XS1100 Starter Clutch

[Weakke]

Have a 1981 XS1100. My starter clutch not engaging properly. Can anyone tell me how to get to it? Anyone done this before?

[Radioguylogs]

Have to split the engine cases.

Of course it's been done, but fortunately they don't seem to fail as often as other bike models.

You probably want to make sure your battery and the connections to the battery/starter relay/starter are good before you go too far into this.

[DEEBS11]

Another thing to mention is that it's usually caused by short trips and sometimes not enough oil changes this can cause water build-up. You probably have a lot of moisture in the crankcase which is normal for a bike that sits for a period of time. The easiest cure is to pop start it (your 81 doesn't have a kicker shaft) and ride it on the highway for a few hours to really heat the motor to burn off the water. However, If you get the engine running and just let it sit idling to warm it up, you will actually increase the amount of moisture in the motor which will make the problem worse. This is why you should never start your bike in the winter and not actually drive it.

If you do ride for a few hours and really get that motor up to normal temperature, drop the oil & filter and put Rotella 15W/40 in it. Don't start it again until you are ready to ride.

[cajun31]

What has been said are both valid points. Question. Specifically what kind of oil are you using in the bike? The reason I ask is because if you are not using a high quality motorcycle oil then the sludge that is being formed inside the engine is probably part of the issue. Oils engineered for cars is not well suited for use in motorcycles. It has been known to cause problems with sludge buildup. The starter clutch falls victim to this sludge.

[Socer4m]

I probably did a no no quick fix way back when,,,,had a slipping starter also, so I dumped in some engine/trans cleaner from walmart,,,ran it in the case for 10 minutes, drained put in new oil, and it worked great, no more slipping,,,stuff came out like black crapola,,,,,,,,,,,,,,good luck,,,Mike in S.Diego and Pa

[bikerphil]

The cold weather will affect the starter clutch too.

[JonnyO]

Well my experience, more than four years ago, was that I put the wrong type of engine oil in mine that had 19,000 miles on it ( won't go into detail now ) and it started slipping when engaging to try to start it. The guys here suggested Yamalube 10-40 and I as soon as I changed it and ever since it's been a one-bump of the starter button to get it started. 22,000 miles on it now.