[dilithium]

Will someone who knows the inside of a GL1000 engine please tell
me what has happened here:

I recently had my GL1000 in a shop, where they pulled the engine,
and replaced the stator. Getting it back, I noticed a little bit
of growl when banking. Thought nothing of it. Then yesterday,
heavy and noisy internal growling when I was riding home from
work. I turned it off, and bivouacked for the night. In the
morning I decided to try to start it. Lots of growl at first,
then the growling died out, and it sounded normal when running.
Accidentally I shut it off. On restarting, the starter spun
freely without engaging anything. After a few seconds, it
engaged, and the engine started. I rode it home. No growl.
Today I took the starter out. The splines on the starter are
intact, not stripped. And it requires a nominal amount of force
to turn the starter by hand. So I think the starter is not the
problem. Inspecting the inside of the housing where the starter
mounts, the sprocket and chain look OK. They are not stripped.
The sprocket and chain do not rotate ccw. However, they rotate
clockwise very freely. I neglected to mark the chainbefore
rotating it. My questions:

Is the sprocket and chain supposed to rotate so freely like it
does?

Did I make a major timing error by not marking the chain before
rotating it?

Assuming the starter is OK, what is wrong, or, why is the starter
not engaging?

 

[glhonda]

Yes, the sprocket and chain rotate in one direction only. They are attached to the drive gear on the rotor shaft. There is a one way clutch housed in the end of the rotor. These components are not generally removed or disturbed during a stator replacement.
No, the chain is not indexed, so you can't put it in the wrong spot.
The noise and/or lack of engagement is caused by the one way clutch (ramp and roller) not "locking" up. Not uncommon. Not normal, either. You may need to use some seafoam or other engine cleaner in the crankcase to reduce the symptoms.

 

[dilithium]

Sounds like this problem is not associated with the stator replacement,
and I should not take it back to the shop and complain. I will try
changing the oil and filter, and adding an abundance of Seafoam.

Thank you, glhonda, for the info.

 

[glhonda]

Sounds like this problem is not associated with the stator replacement,
and I should not take it back to the shop and complain. I will try
changing the oil and filter, and adding an abundance of Seafoam.

Thank you, glhonda, for the info.

Careful on the "abundance" part of your seafoam. Use as directed.
Add the seafoam, run it, then change the oil/filter.

 

[DaveO430]

Kind of a pain on a 1000 because of the kick start but I would make sure the stator rotor bolt is tight.

 

[glhonda]

Kind of a pain on a 1000 because of the kick start but I would make sure the stator rotor bolt is tight.

Couldn't hurt.

 

[dilithium]

I have never added Seafoam to the oil. I drained out must of the
motor oil before removing the starter. Would it be OK to drain all
the oil, then fill it with some cheap Walmart motor oil mixed with
Seafoam, then drain all that, and fill with motorcycle oil?

Also, checking the shop manual, the starter sprocket is just inward of
the stator. Maybe the shop did not remove the sprocket, but it is all
on the same bolt, and following the advice of DaveO430, I checked
the stator bolt. It was not torqued properly -- it was not entirely
loose, but I tightened it with very little effort.

 

[glhonda]

Makes me question where you had it done. Somebody goofed. Did you get a parts list as to what was replaced? Rotors don't generally go bad, so there is no need to loosen that bolt. If the bolt was loose, take it back and have it double checked. Get some documentation for future leverage.

 

[dilithium]

I am not sure we are talking about the same bolt. The bolt I tightened
is the only one I can get to without removing the engine cover. Its head
is on the outside of the engine cover, and centered exactly over the
stator. I do not know what the stator rotor is. But the bolt I tightened --
the one whose head is on the outside of the engine cover, right over the
stator -- was loose.

I did in fact have a bad stator. It was putting out low voltage, the battery
was in constant need of recharging, and the voltmeter usually read 11
or less. I had previously met a Goldwing owner, who recommended a
guy in a nearby town who works on Hondas. He converted his garage
into a shop, and does not advertise. I thought he might be better than
the local Honda Bike Dealer. I am not taking my bike to him anymore,
unless my efforts fail to fix the internal growl. It sounded so bad it is
hard to believe nothing was damaged. But I hope nothing was seriously
damaged, because I really don't want this guy working on my bike. He
also left a radiator hose clamp insufficiently torqued, the coolant level
was low when I picked the bike up, and after he replaced the fork seals,
the bike runs straight and true, but the handlebars are turned slightly to
the left... The good news is the new stator works. The voltmeter is
usually at 14, and I have not needed to put the battery on a charger.

 

[DaveO430]

I am not sure we are talking about the same bolt. The bolt I tightened
is the only one I can get to without removing the engine cover. Its head
is on the outside of the engine cover, and centered exactly over the
stator. I do not know what the stator rotor is. But the bolt I tightened --
the one whose head is on the outside of the engine cover, right over the
stator -- was loose.

That is the cover plug over the aforementioned bolt. You have to remove it to access the rotor bolt. And don't over tighten the plug or it can be difficult to remove in the future.

 

[dilithium]

That is the cover plug over the aforementioned bolt. You have to remove it to access the rotor bolt. And don't over tighten the plug or it can be difficult to remove in the future.

OK. Removed cover plug. Had to remove L. peg also to get long wrench
handle with short 12mm socket in the right position. I turned the rotor bolt
clockwise using about 25 lb force. It is turning something inside which
clicks as it turns. It is hard to determine if I tightened it any. It seemed to
be a little harder to turn after 2 rotations or so. It turned the same in first
gear as in neutral. Cleaned and replaced cover plug. I have not yet tried to
turn it over. Have to get oil and Seafoam in it first...

 

[DaveO430]

When you turn that bolt it turns the engine unless you put it in gear and hold the rear wheel. 25lbs to turn it on a 10 or 12" handle is probably tight enough. Something should not click as it turns, unless you are holding the kick start lever down to gain access.

 

[dilithium]

When you turn that bolt it turns the engine unless you put it in gear and hold the rear wheel. 25lbs to turn it on a 10 or 12" handle is probably tight enough. Something should not click as it turns, unless you are holding the kick start lever down to gain access.

Apparently then my rotor bolt was not torqued enough. Yesterday -- with the rear wheel on the ground -- I turned the rotor bolt clockwise just as easily with the tranny in 1st, as in neutral. Today I put it in 2nd, and, just to make sure it was in gear, tried to roll the bike forward. It would not roll. Then, with the rear wheel on the ground, I was able to turn the rotor bolt clockwise. I turned it until the whole bike started to move forward, and it inched the kickstand back a little. I reckon that ought to be about the right torque. Certainly an improvement over a loose bolt. Something inside still clicks -- rather quirely -- twice in about every 15 deg. of rotation.

Thank you for the input, Dave.