125 Rebel problem

My friend has a Honda rebel 125 and came complaining to me that it is making a funny noise when she starts it. She said it goes "weeeeeeeeee"

So I went out and had a look, and basically about half the times you hit the starter switch the starter motor seems to be spinning round totally free and easy and not even turning the engine. Other times it turns the engine and starts dead easily. How does the starter motor attatch to the engine? Can it be semi attached or slipping? How do you fix it?

Cheers!

Maybe the starter clutch is gone? Does the engine spark when its doing this free wheeling thing?

I haven't had it apart. How can you safely see if it is sparking without showering yourself in petrol and setting fire to yourself (http://uk.youtube.com/watch?v=1cm7Rf...eature=related)?

[yorkie_chris]

Cant; remember what sort of engagement these use but that sort of thing can be caused by low battery.

Originally Posted by yorkie_chris

Cant; remember what sort of engagement these use but that sort of thing can be caused by low battery.

Hmm... that's not a bad idea. As a first try just put the battery on a charger and see if the problem goes away.

Ok cheers I will tell her to try that.

[jambo]

If the starter motor's spinning and not turning the motor over then it's a relatively easy one to fault find. As YC has pointed out, a low battery can stop the motor spinning fast enough to engage the drive to the engine.

After this its possibly the starter motor itself, or the starter clutch / engaging mechanism for it.

As it's not turning the motor spark / engine running issues shouldn't come into it.

Best of luck

Jambo

I would say battery too. My CG125 did this if I didn't use for for more than 3 days!

Tell her to get a real bike!

[jambo]

Originally Posted by DanAbnormal

I would say battery too. My CG125 did this if I didn't use for for more than 3 days!

Tell her to get a real bike!

Your CG had an electric start? Today's kids are spoilt....

She seems to think it isn't the battery cos that was checked and replaced not that long ago. Sometimes it spins and catches fine and sometimes it doesn't catch but seems to spin really fast still. I have no idea, cheers for the responses, I have informed her of them.