Grosset starter - ok after 8 years?

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danno

Well Known and Active Forum User
Non-VOC Member
Hi
Have been riding my late father's Rapide over the last month. It had been standing for eight years.
It has a Grosset electric starter fitted and I'm about to fit a new battery as the old one has has a cell down and won't turn it.Starts ok on kickstart though.
The starter has had very little use since being fitted years ago.
Would I need to carry out and maintainence before using it?
Any help appreciated.
Thanks
Dan
 
C

clevtrev

Well Known and Active Forum User
VOC Member
danno said:
Hi
Have been riding my late father's Rapide over the last month. It had been standing for eight years.
It has a Grosset electric starter fitted and I'm about to fit a new battery as the old one has has a cell down and won't turn it.Starts ok on kickstart though.
The starter has had very little use since being fitted years ago.
Would I need to carry out and maintainence before using it?
Any help appreciated.
Thanks
Dan
Click to expand...
Short answer, No.
But wait until you have fitted a fully charged 14 amp hour battery, before you try.
 
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danno

Well Known and Active Forum User
Non-VOC Member
Thanks. I couldn't find a 14ah battery the same size as the original
fitted which was yuasa ytx14-bs. This I'm sure was 12ah and did the job
so i've ordered a ytx14-bs (rob hunter brand). Hope it will be ok.
 
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Mark Fisher

Well Known and Active Forum User
Non-VOC Member
danno, you may or may not have noticed that you can't push the bike backwards when in gear even with the clutch released fully....don't worry, this is normal for bikes with a grosset starter, it is something to do with the sprag clutch i think. Don't try and force the bike backwards just select neutral. Both my bikes have this starter fitted and they have been trouble free as long as the bikes are timed correctly. If you ever need to re-time the bike remove the starter motor (3 allen screws) that way you will be able to use the rear wheel to move the engine forwards AND backwards to find TDC.
 
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danno

Well Known and Active Forum User
Non-VOC Member
bsaowner said:
danno, you may or may not have noticed that you can't push the bike backwards when in gear even with the clutch released fully....
Click to expand...

Yes I remembered that right from when the starter was fitted. Sometimes it's difficult avoiding a little roll back ie. at an uphill junction.
 
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