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Took a nice long ride on my R90s yesterday. She ran so well that I was even telling her sorry for leaving her sit for so long.

I get home and decide to synch the carbs, but when I go to start her, the starter is sounding weak and then starts to click.

The starter is a Valeo unit, about 8 years 16 years old and never been service. Prior to yesterday, the starter was sounding a bit tired so not at all surprising. Battery is full charged and I checked the voltage at the wire coming into the starter solenoid and got a solid 12.7vdc when pressing the starter button.

I guess I'll remove it and tear it down to see what's amiss.

jimmyg

Is this one of the early units with the magnets that were glued to the inside diameter of the casing?

Kurt in S.A.

I'm sure it is Kurt. I'll know more when I tear into it, but for the last month or so, it seems like it was struggling to spin.

Some mornings I find that my starter is sluggish. I force myself to go for a walk and then I get better and can then I can easily get started on other things.

Time for my nap.

Before pulling the starter I suggest having the battery load tested. While it may read the 12.7 vDC it may not have enough cranking amps. If that tests well, then are all wiring contact points clean? If all of the above is good to go, then it may be starter needs to be rebuilt.

Thank you MCrenshaw,

I was just thinking about that. In fact, the Westco battery in the bike is 8.5 years old and it may be down in cranking amps, despite the correct voltage. I am going to pull the starter tonight and bench test with my 1 year old boat battery.

jimmyg

You don't need to go to any trouble finding a way to load test the battery, but it is a great idea. Just use a car battery to jump it. That would provide plenty of cranking amps.

If you remove the starter, you can't easily test it as it has no load on it.

However, one should never get that many years out of a battery. I wouldn't bother with any testing, just go and replace it.

jimmyg wrote: I am going to pull the starter tonight and bench test with my 1 year old boat battery.

You have an RT as well?

ME 109 wrote:You have an RT as well?

RTs have their uses, ME. I pulled mine out of the extended family's storage garage today for the riding season. Rode home 55 miles non-stop in 48F/9C overcast with no jacket liner or any electric clothing widgetry. A tad bracing, yes, but do-able.

And, now, it's time for a seasonal battery thread:

jimmyg wrote: In fact, the Westco battery in the bike is 8.5 years old and it may be down in cranking amps, despite the correct voltage. I am going to pull the starter tonight and bench test with my 1 year old boat battery. jimmyg

Duane Ausherman wrote:However, one should never get that many years out of a battery. I wouldn't bother with any testing, just go and replace it.

That's a Westco. I've heard the theories on why slosh batteries are "better":
1. "The OEM charging system wasn't designed to meet the recharging curve of sealed lead-acid batteries"---yup, JimmyG's charging system obviously failed to recharge that ill-suited thing effectively---for 8.5 years. Silly Jimmy.
2. "SLAs die suddenly, while my trusty sloshes always give me lots of warning before they completely die"---sure, and why wouldn't anyone prefer weak starting beginning at Year 3.5 to a prophylactic new battery purchase at Year 8?

On the starter, Jimmy, I've had Motorrad Electrik rebuild my old Bosch, but it's really only a bit better. The next "preventative" parts replacement for my 32yr-old RT will be a Denso---pricey, maybe, but my 2 Toyotas show me every day that Denso does lots of things right, and solo bump-starting after 50 is a drag.