You are right. As I just responded to another person, there is a switch on the clutch perch. even in neutral, it will not crank without pulling the clutch lever. exactly how my 86 Shadow was before I jumped it.
1) I brought the starter here to work with me. One of the things we do at my job is manufacturing starters and alternators. Among other diesel engine parts. I had one of the techs disassemble the starter and check it completely. Even under a load. He said that the starter is like brand new.
2) As you mentioned. I can turn the chain one way, but not the other. So I would say that the chain is in tact as well.
3) The PO said... after the fact of course, that he was able to start it with the starter for the first week or so. Then he experienced what we are discussing now. He read a manual and the first step for starter replacement is 'Remove engine from frame". So he was done. It scared him off. I guess it is more the starter "whirring" than it is a grinding.
I am able to "bump" start the bike. Just not something that I want to do all of the time. I am considering ordering a new starter anyway, just to eliminate the possibility. But I did start looking last night. I already have timing belts in the shopping cart. I figure if the engine needs to come out, I am going to get a new stator and clutch while I have the cover off. I did see the replacement brake hoses last night as well. Anything else you would suggest while the engine is coming out?
Sidecar Bob wrote:I thought it was odd that he was disengaging the clutch while trying to start it and meant to mention that you don't need to do that if the transmission is in neutral but by the time I typed out the description of the starter clutch I forgot.
But it doesn't matter in this case. The bolt that you turn the engine over with (and that he was feeling to see if it turned) is the one that holds the alternator rotor onto its shaft. Whether the drivetrain clutch (the one you control with the lever) is engaged or disengaged, it should turn when the starter motor turns IF the starter clutch is engaging.
Thinking about it more overnight, I can think of 3 things that would let the starter motor spin without turning that bolt:
1) Failed gears in the starter motor as mentioned earlier in this thread.
2) Broken starter chain (not likely if the gear that the starter motor shaft engages with can be turned in one direction but not the other).
3) Failed Starter Clutch. When the SC begins to fail it will skip and you will hear the whirring of the starter motor spinning without the SC grabbing, usually followed by the SC eventually grabbing and the engine starting but if you keep trying to start it with the bad starter clutch the rollers will eventually hammer the boss ("inner race" in the drawing Gltriker posted) so much that its originally smooth surface becomes rippled and then you will begin to hear the rollers bouncing around instead of grabbing (trust me on this because I did it to my 650's original engine).
BUT a completely failed SC sounds more like putting a few large nuts in a tin can and shaking them than a grinding noise.... The more I think about it the more broken gears inside the starter motor makes sense.
In either case it would be possible to push start the bike and that is likely what the Previous Owner did. He probably thought it was the SC but decided it was too big a repair for a bike that old so he wanted to unload it fast. Even if you do end up having to open the engine to fix it and end up spending a few hundred more for stuff like tires, brake lines (it looks like it has the original rubber ones that should have been replaced decades ago), timing belts &c you still got a really great deal for $100