Hi all,

A little help here please...

I want to service my starter but the problem is that I can't find a service manual anywhere, and by the looks of things, I won't find one soon either.

So if anyone can run me through how to go about servicing the starter, or give me a link for a downloadable manual, I'd really appreciate it.

Also, are any other NC's starters compatible with the 21?

Thanks

What is wrong with your starter motor? Ive never come across a broken starter before, its very uncommon, it can happen but there are many other likely culprits that will cause starting issues.

As for the starter motor its not covered in the service manual, you need the Honda Common service manual to tell you how to service a starter motor

I'm not sure what exactly is wrong with it... My mechanical skills are limited, so I'm going on other peoples suggestions - not the smartest thing to do, but that's all I've got right now.

The problem I've got is that sometimes the bike will start without a problem, and other times it will turn over once and then it's as though the battery is dead. There's a clicking sound when this happens and I try start it again...

Any ideas on what it could be?

Dead battery, reg/rec faulty, valve clearances incorrect (tightening up as it gets hot) and so on.

very likely to be electrical not starter motor.

Clicking is indeed from the starter solenoid, it can be caused by a jamming but often by poor battery volage, even the starter solenoid itself can besticking.

You need to do a full charging system check first to determine the state of your battery and the output from the charging system to the battery.

How do you get it going again when it does this?

Quick charging system check.

1. measure battery voltage with multimeter set to DC volts.
2. start bike and measure battery voltage at idle with lights off and then lights on.
3. keep bike running and hold revs at 5000rpm and meaure voltage again with lights off then with lights on.

you should have

batt voltage bike off:
voltage idle (no lights):
voltage 5000rpm (no lights):

voltage idle (lights):
voltage 5000rpm (lights):

Postthese up first and we can go from there.

Hi neosophist
I checked the battery and this is what I've got...
batt voltage bike off: 12.64
voltage idle (no lights) 14.5
voltage 5000rpm (no lights): 18.5
voltage idle (lights): 13
voltage 5000rpm (lights): 14.2

I also connected jumper cables to my car battery and then to the 400 and it started on the first swing.

To answer your question, once the battery has been drained, I push start him.

Based on the above, I assume the battery I have is not doing the trick.

Your thoughts will be appreciated though!

18.5V is FAR too high! To me that suggests that your reg/rec is shagged, and it's taken your battery out with it.

I think your battery is dead and your regulator is dead.

DO NOT ride the bike until you fix the issue as that high of a voltage will burn out your ecu.

your alternator seems ok at the moment but if oyu keep using it you can burn that out too.