Topic: Suzuki, I've lost faith in you...

[starsnbars89]

Got a nice gem of a bike the other day. A 1980 Suzuki Gs550E in fairly great condition. I've ridden her around now for about 5 or 6 days after she sat for about 10 months. Yesterday, the starter quit on me. So today, I figured I would tear it out and see what it's malfunction is. HA! After pulling the airbox, carbs, battery, AND cam chain tensioner, I finally got 'er out! Compared to the 5-bolts-and-she's-out my Cb650 was, this is RIDICULOUS! Suzuki engineers must have been asleep in this old girl's design! I'm so pissed, this may be the last time I ever invest in a Suzuki again. Heck! She might even go on Craigslist tomorrow!

[azuredesign]

I have usually had to pull the tensioner on my cb750 to get the starter out. It is easier to do without the carbs as well.

[starsnbars89]

Really? Why would they do that? Seems like a poor design to me. I never had to pull anything on either my cb650 or my Kz440. Just pull the cover, back out the bolts, and pull her out!

[azuredesign]

I have to wonder how frequently starters fail and whether access to the starter motor is a design priority. I have not had many starters fail, really only on older bikes when charging systems were minimal, and starters were probably chosen not for their strength or longevity, but because they did not draw too much juice. I am thinking starters on bikes from the last 20 years dont need to be replaced as much, and do not need to be so accessible. Sorry you had to hassle getting yours out, hopefully it will be the last time you have to. I happen to like many Suzuki designs and currently own a few of them.

[starsnbars89]

Yeah, this also follows after a string of Suzuki 4-wheelers I've had to work on so the aggravation just added to it. I'd have to agree though, the starter was probably not high on their priority list. I just have to wonder how Honda did it so well with the smaller SOHC's? The buried starter clutch on the SOHC is an annoyance though. Definitely the upside to Suzuki's design since you just pull the stator side engine cover and the clutch is all there! I guess there is a trade-off for every convenience. Needless to say, I'll probably hang on to this old girl yet as she is in pretty great condition with only 10,xxx miles.

[kghost]

If it were easy women and little children could do it.........

[Stev-o]

I've never had a starter fail on a bike. But my Suzuki TS250 doesn't have one

[sandman]

Gotta agree with the comments above- they're packaged tightly because they rarely fail and need to be removed. Been riding Hondas for 41 years now, and have never had to replace one, and not on my 35K mile Suzuki GS750 either. It's usually the electrical connections and stators/voltage regulators that cause the problems on old GS's.

[andy750]

My original CB750 K2 seat split at each side this past week after 41 yrs of use.....utter crap! never buying another Honda again! 

[70CB750]

My original CB750 K2 seat split at each side this past week after 41 yrs of use.....utter crap! never buying another Honda again! 

 

[ofreen]

My original CB750 K2 seat split at each side this past week after 41 yrs of use.....utter crap! never buying another Honda again! 

I can't blame you. I'm still bitter about the broken clutch cable last week. Didn't even make it through the first 50 years.

[starsnbars89]

Alright, alright; so I was a little rash. The Suzuki DOES only have 10,xxxmiles on her though. Besides, the starter WAS at fault. I tore it apart and a brush was sticking not making contact. She's all good to go now!

[kghost]

no reason why it would stick....after sitting for almost a year..........

Damn Suzuki!

[Terry in Australia]

I've never had a GS550, but of the four or five 1000's and the one 750 I've owned, I've only ever had to replace one starter motor, and sadly, it was a result of my own ineptitude.

I'd just installed a Yoshimura 1085cc ki, and a pair of Yoshi cams, on my GS1000S and decided to do a speed test on my favorite cop-free stretch of road. I wanged it out to a little over 140 MPH before I ran out of road, then on my way home, pulled into a garage to fill the tank.

After I gassed it up, I thumbed the starter, but nothing happened. Ooops. I push started it, and it fired up straight away, so I rode it home and parked it. Next morning I went to investigate, and eventually pulled the starter. (no carb removal required on a GS1000)

It was locked solid. When I took the end caps off it, the internal components came out in small pieces, reminiscent of shrapnel. Double Oops. I couldn't buy a good used starter anywhere, so I ended up buying another complete GS1000S for parts.

I showed it to my Cuz, a factory trained Suzuki mechanic, and he told me he'd only seen one other as bad as mine, and surmised that I'd inadvertantly touched the starter motor when at "full warp". Cheers, Terry.  

[trueblue]

Terry, the starter clutch should prevent that from happening, whether you were going 14 or 140.  I would be more inclined to say that the starter clutch jammed when you first started it and took the starter on a ride from hell .

[azuredesign]

Hey Terry,

So with the starter motor out of the way, you would have made more than 140!

[starsnbars89]

no reason why it would stick....after sitting for almost a year..........

Damn Suzuki!

Hey, my Cb650's starter whipped right over and was trouble-free after the old girl sat around for 20 years! And I rode her daily. Take THAT Suzuki! The Gs was even out of the climate and weather. My Cb was in a tarp car port under a pile of lumber. Damn I miss that bike!

[starsnbars89]

It was locked solid. When I took the end caps off it, the internal components came out in small pieces, reminiscent of shrapnel.

I've only ever seen one starter in my life that was exploded. A Chevy 400 in a truck had too advanced of timing and when we cranked it over, the engine fired backward against the starter. That's pretty impressive that you managed to grenade one!

[wardenerd]

one time my starter would not stop even tho the bike was running .  New relay fixed it and the starter appears unharmed.  I only used impulse power however.

[Terry in Australia]

Terry, the starter clutch should prevent that from happening, whether you were going 14 or 140.  I would be more inclined to say that the starter clutch jammed when you first started it and took the starter on a ride from hell .

Sorry mate, I didn't mention it, but my starter clutch had pretty much exploded as well. The Suzuki starter clutches had a problem of "kicking back" and it's not unusual to see the rollers and springs finding their way thru the pressed metal casing, and that was the case with mine.

Hey Terry,

So with the starter motor out of the way, you would have made more than 140!

Ha ha, well all I'll say was that it was getting dark and I was worried about errant Kangaroos who come out of the shadows around that time of night, and while the bike was probably capable of another 20 MPH or so, I wasn't............