Rebuilding WR450F starter motor

[Dutchy68]

Anybody have ideas in rebuilding a starter motor for a WR450F.

Got the starter out. Disassembled and cleaned everything.

Are there any special tools required to pull the bushes or needle roller out! 

There is approximately 4mm of the brushes left from the end to the wire loom. I don't how long they are to start with, but they appear to be ok.

Looking forward to any information.

Regards Dutchy

[JVP]

They are pretty straight forward on a rebuild. You can buy the OEM brushes from any part supplier. RM M/C or Bike Bandit or even Thumper Talk. However, 7 out 10 times your Starter is fine. It is something else that is causing starting problems. The Battery or Starting Relay has gone bad.

[DeepPurplishBlue]

However, 7 out 10 times your Starter is fine. It is something else that is causing starting problems. The Battery or Starting Relay has gone bad.

 

Definitely not correct.    The starter motor is the weak link on these bikes and the relay will outlive the motor by a wide margin.

 

Although he did not describe any symptoms I presume the OP is fairly certain his issues lie with the starter motor

or he would not have opened it up.

[JVP]

I disagree.  Having my 04 for the past ten years and vast experience working on mine and other WR's, the electrical system is very temperamental.  A lot of small problems look like big ones.   It depends on what the symptoms are.  Maybe if Dutchy68 tells us what is happening when he pushes the magic button, we would know more and do a better job of diagnosing the problem.  I think presume is a lot like assume and you know what that means.

[DeepPurplishBlue]

Well, I currently have nine WRs the oldest being the one I purchased new in 2003.   The problems with these bikes

have been: starter motor and battery.    Battery issues from age or just crap quality battery--  not the fault of the bike.

 

The rest of the electrical has been rock solid on all of them.    Maybe you got a dud or it was made the morning

after a wild sake party in Japan...

 

I do agree that unless the OP tells us what his symptoms are/were there is not much advice to give other than

what has already been given--  the brushes are readily available.    However, the other part that fails in these

starters is the bushing in the rear of the housing and it is NOT available.   He may also find that the armature is

either fried or is marginal if the starter has been abused.

[PBDBLUE]

One thing to be aware of is that the magnet orientation is important. It's best to scribe some alignment marks between the end caps and the main body. If not and it runs backwards or is weak when you put it back together try rotating the body relative to the brush cap.

Edited June 7, 2014 by PBDBLUE

[yamahaventure]

Help, sorry to jump in this thread but I need help.  I have 07 wr450 with 81 hours on it.  I replaced original battery april 10th with a Shorai Lithium-Iron Battery LFX14L2-BS12.  Bike started great for the first ride.  On the second ride the batttery would not turn the bike over after 1.5 hours of riding  shuting off the bike off 7-8 times.  I checked the battery when I got home.  Battery was at 13.1 volts, dropped to 7 volts when starter button was pressed, bike was charging at 13.55 volts when running.  Called Shorai and they replaced battery.  Battery was not fully charged when I got it.  Charged  battery and it is at 13.25 volts now.  When starter button is pushed the only noise I hear is a click from the relay? in front of the battery.  Starter does not even try to turn the bike over.   I think I have a starter problem but am not sure how to check.  Any help you could provide would be great.

Thanks,

Mike

[SteveThe Snakes]

Check to see if you have the 13.25 volts at the connection on the starter motor while you push the button. If you do you need a new starter. Also check the battery voltage while you push the button. If it's also low your battery is bad or not charging.

Edited June 10, 2014 by stevethe

[JVP]

Bypass the Starting Relay by jumping straight to the Starter from your battery. If it works, then your Starter Relay is bad. If your battery is good I am guessing it is the Starter Relay. They do go bad more often than one would think.

[SteveThe Snakes]

Bypass the Starting Relay by jumping straight to the Starter from your battery. If it works, then your Starter Relay is bad. If your battery is good I am guessing it is the Starter Relay. They do go bad more often than one would think.

 

He says his stater relay made a click so it's probably not the relay however it's worth a test as well. I have never seen a relay go bad they are pretty heavy duty on the wr's. Usually the battery first starter next. If it's a starter do a search and be careful not to jam the stater in without removing the starter gears under the little case then put them in.