1985 Yamaha 700 Maxim

My starter makes a grinding noise while trying to crank. It turns the engine however not far enough to turn on. Was wondering if the friction plate have something to do with it, will clean them work

 

Ah, the dreaded "marbles in a can". I kindasorta have that on my 750, but it's not bad enough (yet) for me to have to break the thing down to deal with it.

The issue is the starter clutch, and to solve that problem, it's pretty much necessary to drop the engine and split the cases. No need to pull the heads or cylinders, just the lower crankcase.

 

The oil you use can affect the performance of your starter clutch. Make sure it's conventional motorcycle oil.

Your battery can also cause the starter clutch to act up. Make sure it's fully charged. You could also take it to your local auto parts store and have it load tested to make sure it's still "good".

Eliminate the easy things to avoid unnecessarily splitting the cases.

 

True, true. Was still kindasorta waking up and completely forgot about the oil.