82 GL1100 Aspencade Starter Refresh

34752 Views 91 Replies 47 Participants Last post by CrystalPistol, Dec 22, 2012

Mr Magic Fingers

Discussion Starter · Jul 1, 2009

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Hi Everyone,

I just completed a “refresh” of a really sluggish starter on my 82 Aspencade. It was sluggish at times (more times then not) and would sound like the battery was going dead. It would draw so much current that I lost my radio presets a few times. My battery is in good shape and seems to test fine on a stress test.

I had a golden opportunity to do this refresh as I was doing other work to the bike and the exhaust was off. I was staring right at it. It’s done and WOW! What a difference!! Not a hard job, no money involved for me, just my time. Here’s what I did.

First thing to note is that the bike was on the center stand. Some people say yes to this and others say no. My recommendation would be to have the bike on the center stand. This can be done with the exhaust system on but I am glad mine was off. I don’t think there would have been an issue with it on, just a bit more wrangling to get your hands in there.

VERY IMPORTANT – Remove the battery from your bike or at the very least disconnect the positive (RED) lead from the battery and TAPE it back so it can’t spring back to the battery post. No one wants a lead acid battery exploding in their face from a dead short! Safety comes first.

Here we go…

Remove the power cable that goes to the starter. VERY IMPORTANT - Make sure you use a thin end wrench to back up the lug when removing the nut from the positive lead. Ifthat bolt starts to turn it may sever the conection internaly and the starter may have to be replaced.

Remove the two bolts that mount the starter to the engine. Pull back the freed starter while wiggling it. When it is free from the engine, tilt it out and up until the starter shaft clears the engine and remove the starter. You may have to push down on the gear shift to gain a bit more room.

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Bozack0

· #89 · Jun 4, 2012

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About 30 min ago, I just finished installing a new starter, which I purchased from DB Electric for $85. My 83 Aspencade has chrome accents surrounding the headers. It looks nice, but the bottom starter screw is mounted directly behind the header, and it's impossible to reach with a conventional socket setup.

Anyway, two things I learned:
1. Use a swivel socket adapter (with extension) to reach and remove bottom bolt.
2. Manually push the rubber seal (on starter) towards the front of the bike in order to slide the spline in. The rubber seal will re-seat properly, once the starter is seated properly.

No need to remove gear shifter or exhaust headers to remove or reinstall starter.

Bike started up on the first try. BTW, initally I thought it was my solenoid relay, so I bought a new one. It was actually the starter. Anyway, I still have my old relay, that works fine, if anyone is interested in having it at no cost; it's yours. Just pay for the shipping which should be under $5. I paid $20 for my new one.

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