NT 700 V6 Starter motor failure

Ged

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Over the last 2 months when starting my bike it cranked over slowly but managed to start. It became noticeably worse when the weather got colder and struggled when starting from warm sometimes. I explored the starting system cleaning all the terminals and the battery was reading over 13 volts. In the end the bike would turn over cranking slow discharging the battery but not starting. I used a car battery to jump start the bike and the starter cranked over slowly for longer and then seized up with the starter solenoid just clicking.
I decided to purchase a second hand starter motor that looked in excellent condition, and came with the power lead. I wired this to the solenoid and earthed the motor and it ran fine, with the pinion easy to turn.
Having read an article on your forum about starter motor removal with a link attached to you tube that has an added comment about the need to remove the exhaust system.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0MgbfKSpsUg
I decided to remove the starter motor and check that it had seized prior to this I removed the plastics to raise the fuel tank and have access to the aperture on the nearside where the motor would be removed from. I disconnected the relevant plugs after removing the water pump cover, and unclipped the wiring loosening the coil pack and earthling point. I removed the motor from its mounting and tilted it up and tried to turn the pinon gear that was seized solid. The motor would not come up to turn to align with the access aperture as it fouled the rear nearside manifold mounting bolt/stud. Having read the comments on the you tube I decided to remove the rear muffler as it had a broken fastener on the heatshield. I then removed the manifold rear nearside bolt that I expected to be a stud. When I removed the bolt the downpipe tilted to the offside slightly. I aligned the motor to face the exit aperture and attached a pair of mole grips to the pinion, after twisting the motor around it did come out after a struggle. When the motor was removed I noticed it would turn with force but made a grinding noise.
Refitting went well I applied some spray lube to the replacement motor body, this aided its entry through the access aperture and took me a bit of time aligning the motor back into its housing. I connected everything back up and lowered the tank fitted the battery and she burst into life first press.
I was well pleased with the result.:smile::smile:
Several days later I decided to dismantle the failed starter motor, finding that at least one of the case magnets had completely disintegrated with many of the others loose, looks like the adhesive failed or was not applied correctly. The armature had managed to grind these to dust.
I also noted the brush lengths measured 10.5 mm with the bike just turning 30k. I hope this is useful to other members as although I do believe starter motor failure is rare.
 

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DirtFlier

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I have around 65k miles on my 2010 NT and the starter is still OK. You're probably correct that starter motor failure on this model is rare.
 

RedLdr1

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I vaguely recall Honda had a problem with the magnets adhesive failing in their car starters awhile back. It might be worth a call to Honda customer service to see if they will help pay for your replacement...
 

DirtFlier

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The original poster lives in the UK and that makes it a completely different ball game in regards to "good will" warranty.
 
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Although it is not really relevent in this case, the British owners have many problems that we OZ and probably US owners do not strike due to the salting of their roads in Winter.
You can see the corrosion on the components in the picture.
Rusting failures of centre and side stands, brake pedal pivots seizing, lower Monoshock bearing failures etc are all common over there.
In OZ we do not salt our roads and rust/corrosion problems are rare.
My NT700V8 still looks almost new underneath and I have not found any rust anywhere on the bike.
I must confess though that I am very thorough when washing the bike.

Macka
 

DirtFlier

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I agree about the heavy corrosion on bikes in the UK. A few years ago, I saw photos on the NT-UK website of the lower shock mount on a 650 Deauville that had completed rusted away so the shock had become detached! There are also plenty of stories about centerstands that rusted away from the frame crossbar, plus they seem to have an inordinate amount of electrical ills related to corrosion of connectors and other parts. Living on an island surrounded by salt water is not easy.

A few years ago, many counties in Ohio started using a liquid-based on beet juice to prevent freezing on roads and since then, we've been gradually moving away from the use of salt during the winter. I don't know if there's a cost benefit but the underside of cars certainly appreciate the change!
 
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After I read your post, DirtFlier, I did some searching and it seems that there are several mixtures that use Beet Juice (NOT Beetle Juice HA HA) but it seems most still use rock salt in the mix.
Perhaps this is enough to stop or reduce the corrosion.

Macka
 

DirtFlier

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Instead of sprinkling salt all over the road, the beet juice is applied via a spray bar on the back of a small tanker truck and it's not unlike devices used by farmers to spread fertilizer. The nozzles on the spray bar have a narrow focus so when they're done, you can easily see the five stripes going up the roadway. I'd guess each stripe as 6-8" wide and they seem to do the trick.
 
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Less salt may mean less roadway damage as well as less eating vehicles away.
Salt is tough on stuff.

Brad
 

DirtFlier

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Salt doesn't seem to effect blacktop so much but it does damage the surface of concrete, plus it's not good for the green areas along the roadway.

ps. oops...it seems as if we high-jacked the electric starter subject and it morphed into winter road treatment. Sorry. :-(
 
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Phil Tarman

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ps. oops...it seems as if we high-jacked the electric starter subject and it morphed into winter road treatment. Sorry. :-(
Ahh, don't worry about it. Some of our best stuff happens when we wander away from the initial subject.
 
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I just have to remember not to park the NT where the salt trucks spray salt all over the starter.
See, it's still connected to the subject.

Brad
 

mikesim

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The first thing to do is check your battery. That's the most likely culprit.

Mike
 
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Yes I did. Even got a new one. Its like “Ged” Who started this thread. Same story. The bike had an hard time to start more and more The last few days till it seized even with a new battery 13v, jumping cable with a car ect....
 
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Years ago the starter in my 84 Suzuki 1150 was behaving in a similar way to yours. It would always start but struggled. I took the starter apart and lubricated the bearings on each end of the armature. It made a huge difference in the cranking speed.
 

Phil Tarman

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Hey, Fredo! Welcome to our Forum. I hope you get your issue figured out and I'm sure somebody in this group will give you the solution.

BTW, let me invite you to introduce yourself to the Forum. We've got a great group and we'd love to know something about your riding/ownership experiences.
 
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Hi Phil. Thanks for the kind words. i’d love to introduce myself but couldn’t find the new members thread.
 
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