Any advice would be most appreciated please gentlemen.

He (91 LT) has done v well indeed managing to cross the Pyrenees into Spain with 2up FULLY loaded and has limped into Sitges nr Barcelona where we are staying for 6 nights. So far 1500 miles.

The problem(s). First off, the starter motor would not turn. An intermittent fault,worse when v hot. Always managed to correct by rocking bike in 2 nd gear (remember doing that with my first mini in 1977!) Been doing this for 2 days. Seems random . New battery.

Next up,headlight and rear light turn off when bike starts,spontaneously corrects itself,random at first,now lights will not come on at all when ignition is on before crank.

Soon after,in fact only on the last 10m of our journey which was within the past 2 hrs, the indicators are both coming on when either turn switch or cancel switch are pressed.

So there you have it gentlemen. Whilst I do have a fairly good toolkit on board, I am,as you are probably aware by now ,firmly rooted in the forums premier league of crap mechanics ,so would very much appreciate your kind help.

Cheers and thanks

Jonnyqq

Sounds like you need new starter brushes.

http://hrsbstaff.ednet.ns.ca/bvogel/K100/starter/index.html

Sometimes also cleaning the commutator with a ereaser rubber could help as a emergency repair (if the positive brush isn`t totaly worn out).

Yep. Agreed. The classic symptom of worn carbon brushes gone awry inside the starter. A veritable dust-up of sorts! Time for an internal clean up, and perhaps replacement of the brush pack.

It's not a difficult job at all, and in fact should be listed as routine maintenance every twenty, thirty thousand kilometres or so...

That link and a quick forum search about the subject will get you a whole heap of info (and complaints) about this common K Bike issue.

Thank you VERY much indeed.
I shall set to it tomorrow morning.
Best wishes

Jonnyqq

good luck johnny ...it isnt hard to do ...

Before dismantling: mark the position on the stator relative to the rear end cover
(with the brushes).

If the stator being turned 180 degree when putting the parts back together
(easily done) the starter would turn the wrong direction.

Inge K. wrote:Before dismantling: mark the position on the stator relative to the rear end cover
(with the brushes).

If the stator being turned 180 degree when putting the parts back together
(easily done) the starter would turn the wrong direction.

Hmm, could give me reverse........

Paul.

sidecar paul wrote:Hmm, could give me reverse........

Paul.

..............................to bad that they did install that bloody f#%¤n sprag clutch at the factory

Starter motor job like that can be done roadside, all you need is the Allen key to undo the bolts. Battery out and you have space.

In fact there are two markings about 5mm apart on the casing and two matching ones on the end cover thast need to align, but a sharp screwdriver to make aligining scratches will work fine. A small piece of 1200 grade wet and dry used dry will clean off the residue and goo. A good clean out is important.

I do not wish to sound negative but I had the exact same symptomns and dismantling/cleaning the starter motor didnt cure it, it only was solved when I replaced the ECU.

http://t.co/22SKAOfY

Interesting!

The above link should give a twitter pic of the dismantled starter motor. Inside the housing was a loose washer stuck between a magnet and the thingy inside that looks like the Mole from Thunderbirds!

My guess is the thin washer should be over the non-gear end as it fits there perfectly and that is was not put on correctly (at all) last time it was taken off!

Furthermore gentlemen,could this nomadic washer have been the cause of Mr K2's problems?

Once again I thank you and will stand tiptoe awaiting your views

Cheers

Jonnyqq

Probably Jonny, you are lucky nothing damaged inside - that steel washer is rather sharp.

Good luck with bike

It is fixed! Starts,lights and turn indicators all fin

As the starter mechanism was in fact clean the cause was the thin washer that was free inside the starter.

Thanks again gentlemen. Onwards now to Northern Spain and Pico mountains.

Cheers

Jonnyqq.

i would plan for a brush replacement if you havent done it jonny .

the brush contacts are the main earth path through the armature for the load shed operation . the washer being caught in amongst the feild winding would or could certainly make starting harder as the magnetic feild created around it would affect the amount of current that the starter would draw under start conditions .not counting any damage it may have done to the windings on the armature and brushes ...

the pic didnt really show any detail to the areas that it may have affected

i wonder if the washer could have jammed the armature in a non contact type situation where the brushes werent mating up properly to the sectors of the armature ?

good luck mate

All good advice from the gang as always recently done mine, take care on your travels Jonny and enjoy the holiday



BIG D

BIG D wrote:

All good advice from the gang as always recently done mine, take care on your travels Jonny and enjoy the holiday



BIG D

+1.....all except the recently done mine bit:)

Great result Jonnyqq , not the classic case as predicted by the gurus but that washer was doing the same thing obviously !

How do you "rate " out of 10, the confidence these guys on the forum gave you to tackle the fix ?

Gueten faht .

It is without any doubt whatsoever that the members of this forum may be relied upon with total impunity. So once again the score for me is a def 10/10

Back home safe and sound. Thanks again guys for ur help. Will def look at Brush replacement as you suggested Charlie

Cheers

Jonnyqq

good to hear you made it jonny .....enjoy brother !