starter?

[tbutera2112]

ok well the vmax has been having starting issues...ever since it got cold it wouldnt wanna fire up

i assumed it was the battery, but it also sounds like maybe the starter

battery looks like this

does that mean i need to add water to it until its up to the upper level? ive never had a battery that wasnt maintenance free..

also, it has 12.7v across the terminals

now the starter, when i push Start, a lot of times it will free spin, then i stop and if i adjust the choke and then try again sometimes it will turn over, and after failing to start it will usually start free spinning again...


what should i do? put water in the battery and replace the starter? is there something im missing about these batteries? or would the low water cause the bike to not start like that?

 

[tbutera2112]

exploded starter

 

[one2dmax]

Sounds like starter clutch is going out.

The voltage is good on the battery (but what does it drop too when cranking). Fully charge is 2.1V per cell so a 6 cell battery will give 12.6V

I would add some distilled water to bring the level up to full and add a 2 amp charge to it for awhile. It's ok as is but to the low line as you can see.

 

[gamorg02]

sounds like your starter clutch isn't holding man. sorry to say. i usually put fluid right between the two lines so looks like 1/2 are good, 1/2 could use some more.

vmaxs pull a lot of power, and my old max didn't like the cold weather until i got a tender and left it on at night. then it was much better.

 

[tbutera2112]

its been sitting on the tender...my buddy is saying a gear in the clutch is probably bad...i can buy the gears separately, is the clutch repairable or do i have to buy a new one?

 

[tbutera2112]

also, is this hard to change? ive never worked on a bike really...i have the manual here though

 

[tbutera2112]

manual looks like i pull the left side cover, pull the idler gears, pull the flywheel, and then pull the starter clutch gear?

 

[gamorg02]

essentially yea. the gears are probably fine, its more the clutch (parts - 8,9,10,11)

hardest part is knocking off the flywheel. i've never done a vmax one before and its a bitch for most. nice puller and some patience and a big hammer i think help most.

 

[tbutera2112]

my buddy is going to loan me the puller...i cant get the bolt off though... im not sure which direction to spin in and im afraid of breaking it....

i know i need to hold the big nut with a wrench and spin the bolt...but do i spin it left like a normal bolt, or would i need to spin it right since its threaded into something? clockwise or counter?

then i pull the bolt, washer, and pin

then i pull the flywheel...right?

 

[one2dmax]

There is a thread with everything you need and pictures. The bolt is normal threaded. The part is #7 for the complete assembly plus maybe a new ring gear #6. You may only need new bolts which are #11's (3 of them).

It looks to me like they aren't staked/peened in place very well (you can see the ends of them in the picture you posted). Try wiggling them with the tip of your finger and see if they feel loose.

Sean

 

[dannymax]

Pretty sure it's a right handed thread so you would twist CCW to remove it. Check the threads on the puller for verification.

 

[tbutera2112]

i cant get the flywheel bolt off....should i go buy a big breaker bar and try that? using a 1/2" ratchet with a 3/4 socket on it and its not budging

 

[tbutera2112]

There is a thread with everything you need and pictures. The bolt is normal threaded. The part is #7 for the complete assembly plus maybe a new ring gear #6. You may only need new bolts which are #11's (3 of them).

It looks to me like they aren't staked/peened in place very well (you can see the ends of them in the picture you posted). Try wiggling them with the tip of your finger and see if they feel loose.

Sean

they dont wiggle

 

[dannymax]

i cant get the flywheel bolt off....should i go buy a big breaker bar and try that? using a 1/2" ratchet with a 3/4 socket on it and its not budging

Smack the ratchet handle with a hammer.....sometimes a sharp impact will work where steady pressure won't.

 

[tothemax93]

I just changed the starter clutch on my vmax a few days ago. It's not a bad job. Do a search for starter clutch and that will give you a lot of info. My flywheel was a walk in the park to get off, but thats because it had been off recently. there are a lot of stories about how difficult they can be. Someone had recently changed the starter clutch in my bike before I bought it, but they didn't put it back together correctly, so the bolts loosened up again. Make sure you get new bolts for the starter clutch, use loctite, and peen the end of the bolt over. Here are a few pics from mine.

I out lined the gasket to get all the bolts back in the same holes, Advice from the board.

Where the starter clutch bolts to the flywheel, those are the three bolts that loosen or break


Tim

 

[tbutera2112]

everyone on my local forum is telling me its a bad battery and that im an idiot.....could this be a battery? they say bikes are different than cars or something

 

[tothemax93]

You said in your original post that it would spin free sometimes, and sometimes turn over. If the battery is bad how could it turn over. Were you jumping it.:ummm: How fast was it turning over when it wouldn't start. Did you ever get the flywheel off to see the starter clutch.

 

[tbutera2112]

i personally dont think the battery is bad...im having it tested tomorrow... and when it would catch and turn over it would turn out fast like it wanted to start, and sometimes it would start...

and i havent gotten the flywheel off yet, gave up on that bolt for now....couldnt hold the wrench and ratchet and swing a hammer at the same time so i walked away from it for a few and then got busy

but everyone on my local bike site swears it the battery but it just doesnt make sense that its the battery.... if the battery was bad, i dont see why it would sometimes turn over and sometimes not...and why sometimes it would start

 

[dannymax]

i personally dont think the battery is bad...im having it tested tomorrow... and when it would catch and turn over it would turn out fast like it wanted to start, and sometimes it would start...

and i havent gotten the flywheel off yet, gave up on that bolt for now....couldnt hold the wrench and ratchet and swing a hammer at the same time so i walked away from it for a few and then got busy

but everyone on my local bike site swears it the battery but it just doesnt make sense that its the battery.... if the battery was bad, i dont see why it would sometimes turn over and sometimes not...and why sometimes it would start

Prop wrench on a block of wood, stack of 2 x 6's, whatever will hold it so it won't turn, then give the ratchet a whack.

 

[tbutera2112]

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