Starter motor clutch shoes

[Michael S]

Good morning all
Some regular readers may recall that my very early electric start motor revived from a couple of degreasing sessions and then threw a wobbly and I had to source new brushes etc.
I have survived all that and have been using the kick start meanwhile.
However, I am now trying to recommission the electric start and the shoes do not bite in the basket. I am pretty sure that I have re-assembled the clutch correctly but the motor and the clutch spins but the shoes do not bite, I have tried cleaning and roughening the basket and, to some extent, the shoes. They look a bit shiny. Any suggestions on how brutal I need to be with chemical or abrasion would be very welcome.
Happy New Year
Michael

[Steve Brown]

You shouldn't need to be particularly brutal-just clean like you would for brakes. If the shoes are not biting into the drum it could be a few things. The Oomph of the battery (sorry for the tech jargon) the efficiency of the electric motor, the efficiency of the gearbox on the starter motor, the weight of the shoes as well as the amount of lining left on them, the state of the cables and solenoid are all likely suspects. I've seen a few shoes where the pivot holes had worn oval too.

[3potjohn]

Mine really improved with a decent AGM battery, a rebuild and new style clutch shoes. Mind you if I remove and then replace the cover it becomes recalcitrant until I have run the bike for a few miles. Must be a slight alignment issue I suppose.

[Al B]

Possibly a daft question, can the shoes be mounted the wrong way round?

[Fastmongrel]

I have a set of nearly new clutch shoes and springs that I am not currently using. I am in Merseyside if you're near your more than welcome to borrow them for a short time to try in your bike and see if that solves the problems.

I can't sell them as I will be refitting them when I have found a new clutch and chain which are hard to find in new condition.

[Fastmongrel]

Possibly a daft question, can the shoes be mounted the wrong way round?

I don't think so they are a fiddly swine to fit but it's obvious how they go together.

Mind you as Archimedes said give me a big enough lever and the bastard will go on.

[Richard]

My K2 always started fine with the motor when cold, but hot starts often failed with the starter spinning but the shoes failing to grip (kickstarted straight away). The bike had been restored and the shoes were like new. Tried roughening the surfaces etc. but to no avail. Having read various posts on this forum I bought (ebay purchase from Italy) a set of Surflex laminated type shoes. Never failed hot or cold starts since fitting them, not suggesting that you have the same problem but worth thinking about. Searching on this forum might be worthwhile, it was for me.

[Michael S]

Good afternoon to all those lovely people who have provided help and solace in my travails in finding a solution for the starter motor that clutch that would'nt
My difficulties were compounded because I successfully solved it twice before by properly degreasing the actual electric motor.
This time I had to get some unobtainium parts for the motor and new parts for the gear box and by the time I got to the end of that the clutch was found to be the issue. Thorough cleaning did not work. No bite.
Finally one of my VMCC friends told me of the difficulty of breaking through the shiny surface that forms on the brake shoe if oil is present; which it is because of the poorly sealed gearbox.
Doug at MDINA Italia confirmed that he had encountered the same problem and that he could supply a new set of shoes with a new material.
Within an hour of receiving the new shoes I had this strange lumpy noise when I pressed the starter button rather than the irritating whine I was getting used to.
It has been a long road but definitely worth my persistence.
Cannot wait for the salt to disappear.
Grateful thanks to the Forum and all her sail in her
Michael