Bandit 400 Fuel Petcock Alternative

[SoEazy]

Try this:

Take the starter apart and clean and regrease the gear drive. I would bet money that the brushes and armature are fine and it's just filled with bakelite that used to be grease.

What will it cost you but a little time?

If it turned, even slowly, chances are it's this. Also, most hardware stores (good ones) carry brushes just in case yours are cooked. Lightly polish the commutator with some fine grit sandpaper and put it back together.

I'm game. This whole thing has been about repairing rather than replacing whenever possible. Plus there's the added bonus of doing it yourself. I'll give it a try tonight. BTW, I had to google commutator. Nothing like a good challenge. My wife likes to tease me and say it's not going to be right until you've replaced the whole bike.

Is there any maintenance that can be done to the solenoid? I would often have to bridge this with a screwdriver to get it kick.

I have a starter ('91 bandit)I'll part with. What country are you in?

I'm located in Charlotte, NC USA.  I'll definitely be interested in yours if cleaning my old one doesn't produce results. PM with a price.

[Mechannibalism]

 some starters can be "tricky" when putting the brushes in ,if you have any problems i can always take mine apart to instruct you. The problems with solenoids can be many, it is best to start with checking the current to the the coil (from the start switch) with too little current the solenoid will not pull in or just chatter like a dead battery. you can jumper it direct to the battery and measure the current with a meter then compare it to the measurement thru the st. switch.
  OR- the contacts to the starter may be burned or dirty, if water gets in this will gunk up the contacts. In the bad old days we us to take it apart and flip the contact washer over and file the brass bolt heads.
OR- the wire/connectors to the starter may faulty replace it anyway if it's old,~ cheap~ and easy.
good luck Rob
     

[SoEazy]

After a good cleaning, the starter is working again. I found an unbelievably thorough tutorial here http://goldwingdocs.com/forum/viewtopic.php?f=11&t=259 that guided me through the whole process. I will admit, getting the motor brushes back in place is more than a little challenging. The motor seems to work much better than it did before.

Unfortunately after fixing the starter the bike will not run.  Not sure what could possibly be wrong now. The solenoid is bad, I know that. But it appears I may have another fuel or spark issue. Oh boy, back to the drawing board.