Starter went blam and then spins free

[Nomad2day]

Stopped to get some gas today after work. When I went to crank it, blam, sounds like a hard crash and no turning of the motor. When I hit the button again, it sounds like the starter is just spinning free.Whhhheeeee each time you hit it. I had someone push me down the hill after I pressed in the compression releases, put it in 3rd and hit the start button when I let the clutch out to crank it up to get it home...
I am going to pull the starter in the morning. I think the starter clutch took a shit on me.
Any suggestions on what to do?
It spins free as soon as you hit the button and the battery has good power...
Thanks in advance,
Neil

 

[117bigdog]

cracked starter maybe. that happen to me today also. i just started a thread on it.

 

[Vegas]

The bendix is not extending or you took a tooth off the flywheel. If it's flywheel related you should be able to crank it after bumping the engine manually or riding. Otherwise the starter is toast.

 

[BorgerBigDog]

Damn how old is it ? All these probs. make me nervous. Mandy my wife asked if i could have a new bike what it would be,but i could keep the two i have.I told her a new k-9 i might be gradually changing my mind. I have said before i will never sell my Ridgeback and i am still sticking to that...

 

[lee]

when you take the outer primary off you might see the problem straight away. Let us know what you find neil.

 

[Nomad2day]

What I found out was that I sheared the Jack Shaft in half. Sweet.. Anyway, I ordered a remanufactured one from eBay with shovelheadkicker while I looked into this one. I will post picks later. I tried a Sportster Jack Shaft from a old one laying around and installed it to see if it would work. It looks to be the same but it is sticking somewhat when it is fired out so I am going to open it back up and see what is happening here. It turns out the sporster splines are a little wider than the original one causing it to stick when it was fully engaged. Worth the try but I do not want to chance it hanging out and riding the ring gear screwing it up too....
Thanks,
Neil

 

[Nomad2day]

Here is what I ended up with. No wonder it spun free....
Thanks,
Neil

Here is one end of the starter clutch....

And the other end...

 

[lee]

blimey - looks like you found the problem Neil!

 

[Wallace Bettes]

Neil what kind of starter will you replace it with. Thanks Wallace

 

[Nomad2day]

Neil what kind of starter will you replace it with. Thanks Wallace

Wallace,
I went ahead and ordered one of these, the samr thing, from shovelheadkicker on ebay. A $100 for the unit. He gives a 30 day warranty on it also..I will find another jack shaft somewhere and rebuild mine so I have a spare. I priced a starter clutch pack and it was about $80 for a drag specialties unit and a spike unit is about $125 so it made sense to purchase this.....You can rebuild these starters if you have a little savy...Any any rate one of the two will give me some spare parts..
Thanks,
Neil

HERE'S A NICE USED/REMANUFACTURED BIG DOG 2.0 STARTER. FITS ALL BIG DOG MODELS FROM 2005-PRESENT. WE TOOK THE BEST OF THE 1000s WE HAVE & DISSASSEMBLED/DIAGNOSED/FIXED & REASSEMBLED. MOST OF THESE JUST NEEDED A SOLENOID REBUILD KIT. ALL HAVE BEEN PROFESSIONALLY LOAD TESTED, READY TO INSTALL. NO MAJOR FLAWS OR SCRATCHES. THESE COME WITH A 30 DAY REPLACEMENT WARRANTY FROM DATE OF SALE. BUYER MUST PAY RETURN SHIPPING TO SELLER FOR ANY WARRANTY. THESE HAVE BEEN RE-NUMBERED & IDENTIFIED SO YOU CAN'T SEND BACK YOUR OLD STARTER FOR REPLACEMENT.(DON'T EVEN TRY). RETAIL ON THESE FROM BIG DOG IS 472.00.
eBay Motors: CHROME 2.0 KW STARTER 2005-UP BIG DOG W/WARRANTY BDM (item 140312451116 end time Apr-12-09 14:25:54 PDT)

 

[Nomad2day]

I called a Big Dog dealer and inquired that I needed a jack shaft for the starter and was told, no you can't by that , you have to buy the whole starter and I replied, well that sucks....

I walked into a Harley shop and made the same inquiry and he broke out the drag specialties fat book and tried to find it listed. Gave me the clutch starter prices and then called Spyke and left a message on what I needed and to call him back with a price.....He has my number and will call me when he hears back....

This shop is so good that I try to get everything through them because of this level of service and they can have it the next day or two with no shipping fees.
The shop is Appleton's Harley Davidson here in Clarksville TN. I just got to give respect to a shop that really goes out of there way to help a non Harley motorcycle owner....
Thanks,
Neil

 

[careams]

Starter problem

My starter broke it's shaft yesterday. Big dogs are a bitch to push start. Anyway I'll give Tampa Bay Big Dog some props. Took the bike in that same afternoon and picked it up two hours later. Halfway expected the Dog to be in the pound for a at least a week. That has been my experience with other brands. The bring it and we will get right on it and then two weeks later you get the call that they are still waiting on parts. So needless to say i was impressed at the service that they gave me.

I hope like hell that this starter last, I don't want to ever have to try and get that beast started again by pushing. Very few hills here in FL so it takes a bit of muscle to get it turn. Well at least it was covered under the warranty!

 

[05chop]

Wallace,
I went ahead and ordered one of these, the samr thing, from shovelheadkicker on ebay. A $100 for the unit. He gives a 30 day warranty on it also..I will find another jack shaft somewhere and rebuild mine so I have a spare. I priced a starter clutch pack and it was about $80 for a drag specialties unit and a spike unit is about $125 so it made sense to purchase this.....You can rebuild these starters if you have a little savy...Any any rate one of the two will give me some spare parts..
Thanks,
Neil

HERE'S A NICE USED/REMANUFACTURED BIG DOG 2.0 STARTER. FITS ALL BIG DOG MODELS FROM 2005-PRESENT. WE TOOK THE BEST OF THE 1000s WE HAVE & DISSASSEMBLED/DIAGNOSED/FIXED & REASSEMBLED. MOST OF THESE JUST NEEDED A SOLENOID REBUILD KIT. ALL HAVE BEEN PROFESSIONALLY LOAD TESTED, READY TO INSTALL. NO MAJOR FLAWS OR SCRATCHES. THESE COME WITH A 30 DAY REPLACEMENT WARRANTY FROM DATE OF SALE. BUYER MUST PAY RETURN SHIPPING TO SELLER FOR ANY WARRANTY. THESE HAVE BEEN RE-NUMBERED & IDENTIFIED SO YOU CAN'T SEND BACK YOUR OLD STARTER FOR REPLACEMENT.(DON'T EVEN TRY). RETAIL ON THESE FROM BIG DOG IS 472.00.
eBay Motors: CHROME 2.0 KW STARTER 2005-UP BIG DOG W/WARRANTY BDM (item 140312451116 end time Apr-12-09 14:25:54 PDT)

Neil this is what you will receive from shovelkicker Do you know why the hole is in the bottom of the starter is for? My big concern when ordering this starter was the seal area remember oil in the starters? If you can do some comparison between the too in the seal area here are two pic.

 

[Nomad2day]

My starter broke it's shaft yesterday. Big dogs are a bitch to push start. Anyway I'll give Tampa Bay Big Dog some props. Took the bike in that same afternoon and picked it up two hours later. Halfway expected the Dog to be in the pound for a at least a week. That has been my experience with other brands. The bring it and we will get right on it and then two weeks later you get the call that they are still waiting on parts. So needless to say i was impressed at the service that they gave me.

I hope like hell that this starter last, I don't want to ever have to try and get that beast started again by pushing. Very few hills here in FL so it takes a bit of muscle to get it turn. Well at least it was covered under the warranty!

I know what you mean...
I push started mine too...
I pressed the compression releases in to make sure they were open, put it in third and did the normal start up procedure for the EFI and hit the run button when I let the clutch out and vroom.....
I am not close to a dealer and do not have a trailer so I pulled mine out at home and can follow up with BDM if I choose to later. I would be happy if they just gave me a Jack Shaft for the broke one and I can put it back together.....or sell me one anyway...:2thumbs:

 

[Nomad2day]

05 Chop,
I do not know what the hole is for in the housing. My 2007 Bulldog starter has it also. The pic of the seal is the same as mine that was on the bike. There also is a rubber O ring that is in the housing that protects oil from coming around the outside of that same bearing in your pic.
Neil

 

[Nomad2day]

My starter broke it's shaft yesterday. Big dogs are a bitch to push start. Anyway I'll give Tampa Bay Big Dog some props. Took the bike in that same afternoon and picked it up two hours later. Halfway expected the Dog to be in the pound for a at least a week. That has been my experience with other brands. The bring it and we will get right on it and then two weeks later you get the call that they are still waiting on parts. So needless to say i was impressed at the service that they gave me.

I hope like hell that this starter last, I don't want to ever have to try and get that beast started again by pushing. Very few hills here in FL so it takes a bit of muscle to get it turn. Well at least it was covered under the warranty!

I always have heard good stuff about that shop...Props to them..
Glad they got you going so fast..Wish they were around me..
Neil