Starter kick's out

I have a 2001 Dyna Wide Glide and when I go to start it it will turn the engine a couple times then disengage. It takes several times to get it to start, more when it is warmed-up. I put a new starter cluch and battery in a few weeks ago. I have not pulled it apart yet maybe something came loose or since the clutch went maybe something else is going out any ideas? Thanx,

Does it make a grinding noise then catch? Stop completely? Kick out and grind like hell? When you had the primary off did you inspect the ring gear for chipped teeth and the pinion gear for wear and chipped teeth?

The '94 an later starter ring and pinion gear ratio is notorious for tearing up the ring gear.

This article goes into more details.

https://www.directparts.com/static/articles/motorcycle_gears.htm

Thanx CD good article, it looks like this is a common problem. So if I am going to be doing some replacement of parts why not go for the big fix mentioned in the article? What kind of money are we talking about for the switch-out of the pinion and ring gears? I didn't take a real close look at the gears when I did the starter clutch replacement but by the sound of it I think that's it.

HRK is right, check your grounds etc.

There is a kit that gives you a special 10 tooth pinion and an 84 tooth ring gear. Give Sam a call and tell him you need a DS21100051 kit.
Runs $122.78

Ok I cleaned all electrical connections everything was quite clean because I just replaced the battery a few weeks ago. I pulled off the primary cover and inspected the gears. (The oil plug was full of metal shavings)The pinion gear looks fine. The ring gear doesn't look bad but it has some burrs on the starter side, would that be enough to cause this problem? I figure that the damage occured when the starter clutch was going out. It engages every time the problem is that it prematurly kicks out then it grinds almost like ther isn't enough of something to keep it engaged. I tried it a few times with the cover off just to see if it was fully engaging and it is. Could there be some type of missalignment of the starter? or could I have purchased a faulty starter clutch? or is it just time to replace the gears? I would be a bit dissapointed if I replaced the gears and had the same problem. How long before a failure if I continue to run like this?

I just returned from the H.D. dealer to pick up some oil and I was talking to one of the mechanics about my problem and he thinks it is the solenoid.

I not only checked all ends of the cables, I took some sand paper and touched them up.

First, I would not hit the starter button with the outer primary off as it can bend the jack shaft bolt easily. Also, do not pull out on the pinion gear unless you disconnect the battery first. The starter may engage and that buzz saw can chew up your fingers right quick...

From your description I would agree with HRK in that you may not be getting full cranking voltage or, your battery is weak or not fully charged.

This story has come to an end!!! I went to the dealership with my starter to see if they could check it out like at an auto parts store. I was explaining, in detail, to the guy behind the parts counter about my problem and the different things people told me could be wrong. He started going on about something like, do you have enough air in your back tire, so I asked him if I could talk to a mechanic. He brought me out to the shop and introduced me to a guy named Monty. I was wearing my work shirt and he said, “Do you work for Vortech”, the name on my shirt, I said, “yeah, why do you want a blower?” it turns out he was in the market. We got to talking and he told me to leave the starter with him and he would check it out and if it needed a solenoid he would change it out for me. I came back the next day and he said it was fine. He also told me to snug-up the starter mounting bolts and click it in a few times to make sure it wasn’t binding. So I went back to the parts guy to get some oil and Monty came up behind the counter and was looking at the parts book. He told me to make sure I had this ball bearing that is inside of the shaft in the starter clutch. When you buy a starter clutch the bearing doesn’t come with it and it gets stuck in the old one. Looooong story, anyway, I pulled my starter back apart and whalah!!!!!!! No bearing. I used to keep all of my old parts just because but this time I tossed em. So I had to buy another bearing, $1.06. My bike works great!!!!!!!! I can only imagine replacing a load of parts and still not working. You might want to store this one in the memory, I sure will. It does say in the service manual to put the bearing in, but who reads the manual? Duh! That bearing is around 3/8" in diameter gives it directly that much more push.

Are you talking about the 8879 ball bearing?

I don't know if that is the part number but it goes inside of the jack shaft on the solenoid plunger side.

Yep, that's the one I thought it was. Never had one get lost but I could sse how. Glad ya got it fixed.