Permanent solution for starter clutch problems

poppop · May 2, 2011

dingy said:
As some of you know I am a closet Vmax kinda guy. I have an 83 1st gen Venture, which is the bike the VMax was developed from, with some of the fast Vmax parts on it.

One of the issues the Vmax's seem to share with the 1st gen Ventures is the failure rate of the starter clutch. One of our long time members ( we don't call them Juniors or Seniors over there) has developed a fix that will 99.999% eliminate the starter clutch problem. Attached are some pictures of the mod he is doing. I have talked with him about doing this for the members on this group and he will help those interested.

What it basically consists of is installing a multi-element sprag clutch into the rotor along with a heavier 72 tooth gear. The sprag clutch has been around a long time and is used in many industrial and automotive applications. The one he has developed uses 19 element, spring loaded elliptical sprags compared to our 3 roller set up.

This site may explain a little more about how sprags work.

http://www.gmnbt.com/freewheel_technology.htm

The primary thread that deals with this is located at the VentureRider.org site:

http://www.venturerider.org/forum/showthread.php?t=44547

The cost is $295 including return shipping (US only, others locations vary), and I believe this included the two side cover gaskets.

If you would like to contact him, PM me and I will send you his contact info.

I am not involved in any way with this other than sharing its availability with this group.

Gary

thanks dan is a great guy,work is top notch ;i hate doing things twice ;its fixed;thanks for posting take care'

davidon · Jun 1, 2013

Bringing this up again because i'm getting heavy Rock sounds trying to hot start. Anyone else do this?

davidon · Jun 1, 2013

Talked to the guy..gonna give this a go. By the way had the PCW HD starter clutch mod but the bolts were not the problem..cracked starter..and the bolts are tack welded.:bang head:

Suave Cowboy · Jun 12, 2013

I keep my battery tender on my bike when I don't ride it. Before I had some trouble getting it to turn over if it was cold or hadn't been ridden in a while, but now it's been 10x better. I had no idea it could've been something like this. A bit pricey, but that sounds like a good solution instead of sticking a band aid over it with the tender.

davidon · Jun 28, 2013

Finally got this back completed after what he told me was the longest it has ever taken to do the mod. A couple of unique obstacles had to be overcome in my case. Im a big supporter of PCW but I do not recommend their HD starter clutch mod. The bolts are tack welded to prevent movement but when the SC itself cracks it's a royal PITA to get the SC off the flywheel. Dan also mentioned the new SC itself did not look perfect so he had to reorder/exchange the part which added to the delay. He finally overnighted the part after completion to get it to me because I was heading out of town the next day. So a big thanks to Dan for the work. If your SC cracks I recommend doing this fix. Comes with new sprag bearing precision machined to flywheel, new SC, and new/different ring gear.