The DRZ ate my stator!

[Mulley]

A few weeks ago I had some issues with my bike. I had a battery that wouldn't hold a charge. I decided to go for a ride anyway and deal with the battery latter. I have the optional kick starter on mine so no problem.

So we ride and I begin having trouble even kick starting it. I decided to ride to battery plus and get a new battery. Well now the starter just spins but doesn't engage anything. At this point I'm puzzled. I figured I had two issues happening at once. A fueling issue and a broken starter bendix.

Well after reading on the web I learned that most bikes don't have a bendix starter, news to me. Instead they use a starter clutch. I decide to open it before I order any parts.

I removed the starter and the side cover to find this.



The bolts holding the starter clutch to the back of the flywheel were sheared off. The starter and starter clutch were fine. However the stator was destroyed. This is a known problem with the DRZ. A loctite fix is recommended to stop the bolts from vibrating out of both the flywheel and the stator. Instructions can be found here.

http://www.thumpertalk.com/topic/548456-stator-and-starter-clutch-loctite-fix/

I ordered an almost new stator from eBay. A Motion Pro flywheel puller and some new starter clutch bolts.

Today a reassembled everything using red loctite on the starter clutch and blue on the stator. And also changed the oil.




Here is what the innards of a starter clutch look like.





Reassembly is pretty straight forward.





Sorry, no stator pic. I forgot.

After reassembly she started right up. Time to go roostin' again.



   

[Sagebrush]

Suzuki has weak spots on the Stroms and DR650's too. My DL1000 ate its stator last year, had to replace the whole flywheel, the magnets came loose.  My DR650 had very loose NSU screws. Thankfully we have the internet forums to warn us about this crap.

Great post, hopefully it will serve as a heads up to other owners on here.

[Mulley]

I gave her a bath and did a little test ride Sunday afternoon. She's running strong again. EZ wheelies with the big bore always bring a grin.

[kdtrull]

That may be my next bike.  Do the new ones still have the same gremlins?
Somebody at work just got a new SM that looks great with those gold wheels.

[LRobinson]

Nice.   Lets ride!

[Mulley]

That may be my next bike.  Do the new ones still have the same gremlins?
Somebody at work just got a new SM that looks great with those gold wheels.

The drz has barely changed since the first model. Mostly the same fixes must be performed as they all have the same engine. The 2002 (or maybe 2003) and up have better suspension. The SM has different wheels and suspension all together.

The E model us much more desireable due to the Keihin FCR pumper carb, exhaust header and the higher compression base gasket. The S and SM models can be modified to have the same upgrades. The E model did not come street legal nor did it have a subframe. So it's a little lighter but it can't carry as much weight.

In my opinion it's one if not the best all around dualsport if you like to be in the diet a little more than the street and will ride 30 miles of pavement or more at a time to get there. If you ride more pavement than that look at DR650 or XR650L. The trade off is less dirt agility.

If your ride more dirt and less pavement then KTM 500 or 350 are the ticket. But they come at a higher cost.

Almost all you ever wanted know about a DRZ is right here.
www.thumpertalk.com/forum/215-drz400-faq/

If you have questions we have quite a few knowledgeable DRZ guys on here.