Help for a friend

[Wild101]

Ok, my friend has an '84 FXRT that won't start.(when cold) Whines like a jet engine when he pushes start. Not hearing any pops(from pistons). He holds start button about 20 seconds, just whinning like a jet, then he releases the start button.(may pop 1 or 2 times. Usually takes 3 or 4 tries(if battery holds) After we've been riding there's no problem. Problem exist only when cold. bike turns over nicely with no plugs. Stock motor, not high compression. starter,gear, gear shaft have all been changed. HD Savannah is stumped as with all local shops. There is one other bike with same problem in the area, he leaves it parked and covered. This problem has progressivly gotten worse over 4 yrs. Please help he keeps lookin at my VTX like he's gonna do something, so I can't ride if he can't.

[Bareass172]

When you say it sounds like a jet, do you mean that just the starter is spinning but not engaging the motor or is the entire motor turning over making this noise?
It sounds like starter problems by your description and by the fact that you're saying they're replacing starter parts...
One thing that I know is that heat affects electronics, sometimes in good ways and sometimes in bad ways - so it sounds like this might be someplace to check further into as well. Plus, electrical gremlins usually trouble mechanics because they are inconsistent and don't always make a lot of sense. While carbureted bikes aren't nearly as susceptible to electrical issues as FI bikes I would still say to do some electrical connection checks. Check the start power wires, check the connections and grounds and perhaps clean them up. These are things that should have been addressed when replacing the starter, but there's always that off-chance it wasn't.

This is the only suggestion I can think of at this time, and it's where I would start... I'm not overly familiar with the starter on this bike, but another option to check this might be - if you can easily get to the terminals on the starter - to try making sure the bike is in neutral and running jumper cables from the battery directly to the starter and see if it responds the same. This is very dangerous and you have to know the bike is in neutral or the bike will take off under "starter power", but it's one way to know if the power connections are bad by bypassing all the safety switches and what not.

Just some ideas, I hope it helps at least get you started in the right direction.