Posted by Matt Z on February 26, 2003 at 21:24:58:
Hi everyone,
I have an '87 savage which abruptly "froze up" while riding last September. It turned out that it was the starter clutch gear (the big gear behind the alternator). I had sheared off two teeth. I managed to repair it, but I have been taking my time while I was considering some projects for the winter.
This forum has been great. Any time I have a question, usually someone on the forum has answered the question already. I even noticed other people have had problems with the same start clutch gear. After reading other posts, I suspect that the decompression lever was to blame. I want to ask a question.
The clymer manual desribes how to adjust the decompression lever, but I wanted to ask if anyone knows how much time the decompression solenoid is supposed to be engaged. I disconnected power to my starter and did a test. My solenoid appears to only engage for 2 seconds regardless of how long I hold the starter switch. Which means, if my bike doesn't fire on in the first two seconds, the decompression switch is not helping. It seems to me that the solenoid should be engaged the whole time the start button is held. I am sure that this solenoid is pricey, so I thought that I would ask if anyone knows the normal operation of this solenoid.
Thanks for any help you can provide. I am hoping to complete a weld-on hardtail conversion next month, and I will share some photos.
Matt