loud clunk when I engaged starter this morning

[Boxeerman]

1982 GL1100
Went to start bike this am and hit starter button , all I got was a little rotation and a loud clunk after the starter engaged. Tried several more times and lights and dash indicators came on with key and lights dimmed with push of starter button , no change . Charged battery to full and no change. Have not had a chance to fully check out solenoid but primary resistance shows 3ohms and it clicks when 12 volts is applied to rear 2 spade terminals in connector block closest to threaded studs marked motor and battery . Have not checked for continuity across the 2 studs yet with the 12 volts activating the solenoid switch.. All comments and collective wisdom appreciated .

[Earl43P]

Pull your spark plugs out and try it again.

Might be that fuel filled a cylinder (hydrolock) and you should rule that out.

Expect a good spray of fuel to spew out and plan accordingly.

[desertrefugee]

Ugh. Hope it's not hydrolocked. I thought at first you might have starter clutch issues, but sounds like Earl may have the next step outlined...

[Whiskerfish]

Yep for sure check for hydro lock then check the batt ground to the frame. Have seen corrosion there cause the exact same issue.

[ericheath]

Kill switch in STOP position!!! You could have a giant fireball if not. Hope it wasn’t a loud kind of a crack sound.

[robin1731]

Kill switch in STOP position!!! You could have a giant fireball if not. Hope it wasn’t a loud kind of a crack sound.

Do it outside. Not near anything the gas can hurt. If there is fuel in a cylinder it can shoot out quite some distance.

.

[Boxeerman]

clunk not crack ,will pull plugs tomorrow and check for hydrolock although I suspect starter or solenoid issues. also will verify grounds . Bike sat outside last night in the rain .

[Boxeerman]

I pulled the starter this afternoon , several sheared teeth on 1 of the planetary gears . Starter was not oem , was WPS 18600N made in Taiwan.
hope to get

thumbnail_20180524_155347_HDR.jpg (48.18 KiB) Viewed 210 times

replacement tomorrow

[chewy999]

I would be worried why the teeth had sheared, and where the bits of metal went!

[desertrefugee]

Still might be looking at a hydrolocked root cause. If so, you might have gotten lucky the starter bore the brunt - if that's what it was.

[Boxeerman]

The sheared teeth are in the planetary gear box of the starter which is isolated from the engine no worries there. I will check out the hyrolock possibility once the new starter is in place plugs are already out and sprag clutch is definitely not engaged . Will keep you posted.

[salukispeed]

Any pieces of teeth will be contained in the starter nose and can not travel into the engine. This is a common failure when the Compressed steel (sintered) gears are not properly processed and heat treated and even normal use can result in this failure. For sure a locked engine would be over load on the gear set and worth investigating.

[Boxeerman]

I have been reviewing my last ride before the starter locked up and I recall when I started the bike I thought I heard an odd metallic noise briefly but the bike was running and there was no more odd noise , I suspect that was the planetary gear teeth shearing as the bike started . The sheared metal teeth then settled to the bottom of the gear case waiting to jam the starter when I touched the starter button the following morning . I do not think Hydrolock was the cause of the broken teeth but I will still investigate that option . the small bits of hardened steel would have been sitting in teeth of the ring gear waiting to jam the planetary gear when I touched the starter button.

[ericheath]

You can just see if it turns over with the rotor.

[salukispeed]

Remember to only turn it clockwise/tighten the 17mm bolt.