Author Topic: Starter nut problem? (Read 10650 times)

PeteSC · « **on:** June 28, 2005, 09:22:21 PM »

Somebody remind me which nut or bolt it is that falls off on the the older 1200s, rendering the starter useless.
Seems it strands at least one rider a year, and it's a pretty easy roadside fix.
If somebody could tell me exactly which one it is....I post a diagram from the service or parts manual, and an explanation in the FAQ.

(As well as check my own!)

I think this stranded Madmotorcyclist last year, and ElWayne the year before......
Bound to come up again....

Red01 · « **Reply #1 on:** June 28, 2005, 09:38:55 PM »

It's the bolt that retains the starter clutch on the left end of the crank. It has happened to both 1G & 2G B12's and could happen to any B6 as well since they're setup just like the 1200. The bolt is #4 in the pic below:

PeteSC · « **Reply #2 on:** June 29, 2005, 12:40:17 AM »

I knew it had something to do with the starter.

See, I'm not the only potentially loose nut on a Bandit?

PitterB4 · « **Reply #3 on:** June 29, 2005, 08:27:11 AM »

Quote from: "PeteSC"

See, I'm not the only potentially loose nut on a Bandit?

Come on, Pete. Come clean. You only asked the question to set up that one-liner, didn't you????

PeteSC · « **Reply #4 on:** June 29, 2005, 09:48:54 AM »

No, actually, everytime this problem comes up, I'm unable to explain to people what part fell off, and how to fix it. And it comes up about once a year....I also keep intending to check mine!!!!

Remember when Madmotorcyclist aborted an Iron Butt run and trailered the bike home? Think it was last year.
ElWayne fixed his in a Walmart parking lot near Knoxville one time.

If you know what to check for, you can fix it on the side of the road, for 'free'.

PeteSC · « **Reply #5 on:** June 29, 2005, 09:55:06 AM »

Now I'm confused...again.
I looked in the haynes manual, and see they're using a special Suz tool to remove the starter clutch.
If you were just going to tighten it up in the 'field'. WOuld you need a special tool, or how would you hold the thing in place to tighten it?

Red01 · « **Reply #6 on:** June 30, 2005, 12:41:31 AM »

I'm too lazy to pull up the manual (it's not d/l'd on this machine @ work), but I'm guessing you only need the tool to removed the stater clutch itself from the crank. (Given the ease some of them come off with the bolt loose, I wonder if it is really needed though.)

To just tighten the bolt, all you should need is the rear tire on the ground and the bike in gear so the motor won't turn over when you tighten the bolt. Worse case scenario, you'd have to apply the rear brake, too.

Bazza · « **Reply #7 on:** July 18, 2005, 03:57:03 AM »

Hey Pete:

Paul is correct, you can re-torque the bolt with the rear wheel on the ground and the bike in gear.

Oh, and by the way, that puppy will come loose on newer B-12's also.

Bazza

Red01 · « **Reply #8 on:** July 19, 2005, 10:47:13 PM »

Quote from: "Bazza"

Oh, and by the way, that puppy will come loose on newer B-12's also.

In fact, the 2G's seem to fall victim to this more than the 1G's for some odd reason.

Daytona · « **Reply #9 on:** July 21, 2005, 12:54:25 PM »

Quote from: "Red01"

Quote from: "Bazza"
Oh, and by the way, that puppy will come loose on newer B-12's also.

In fact, the 2G's seem to fall victim to this more than the 1G's for some odd reason.

Is there any warning (noise ? starter drag / not engaging etc etc etc) before this happens????? Any amount of miles on bike, that this seems to show up??

Red01 · « **Reply #10 on:** July 21, 2005, 07:28:43 PM »

Not usually any early warning signs. Once they get loose, the bike just won't start with the starter. They usually work their way loose at low mileage because some monkey on the assembly line didn't torque it or locktite it properly. Simple enough to fix with the toolkit under the seat on the side of the road/parking lot if you had to.

bandibull · « **Reply #11 on:** July 23, 2005, 09:53:31 AM »

Right, the early warning sign is the bike not starting.
The plus side of this is that normally if you let the bike set for
a while it will go ahead and start normally.

I bought my bike from someone who did not frequent this site and
got quite a deal on a '98 G1 B12. It was a couple of weeks before
I got around to fixing the problem so I just rode it and if it wouldn't
start I waited a few minutes and if still not catching than I put it
and second and gave it a push start.

I'd have to say that the bike started 3 times out of 4 though if
I had let things go much longer those odds would have likely dropped
considerably.

Bazza · « **Reply #12 on:** July 23, 2005, 08:59:13 PM »

No warning in my case, I just went to hit the starter once an instead of that nice little growl, I got a nasty little starter motor type hum.

I re-torqued mine to specs with thread lock, and it has been no problem for a year and a half.

I believe this problem is just a screw up of not torquing the bolt to specs during assembly.

Red01 · « **Reply #13 on:** July 23, 2005, 09:13:24 PM »

I wouldn't put off retorqueing the bolt once the stater fails to turn the motor over the first time... once the bolt is loose, it could fly off and if you still have the stock covers, you could end up with one that looks like this:

Dale Walker had a starter bolt fly off a 2G B12 he was dyno testing and almost got hit with the flying bolt when it came thru the cover!

Bazza · « **Reply #14 on:** September 16, 2005, 08:41:06 PM »

I spoke with the service writer at my local dealership about this problem and he tells me that they have seen a couple of Bandits with the loose starter nut, and once repaired they have never seen them again. So I guess the theory of incorrect torquing or not using locktight at the factory may hold true.

He did tell me that there are other Suzuki models where it is a re-occuring problem.