Guest coffeebrake Posted July 21, 2012 Share Posted July 21, 2012 Can anybody tell me anything about them on the VFR? My 86 vfr700 is making that grinding sound I've heard twice before: once on the Vmax when the bolts holding the starter clutch to the crank were coming loose, and then again on the Rebel 450 just before it quit working altogether. I fixed the Vmax and sold it, but the Rebel requires splitting the cases to replace the starter clutch, and they're apart now. More often when it's hot but sometimes when it's cold, the VFR's starter clutch makes that grinding noise. Once, it wouldn't turn the motor at all and I had to bump-start it. But that only happened once. Do I need to pull it off and clean it or something? Replace the springs? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
smackdoogle Posted July 21, 2012 Share Posted July 21, 2012 Ha!!! I just ordered one for my '93 yesterday at the dealership. On mine, it's right inside the clutch cover on the right side of the engine. Once you get the clutch cover off you can easily tell if the starter clutch has cracked or not (for reference, check out the two on ebay right now, they are both cracked!!!!) I have two cracks in mine and, after I took it off and checked the springs I noticed that one of the springs is completely compressed all the time!!! That would explain my crunching sound when I try to start it. Anyway, I like Bike Bandit or Cheap Cycle parts to get a quick look at an OEM parts fiche so I can see what the part is called and get a rough estimate on what I'm going to pay to replace it. I'd check one of those two sites under "Pulse Generator" since that's what Honda likes to call it. Good luck!!! Oh, my new starter clutch is about $160. Not cool. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted July 22, 2012 Share Posted July 22, 2012 Where is this starter clutch cracked? http://www.ebay.com/itm/HONDA-1986-VFR700-VFR-700-STARTER-CLUTCH-IGNITION-PICKUP-/110921038208?pt=Motorcycles_Parts_Accessories&hash=item19d368b980&vxp=mtr or this one? http://www.ebay.com/itm/1992-Honda-VFR750F-Interceptor-VFR750-VFR-750-Starter-Clutch-Gear-/190702305856?pt=Motorcycles_Parts_Accessories&hash=item2c66be4240&vxp=mtr What am I looking for? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
smackdoogle Posted July 22, 2012 Share Posted July 22, 2012 The first one (1986 VFR700) is cracked twice. Scroll down to the pictures and look at the second picture from the bottom. Follow the circle of the starter clutch around and you will notice two cracks. The second one (1992 VFR) is cracked once. Again, zoom into the picture and the crack in on the upper right side of the circle. Right about "North east" on a compass. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
V4 Rosso Posted July 22, 2012 Share Posted July 22, 2012 The first one (1986 VFR700) is cracked twice. Make that three. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted July 22, 2012 Share Posted July 22, 2012 Wow, thanks, I'd have thought that was factory, the way they're equidistant from each other. I almost grabbed that clutch up too. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SEBSPEED Posted July 22, 2012 Share Posted July 22, 2012 Has anyone had one of these repaired? I'm sure I can weld the cracks up, but is it worth it to do so? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
smackdoogle Posted July 22, 2012 Share Posted July 22, 2012 I would think it would be worth a shot since a new one is $160 (I just paid that much for one at least) and the used ones on ebay are less than $20 or $30 shipped so I guess it can't hurt. I don't weld though. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Member Contributer Jmmymc750 Posted July 22, 2012 Member Contributer Share Posted July 22, 2012 Hey, go with a new one. I rebuilt my 90VFR's starter clutch, ignoring the cracked housing. It will last a year or so, depending on how many starts. If I remember correctly (it was early 90s when I did it), there are three small springs and and three small metal cylinders...But then I bought the housing and re-used the year-old internals. Win. Hope you get it sorted. Cheers! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SEBSPEED Posted July 22, 2012 Share Posted July 22, 2012 I would think it would be worth a shot since a new one is $160 (I just paid that much for one at least) and the used ones on ebay are less than $20 or $30 shipped so I guess it can't hurt. I don't weld though. I'll weld one up if someone wants to be a guinea pig. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted July 22, 2012 Share Posted July 22, 2012 So if I was to pull it and found the housing not cracked, then I'd assume I needed to rebuild it-- new springs, caps and rollers. Right? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted July 23, 2012 Share Posted July 23, 2012 Has anybody pulled a starter clutch on this model before? How involved is it? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Member Contributer SamW Posted July 23, 2012 Member Contributer Share Posted July 23, 2012 Not hard, and yes you are right, it is possible that it is only weak springs, I have done my '86 and also my '95. The '86 was 80k+ miles and the '95 was about 20k miles. Neither had a cracked basket, so on both I did the springs caps and rollers. An impact wrench is nice to get it off, I want to think I did the rag trick to hold it when I torqued it down. The biggest problem is always cleaning the old gasket off, some times getting the case cover off can be a pain on an older bike. If it is grinding, go a head and open it up, nothing to be worried about. Make sure you order the right starter clutch springs, for some reason there are other springs in the diagrams that make you think they are the right one, the whole starter clutch is on an odd diagram for the bike, first time I ordered the wrong springs, but it just may be me... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted July 24, 2012 Share Posted July 24, 2012 Cool, sounds like a project for sooner rather than later. Thanks! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted July 24, 2012 Share Posted July 24, 2012 I asked the Ebay seller about their cracked starter clutch. They said: we are not mechanics and don't know what the parts should look like when new, a dealer would know but if in doubt please don't buy . thanks - 83hurst Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Member Contributer huntinggunns Posted August 13, 2012 Member Contributer Share Posted August 13, 2012 I would think it would be worth a shot since a new one is $160 (I just paid that much for one at least) and the used ones on ebay are less than $20 or $30 shipped so I guess it can't hurt. I don't weld though. I'll weld one up if someone wants to be a guinea pig. Seb, I will send one to you if you want to try it. I just tore down my wifes 94 Magna and it has the same problem, cracked straight through the housing. Also chattered the surface of the gear where the rollers slide around it because of the cracked housing. Since you have a lathe I figure you could smooth the gear out. I tried cleaning it up with some fine emery cloth and it is close but there are a couple of spots still there, very light, but this surface needs to be perfectly round to work right. I already ordered the parts to fix her bike so if you want to try it I will just donate them to you so if they can be fixed and someone on the forum needs one for a Magna, you can come to the rescue. It seems that every 3rd gen Magna has this problem so used starter clutches are no where to be found, and even if you do, they are usually cracked also. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SEBSPEED Posted August 13, 2012 Share Posted August 13, 2012 Doesn't the 94 Magna use a VFR motor? Shoot me a pm please. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Beck Posted August 13, 2012 Share Posted August 13, 2012 Doesn't the 94 Magna use a VFR motor? Shoot me a pm please. It's a V four on the Magnas, but IIRC, it does not use gear driven valves and has chains driving the camshafts... Beck 95 VFR Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Member Contributer huntinggunns Posted August 14, 2012 Member Contributer Share Posted August 14, 2012 Doesn't the 94 Magna use a VFR motor? Shoot me a pm please. Seb, Honda used the VFR engine but made some small changes to make it more suited for a cruiser. They used a slightly different crank, 5 speed transmission, smaller carbs, and chain driven cams. It still puts out 76 hp at the wheel and 46 ft lbs of torque. I can tell you that when you roll on the throttle you better be hanging on. PM sent. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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