, it's a 81 kz1100-A1.

So the starter clutch gear could be the culprit?

If I can turn the starter clutch by hand and it locks, and I don't find any broken pins, springs or flat spot on the rollers, can that just be the problem?

It's not the rollers that get the flat spots, it is the hub on the gear it engages, the springs also will get weak and cause the rollers to not grab hard enough.

It seems pretty easy to do on the kz1100

Here is a link to parts Parts Diagram
You need to replace #16085 and I would recommend #92046 along with all the rollers, pins and springs available in a kit from Z1 Enterprises