CB360 1975 Starter Motor Issue

[Madagas2002]

Hi All,

The starter motor on my bike is refusing to turn over.
The solenoid is clicking but nothing at the motor.
All the other electrics are working. I've also checked the earths.
The battery is fully charged.
A curious thing is the kick start turns, but is sticking, which it has never done before.
Could these issues be related?
Thanks in advance for any help and advice.
John
 

[McCabe-Thiele (Ted)]

Personally I would remove the starter motor and test it using a slave battery - I have an old car battery that I use.

[Johnny4428]

As a quick test I would be tempted to try manual switching method.

[Bryanj]

Solenoids fail more often than starters, take a big old screwdriver and use it to bridge the two big contacts on the solenoid, big spark and starter turns you need new solenoid, no spark and no turn strip the starter as brushes could be worn out

[AshimotoK0]

I would also look at the sprag clutch on the alternator rotor.

[Sesman]

Strip the solenoid. You will probably find that the copper contact strip mounted on the solenoid shaft is corroded or arc burnt to an extent that it doesn’t make good  contact with the fixed pins.

[AshimotoK0]

Strip the solenoid. You will probably find that the copper contact strip mounted on the solenoid shaft is corroded or arc burnt to an extent that it doesn’t make good  contact with the fixed pins.

Then if it is damaged you can  turn it upside down.

[Madagas2002]

Hi All,
Thanks for your help.
I put a wire across the solenoid terminals and got a spark, but the starter motor didn't turn.

[Sesman]

Which obviously points to the motor.

[AshimotoK0]

Which obviously points to the motor.

Or the starter clutch... any nasty noises when it was working?

[Madagas2002]

I used a refurb kit on the starter and I always thought it sounded slow, but no nasty noises.
I probably need to take the starter motor off (or hook a battery directly to it) and see if that's the problem.

Would a jump starter pack work instead of a battery?

[AshimotoK0]

I used a refurb kit on the starter and I always thought it sounded slow, but no nasty noises.
I probably need to take the starter motor off (or hook a battery directly to it) and see if that's the problem.

Would a jump starter pack work instead of a battery?

Agree

[Sesman]

Just a thought, but are you sure the battery is delivering amps? Although the off load voltage may indicate a healthy battery, it isn’t necessarily correct. A duff battery will create the symptoms you have described. Using a known healthy battery would be helpful in the first instance before moving on to the sole load and starter/sprag assembly. Just a suggestion.

[Sesman]

Just read through the posts and Teds already suggested this. I’m not sure if the kickstarter binding is of importance or not.

[SteveW]

Might be worth removing starter and opening it up, this is what my 650 looked like.
It was making a terrible noise when trying to start the bike, once cleaned up it was fine.