Unusual Engine Noise

[injuhneer]

Well I may have an opportunity to test it out (or more correctly confirm your report).

The starter went out on my bike.  :'(

Not to hijack this thread but I took it apart to find the positive brush lead broken. As luck would have it I had a set of new alternator brushes from a XJ650LJ. The leads are slightly shorter but the brushes were a direct fit.

I soldered them in and have started reassembly.

I need to look inside the engine (or manual) to verify clearance but I was wondering why there is no slinger on the starter? The starter nose sits in oil as we all know. I was thinking about making a slinger to go behind the gear to shed the oil when the starter is activated. Of course I don't know what the output RPM is so it may be too slow to matter.

[The Prophet of Doom]

I was thinking about making a slinger to go behind the gear to shed the oil when the starter is activated. Of course I don't know what the output RPM is so it may be too slow to matter.

A slinger won't stop it from being below the oil line when the bike is parked.  Of course if you'd rather build a slinger, but I think your time better spent on improvements that don't have a $5 solution.

If I recall correctly, the original starter oil seal was a single lip seal. 
If you replace with a dual lip seal (which was all I could find anyway) it should last a good long time.

Perhaps get a spare to replace after 5 years or so.

[injuhneer]

I suppose. The point of the slinger is to shed during rotation. It is not to add sealing. On a seal with two contact surfaces the wiper lip really is designed to prevent debris passing inward. In this case from the planetary case toward the engine. The seal portion should be the same.

What would really help is to reduce the shaft size at the sealing surface. Lower surface speed. Less annular area to leak. Less seal lip section to fatigue.

Or not.

Follow-up edit:

Regardless the starter rebuild was worth the effort. With the new brushes and freshly surfaced commutator it spins noticeably faster which improved starting.

As expected. :-)

[kevin g]

It was the speedometer.  I had not ridden the bike for a while and the noise had gone away.  But yesterday it was back more pronounced than before.  So I removed the speedo cable at the wheel and the noise stopped, then returned when reconnected.

I will have to open the speedo and clean & lube.

[fret not]

So, to clarify this situation, your speedometer/cable would make a rhythmic noise AFTER a stop.  Is that correct?

[jefferson]

I think I would start with lubing the cable real good and see what happens then. It's a lot easier to do than taking the speedo off and apart.

[injuhneer]

So, to clarify this situation, your speedometer/cable would make a rhythmic noise AFTER a stop.  Is that correct?

How? There is nothing moving at rest.

[kevin g]

No, not after stop.  While I was moving and then it would stop once I got to almost no forward velocity.

The cable is lubricated VERY well.  It is a bit of a hassle to remove the speedo with the fairing but opening it up is trivial after that.

[injuhneer]

No, not after stop.  While I was moving and then it would stop once I got to almost no forward velocity.

The cable is lubricated VERY well.  It is a bit of a hassle to remove the speedo with the fairing but opening it up is trivial after that.

Ah! OK. I misunderstood. LOL