imported post
Hi Drewspires and welcome,
Your starter is showing all the signs of exactly what was going on with mine, from the information I gathered on the forum, particularly a posting by Mr Magic Fingers, great guide, I know he describes the starter on a GL1100 but the GL1200 is very similar, and a new found friend in Curlytops, I got through the work with the minimum of fuss.
I have a 1984 GL1200 Aspencade, for me it was removal of the starter with the engine in the bike, and on the centre stand, removed the lower left fairing, the left engine bars, the gear shift, left running board, the inside left exhaust flangenuts and the inner most left exhaust stud, this must come off, the starter will not come away from the bike without this stud removed, disconnected the battery, the lead from the starter, important, use a slimline 10mm openend wrench on the bottom nut of the post when disconnecting the lead from the starter, use it as torque against the top nut removal for if the post starts to turn and severe the connection inside the starter you will have real problems, two 8mm bolts secure the starter, remove these and with a bit a "wiggleing" and outward push the starter will come out of the housing, pull the rear of the starter into the space made by the removal of the exhaust stud and she will clear the housing and out she will come.
I followed Mr Magic Fingers posting to the letter, new brushes and a total clean up of all parts, re-packed the planatery gears with grease etc, re-built the starter, bench tested and re-fitted by reversal, "A1" the bike starts on the button first time, hot or cold, what a difference, hope this helps, it sounds a daunting task but it really is easy going and of course there is the satisfaction of getting the job done yourself.
