2006 450r starter won't engage

[jhoppa]

Guys,

In a harescramble on Saturday, 450r running strong for the first 20 minutes. I happen to stall in a tight section of woods and went to re-start it. Starter engaged and cranked the normal 2-3 times, but then it sounded like the starter was not engaging. Made a funny....rrrrr, click/cluck, rrrrr, click/clunk.

Needless to say, I tried to start it for the next 15 minutes and then finally called it quits. Went to pick it up after the race and it started right up after the normal 2-3 cranks.

I tried replicating the problem yesterday, but no success.

I took it to the dealer today and told them what happened. The bike is still under warranty, so hopefully they will be able to figure out what happened and cover it under warranty.

Anybody else experience this?

[rippin2]

check the negative and postive wires on hte battery. Some times the screws get lose and dont connect cuase it happened to my 416

[jhoppa]

I still had power to the bike.

It seemed like the engine was turning over, just made a rrrrr, clunk, rrrr, clunk..... Bike was getting spark also, I pulled the plug and checked while I was trying to start it.

[BVRLVR]

Honda is having a problem with the er 06 450r's, they will be issuing a recall.

Not sure if thats whats causing your problem, but just wanted to give you a heads up

later, EM

sounds like loos collections somewhere mayne. my 400ex would have that. would be on the terminal like guy above said. clean the cables up too

[jhoppa]

BVRLVR, Where you get your information??? You are sure spread this 'recall' thing all over the forum, with no back up information...

Mixmaster, This is a new bike. If it was a loose wire, then it should do it all the time, or do nothing all the time. It only does in when it is hot.

At the dealers now, so we will see what they say, thanks for responding...

[watts16]

I was at a d17 race and the same thing happened to a guy there. He said it was on 2 weeks old.

[bumble bee band]

i have the same problem with mine. it is only two months old.

i think there is something wrong with it like a recall problem also i already broke a gear in my engine do you think it would be covered through a warranty?

i drained my t5ransmision oil and found lil shavings and a couple of teeeth from a gear. not good. i hope its covered any info out there on this?

[jhoppa]

I have not changed the transmission fluid yet on this bike. I never even looked at it.

Be nice if this recall thing is true, but I am not getting my hopes up.

I hope they put a new starter in for me and don't try to tell me I am full of $%$#! I will keep you posted.

[Tripyn]

I had the same problem from day one, finally the starter blew up and would not engage at all. Put a call into Honda and brought it in to the dealer. They ended up replacing the whole starter, gears, clutch and the battery . Starts like a champ now, cold, hot does not matter.

I feel for you guys, I chased this problem for six months and was ready to trade it in on a kicker. Never thought they ever get it right but they finally did. If you still have warranty get it in ASAP.

Once piece of advice I can give is:

If it stall hot only hit the starter button in short bursts-no more then 5 seconds at a time. If it does not fire let it cool down a little bit and try again. If you stay on the starter it will only wear it out and end up blowing up-not to mention running down that small useless battery!

[lumi]

that's very true the short bursts of the starter is recommened, if you hold it for more than 5 sec, let go and let the starter cool down, after 10 to 15 seconds, try again, only 5 sec. burts. after every burts wait! people over heat and prematurely wear there starter not using this method. don't hold the gas when starting also hurts the starter and sometimes makes it harder to start. as for the recall never heard of anything happening with that too many cases of abuse, overheating, and premature wear on the starter showing up at dealers, some dealers might replace it but some won't. I heard honda look into the design and saw nothing wrong with the design and the proper working of it.
just my 2 cents.



-lumi

[GIXXER1KR]

I have no problems but am glad i got the extended warranty.My dealership is awseome too so im sure they'll take care of me.This is the 3rd brand new bike i bought from them!!!They took good care of my 1st street bike when i glazed the cyclinder during break in.It was my fault and they still fixed it!!!

[BVRLVR]

Originally posted by jhoppa
BVRLVR, Where you get your information??? You are sure spread this 'recall' thing all over the forum, with no back up information...

Mixmaster, This is a new bike. If it was a loose wire, then it should do it all the time, or do nothing all the time. It only does in when it is hot.

At the dealers now, so we will see what they say, thanks for responding...

an inside sales rep that i know, im just telling you that there is a issue and that honda is aware of it........

[400ex45]

well i know it wont be a recall but they might do something about it because recalls are things that are wrong with the bike that my hurt you. but they might have a product update. and it does sound like starter clutch i work at a dealership and i had to replace one and honda told us to replace the oneway the gear that slides on to the oneway and the one other gear set that is supose to cushen the back kick if it happens. and when we tore the one way apart the collar the the bearing rides on was all chewed up. so it woulld sound like it turned over but it wouldnt start because the clutch was sliping.

hopefully this made since i dont fell like rereading it ;)

[Dave400ex]

I think it would be very smart for Honda to do something. I'm sure they would make several owners happy, including me.

[lumi]

i dunno maybe the later models of the s-start were fioxed or something i got mine in ealry march. mine works great, starts great.





-lumi

[cb450r]

This is a known problem that Honda has with the 06, From what i understand they were not going to issue a recall but instead wait it out and if people were having a problem then if under warrenty it WOULD be replaced. Otherwise if your warrenty has expired you will have to pay for the repair.
I believe it is the Starter idler gear that is at fault. The starter chews the teeth off of it and is unable to engage.
I know because a friend just had this happen and had it repaired under his warrenty.

[400ex45]

no it is the starter oneway gear the oneway chews the collar up it rides on and wont let it engage properly.

[cb450r]

Ah that makes sense, Couldn't quite remember what the thingy was called. LOL

[jhoppa]

Well, I got a call from the Honda dealership....

Guess what.... they could not replicate the problem!!!!

I am going over there today to see if I can get it to do it. It only does it when it is really hot. I am thinking of putting a piece of cardboard over the radiator so it gets real hot....

If Honda took the starter off, would they automatically know that something is wrong???

The bike is still under the 6 month warranty and I also have the 4 year extended warranty.

[Jersey450R]

Originally posted by jhoppa
I have not changed the transmission fluid yet on this bike. I never even looked at it.



:huh

[jhoppa]

Yes, I know... I plan on changing the trans fluid after my next ride.

Dealership wants a $200 deposit to take the starter off. If the on-way gear is chewed up they said they would give me my money back and fix the starter under warranty.

Going to ride it this weekend and take it back next to have them next week to take the starter off.

[400ex45]

just to let you know if it wont start when your riding you can still bump start it

[powerstroke]

I think we need to clarify to some of these guys what we mean when we say "they dont start well". I race XC and I too have an 06 450ER. It starts every single time its just that it starts WAY TOO SLOW. My bike is jetted spot-on and I have the boyesen quick shot. It cranks for about 1.5 to 2 seconds before it starts. Every other 06 450ER that i have personally come in contact with is the exact same way. this is not a problem for play riders and mxers but it is a BIG PROBLEM for cross country racers. When you are on the line for a race that has a "dead engine start"(you cant start your bike until the flag drops) 1.5 to 2 seconds of cranking time is an ETERNITY when yamahas, kick start 450r's, suzuki's etc all start in about .5 seconds. It boils down to getting SMOKED off the line. I love everything about my 06 but honda did a very poor job with the starting system. The starting system is not cutting the mustard and everybody knows it! The hot stalling issues is another topic altogether. In my opinion its just par for the course with this new breed of 4 stroke powerplants. High compression/high performance thumpers are hard to start when you hot stall them. My yamaha was the same way. Just watch supercross sometime. When those guys hot stall they do a lot of kicking before they get going again. And a lot of those guys are on factory supported bikes.......so if their bikes do it there probably isnt much hope for us keeping our bikes from doing it. Matt

[pitbull43910]

powerstroke i feel your pain and as soon as i get a manual im going to have a kick on my er

[trx400exxracer]

I dont know who all has the 2006 but my brother has one and if you have one you know it is very easy to start if it is cold but reall hard to start when it is hot and the engine has been running the best thing to do in this situation is try to start it in nuetral there is nothing else you can do but it does start better in nuetral and all but Santo Derisi said he still hasnt come up with a solution yet but we will keep in touch with him and see if he figures anything out

[Troyer23J]

The problem that started this post, mine does the same thing. I have been told, and it makes sense, that the auto decompression sticks open, causing it not to start. Mine usually frees up and starts, but right at the moment it is still stuck and I can't get it to start. My buddy's did the same thing a few times, but its been fine for awhile. I am taking mine to the dealer tomorrow and hopefully they can get it worked out.


As for it starting slow, damn, it sure does.. I run the GNCC races, and local Harescrambles, and it does suck starting mid-pack every race bc my bike starts slower than everyone elses. I am planning to get kick put on it to help with that.

[trx400exxracer]

Originally posted by Troyer23J
The problem that started this post, mine does the same thing. I have been told, and it makes sense, that the auto decompression sticks open, causing it not to start. Mine usually frees up and starts, but right at the moment it is still stuck and I can't get it to start. My buddy's did the same thing a few times, but its been fine for awhile. I am taking mine to the dealer tomorrow and hopefully they can get it worked out.


As for it starting slow, damn, it sure does.. I run the GNCC races, and local Harescrambles, and it does suck starting mid-pack every race bc my bike starts slower than everyone elses. I am planning to get kick put on it to help with that.

kicks dont cost but $200 dont they I am getting a 2006 450r and my dealership that sponsors me is trying to find me a kick and there is non in GA they found 1 in NC and 1 in Florida

so do they have the kick you can put on the electric start out yet and how much is it

[Santo DeRisi]

Everyone that has a 450R w/ the electric start we are going to have all the parts in stock to do the kick conversion. You will be able to run the kick and the electric. We will install these kits if you are interested you will just have to ship your motor to us.

[trx400exxracer]

Originally posted by Santo DeRisi
Everyone that has a 450R w/ the electric start we are going to have all the parts in stock to do the kick conversion. You will be able to run the kick and the electric. We will install these kits if you are interested you will just have to ship your motor to us.

sounds good to me santo and how hard is it to install it yourself

[Santo DeRisi]

Its just time consuming and about 2 pages of parts.....

[groundhog_464]

hmm.... maybe a kick start would have been a good idea.

[Dave400ex]

Santo what is it going to cost and will it come with new rear plastic?