RATS

Well, I didn't accomplish much yesterday.  Cleaned some parts, J-B Welded the wallowed out hole on the alternator stator and went shopping for some parts at a big bike shop up in Rock Hill.  That was rather thankless as the only thing they had on my list was the woodruff key.

When I put the alternator together this morning I was very optimistic.  Everything fit together snugly and seemed solid.  That was a big improvement.  Even the worn out screws seemed to fit tightly and I lock-tite-d them in.  I got everything back together and didn't have any left over parts, (that's always encouraging.)

The moment of truth came and I hit the starter button.  The engine turned over and fired briefly, but failed to catch.  I kept trying but was hearing that freewheeling sound again, and occasionally things would mesh properly and turn the engine over but it never actually did start.  I'm confident that the rotor is no longer slipping on the shaft so the starter clutch must not be locking on the starter sprocket fully.  The manual said to grease the clutch parts, and I did, but perhaps I gummed it up with too much grease.  I guess tomorrow I'll pull it back out and clean it up and try again.  (I'll also have to check the position of that 'neutral indicator' thing-a-ma-jig, 'cause right now it seems to think everything is neutral.)

Did I mention that the original starter switch is missing and that there is a makeshift button in the starter circuit that essentially puts the thing in a state of perpetual 'hot-wire?'  Well, that's the case, and while looking through the manual at the wire diagrams and comparing the schematics to the reality of what was actually there I noticed that there is no starter solenoid.  Hmmmm.  Did I mention that since it seemed like it was close to starting, I kept trying until that makeshift button kind of started smoking?

I guess I'd have to say that the most positive thing that I accomplished today is finding an on-line parts source that actually seems to have more parts "available" than "not available."