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Thanx Rob, that helps. Not being able to see the gears engage is a little worrisome. I don't want to hear any grinding when I crank the engine!

Installed the new starter today and all seems well. No intermittent starting. I never found anything interfering with the install as far as the crankcase casting is concerned. The gear reduction starter is obviously using a lot less amperage. After about 20 tries, with spark plugs in, my new battery is still at 98% charged! I hope I can get another 37 years out of this starter Thanx for all your help! I learned a lot about starters. Think I'll take the old one apart, and service it up. Here is a shot, bolted in and wired up

Yes I pushed the cover for the lower connector on.

Looks good, hope it proves reliable...

Rob

Valao starter needed change on my 94 mystic r100r. Was grinding and becoming erratic.Bought a brand new one from euro moto. The magnets inside had come loose and destroyed the armature of the motor. Common problem with early Valero starters I hear.

Gibson wrote: ↑Mon Mar 01, 2021 5:58 pm Valao starter needed change on my 94 mystic r100r. Was grinding and becoming erratic.Bought a brand new one from euro moto. The magnets inside had come loose and destroyed the armature of the motor. Common problem with early Valero starters I hear.

I read that too. The one I used is a copy of the improved Valeo. Very good price and cranks easily. This adage about: you get what you pay for, died for me many decades ago.

So I'm riding R100S again, and the new cheapo starter works a treat. $115. vs $650 from the stealer. Starts are effortless, and feel like much less draw, no doubt due to the gear reduction design (planetary gears) of the new Valeo type starter. Because I have a real motorcycle, (AKA one with a kick start) I really don't have to worry if the starter fails. Important.... as I ride in remote areas.

ZM said "Starts are effortless, and feel like much less draw, no doubt due to the gear reduction design (planetary gears) of the new Valeo type starter."

It's not really fair to compare your brand new Valeo starter to your decades old dried up and partially seized Bosch starter.
A new (or properly rebuilt) Bosch starter starts as well as any new Valeo.
The super low price of the new jobber starters now available makes rebuilding airhead starters a waste of time, unless you're anally obsessed with originality.
I'm pretty sure these mass produced jobber starters don't just fit BMW airheads, that's probably why they're so inexpensive.
They probably also have automotive applications (Fiat 500? Smartcar?)
If they were specifically made in small quantities just for airheads, I'm sure they would cost way more.

Don't underestimate your new 500cca battery as a major contributor to this newfound "effortless" starting.

Both the original Bosch and Valeo starters were specified on various contemporary cars although in some cases, they were fitted with different nose castings or pinions to fit different crankcases or flywheels. I suspect the same is true of the 'jobber' starters.

Rob

SteveD wrote: ↑Thu Apr 22, 2021 9:26 pm So if we keep the nose casting we can access starters from caryards! Is there a list of these cars somewhere?

I guess a caryard there is what we call a scrapyard here.

Why bother when a complete brand new starter is only about $70 USD? ( $99 CDN )
https://www.kijiji.ca/v-pieces-accessoi ... JXj85j-Zg-