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The starter wouldn’t turn, so it was an emergency tow job.
*Basically, I don’t go on tow calls myself, so make sure you’re prepared to arrange a tow through your optional insurance or JAF. Here’s the thing: “I’m fine!” The moment you think that, you’re probably not fine.
I’ll skip ahead with the story. A certain battery had swollen with a gap forming in it—so we replaced it. The starter relay checked out fine too. Then it was time to check the starter motor itself.
Tank off, air cleaner box off, throttle body off—finally we got here.
By this point, I had a bad feeling creeping up my spine. What if it’s not the starter motor but the engine itself? Anyway, the plugs looked good.
It was picking up so much signal—cranking worked and I was relieved.
The starter motor is right there in front of me, but I have to remove the thermostat—which means draining the coolant and also removing the water temperature sensor right above it.
With an air-cooled engine it’d be five minutes, but with a supersport, labor costs go up—can’t be helped.
Once I removed it and confirmed by hand that it wouldn’t turn, I was certain—in a way, reassured.
The rotor and magnet had mostly separated.
It looks like it finally jammed up and stopped turning.
I thought the brush structure was pretty neat.
Time passed, and a replacement motor costing just over 40,000 yen arrived.
Replaced the plugs too while we were at it. Writing down the numbers makes it easier when you take them out.
Since it’s only been on the track, there’s barely any carbon buildup—a peaceful world.
Cleaned the air filter too while we’re at it.
The battery is a reliable Shorai.
My criteria for choosing a battery are: it won’t die suddenly, and it has solid warranty coverage. Dying out on the road is the worst. After that, I think solid warranty coverage is what matters.
• Shorai lithium ferrite—voltage varies by vehicle.
• WESTCO MF usable with liquid batteries—terminals are a bit tricky.
• Daytona MF—affordable and reliable.
This is based on what I’ve used, but there are exceptions, so take it as reference only.
Swapped in an NTK radiator cap and we’re done.
It wasn’t a big job, but the cost and time were enormous this time around.
