bike clicks rapidly, engine does not turn over.

[Water Warrior 2]

Just a thought. Old British cars used to get a locked up starter as a fact of life. Turning the the starter opposite of normal would unlock it. On the GZ just roll it backwards in 2nd or 3rd gear and dump the clutch. Might work, might not but it is a free test and easy to do.

[jdbaum3]

Alright, finally got some time to work on it again. I put in a new fully charged battery and tried bypassing the starter relay and hooking the starter directly to the battery as suggested above and in the service manual. I again got a click, but nothing more. Just to see, I tried Water's suggestion, and again it just locked up the rear wheel in both second and third with no indication that the engine wants to turn over. So that isolates the problem to the starter and the gear interface between it and the motor correct? And given the fact that the engine doesn't seem to want to turn with the wheel am I correct in thinking it's most likely the gear interface? I'm not looking forward to digging into the bottom end of this thing, but I suppose it's the only way to learn.

[jdbaum3]

Thanks for all the help guys, found out tonight what the problem was. I finally got an oil pan so I could drain the oil and take off the left side cover. Inside behind the starter driven gear a screw or bolt has backed out and wedged itself in tight between the case wall and the starter driven gear. So the next question is, has anybody had any luck pulling the starter driven gear without the special Rotor Holder and Rotor Remover tools? I don't feel like taking it to a shop for something so seemingly simple, but I also don't feel like dropping $200 into tools that I'll use only on this job. The girlfriend is itching to start riding again though and I hate to delay it much further!

[Water Warrior 2]

Never heard of that situation before. You will be the resident expert next time round. Good luck and post some pics if possible so we can see more of the action.

[blaine]

Originally Posted by jdbaum3

So the next question is, has anybody had any luck pulling the starter driven gear without the special Rotor Holder and Rotor Remover tools?

A simple strap wrench will hold the rotor from turning.But you will need a puller to remove the rotor with out damage.A puller is fairly cheap.The special holder is expensive,and not needed.
:cool:

[Water Warrior 2]

Another resident expert. Never would have thought of that.

[jdbaum3]

Thanks Blaine, that's exactly what I needed to know! Searching the forums it seems that this has happened on at least two other bikes, but I haven't seen write-ups on the resolution on either. I will try to take some pictures as I go through pulling the rotor and starter driven gear. There is some metal shavings in the bottom side of that case, probably from when I was turning the engine over with a wrench, so I will need to evaluate the damage and make sure everything will still be useable. Again thanks for all the tips and advice everyone, it truly is appreciated!