/6 Starter switch rebuildable?

[opus451]

So I am finally dealing with stuff not being able to continue walking bck and forth past the bike without looking it in the eye. One thing on the list is the starter switch.

Summer of 2014 trip across America, I was in Wyoming on 80 when the gen light came on and I got that cold wave pass over me. Figured smart phone or not, i was in for a truck stop layover for a while being in the middle of nowhere.

Reading Duane's and Snobum's pages, as well as whatever else I could find (I guess the miracle of smart phones came in handy afterall), i tested this and that with the meter and it finally came to that fault in the starter switch tripping the gen light.

I took off the cap, and manually pushed the button that the little spool couldn't do anymore, the gen light didn't trip anymore, everything checked out. Breathed a triumphant sigh of relief, slept for a few hours on a picnic table and continued East. I continued just simply letting the switch dangle and push buttoning it for the following few months until a stuck clutch rod laid the bike up (also on the list of to-do's).

Wondering, can it be rebuilt, and furthermore is there is a mod to make it reliable and last longer?

Opus

[Duane Ausherman]

There were at least two varieties of switch used on the /6 that were imported and at least one more for foreign delivery. Foreign means "not USA" delivery. A few countries could have a special requirement and get some oddball type. The USA switch is an example of that.

The 1974 is basically a /5 type for domestic and foreign. The 75-76 domestic have the headlight on all the time. The foreign type have an on/off switch. One could buy the foreign switch and then be able to chose to have the headlight on or off, some customers did that mod.

I think that I just confused the situation for you.

[SteveD]

After 40 years, I think I'd be looking for a replacement. www.ebay.de has lots o' stuff. When you get one, then remove the current and see what you can do. Those things will fail eventually, stuff gets brittle and a spare will be insurance.

[opus451]

No Duane, you answered the mod part. It's me who should have been maybe more specific with my question. And that's interesting. I guess the mods I was wondering about were those that might prevent the kind of failure that happened. Which in my lack of tech knowledge I can only describe through the experience of having the gen light get triggered and then bypassing the starter trigger at the handlebar as a fix. Speaking of which, and somewhat tangeantial, eventually the right controls smoked and on the side of the road I had to snip the kill switch and twist it with the live wire to just run it live to the switchbox. And now all I see are folks asking over $100 for right controls, when new they are about $120 from Max in NYS. Gouge away...

And Steve, I will check the German eBay realm, maybe hopefully cheaper than US distributors. And maybe even just do an autozone cheap substitution for now if I can find a suitable match.

Just curious in that frugal sort of way.

I am in the midst of what I call the "poorman's restoration," using household products, half full paint cans, stuff from the fridge, and rebuilding whatever possible. For those short on money but long on time.

Will try to remember to do a before/after post.

Thanks guys!

[Airbear]

I rewired my starter button to be an additional horn button and added a 'momentary on' button switch elsewhere as a new starter button. Maybe a simple solution for you?

[Ken in Oklahoma]

I rewired my starter button to be an additional horn button and added a 'momentary on' button switch elsewhere as a new starter button. Maybe a simple solution for you?

If it is indeed the starter switch that is the problem, it is indeed a simple solution. Once far from home on my '77S bike (the on in the pic by my name) the #@&!$% (my bike) wouldn't start. It was raining, so job one was simply to get the bike running. I pulled off a good bump start (slightly down hill) and didn't shut off the bike till I got to where I was going. My brother in law, who I was staying with, had a push button switch, still dripping slightly, I 'hot' wired it in.

The problem indeed was the starter switch. I don't remember exactly how it failed but I found one in my parts hoard stash and all was well.

Ken