Okay, Guys... never happened before.

Hit the starter, and the motor whirres just fine, but it's not engaging anything.

Where do I start?

O.K., TECH. articles...do you hear the starter engage?could be the article about the alt.stater coming loose from the crank shaft,don't mean to scare you...easy fix if it is tho'..just time,and $.

Hmmmm, checking the manual, page 5-80 and 5-81... Starter Clutch failure?

This could be a bit pricey, eh?

I do not hear the starter engage anything... the motor whirres right up, but it isn't engaging a thing.

Good thing it happened right in the driveway... I was just about to take off!

Read the tech article... sounds exactly like what I need to do.

The bike was beginning to start, when it coughed a bit of a carb backfire, and that's when the starter would no longer engage. Exactly the symptom described in the article.

This place is great, ain't it? Guess I know what I'll be doing this next week!

Tomorrow's supposed to be a nice day around here... I'm going to attempt to repair my own starter issue just as the tech article explains.

I'll report my results right back here, as I go.

I had the starter spin problem a few month ago. Just followed the tech article step by step and no more problem. Yes, you got to love this site.

Done! I didn't rush anything, had to run for some materials, and I was done and everything put away in 3 1/2 hours.

I can't say that it worked yet, because I'm going to let the adhesive recommended in the article to cure for 24 hours, as suggested. (could not find a retaining compound, everyone said just goop the shaft with red.)

I did not buy a new gasket, and I did not replace the 1 copper gasket for the lowest generator cover bolt, but I did goop them with a black rtv gasket sealer material... so, here's hoping I'll have NO oil leaks as a result. Otherwise, I'll be back into it again.

It was tough to tighen the one shaft bolt to 115 ft lbs, but I finally managed to secure the entire bike enough to get it locked down, with some Loc-Tite red on it!

I'll know how it all worked out tomorrow afternoon, when I try to start it.

Whoohoo! I let it sit for almost 24 hours to let the adhesive cure, and took it for a ride. It started right up, and after I got back, there wasn't a smidge of oil leak anywhere around the generator cover.

I am psyched!!!

Let the good times roll!

Congrats Quest. I have not faced this issue but with a 99* its always in the back of my mind. I wish I had done the procedure as preventative maintenance when I installed the 05 stator and rectifier a few summers ago.

Ride on!