If memory serves, starters are serviceable, so long as you did not smoke the windings .

Otherwise ebay, or other aftermarket.

 

Hey GL1800 Riders,

Looks like my 2008 is going to need a new starter after a relay burned and the starter continued to run. Outside of a new OEM at say, $900, does anyone know where I may be able to source a refurbished/rebuilt/used OEM starter for a "reasonable" price?

Thanks,

John
2008 L3 GL1800 in Peral White

I have a good used starter that I purchased for a spare. Let me know if you’re interested.

 

Hey GL1800 Riders,

Looks like my 2008 is going to need a new starter after a relay burned and the starter continued to run. Outside of a new OEM at say, $900, does anyone know where I may be able to source a refurbished/rebuilt/used OEM starter for a "reasonable" price?

Thanks,

John
2008 L3 GL1800 in Peral White

I have a good used starter that I purchased for a spare. Let me know if you’re interested.

Sent you a DM.

 

Read the tech board sticky post about starters. IMO I'd get a OEM starter and alternator if needed

 

spummerr, (above)does have a good valid point here!!
I've heard horror stories about off brands of starters & alternators....
Ronnie
6/8/25

 

I’ve got several known good starters if you didn’t get anything worked out yet….

 

There are several threads about folks attempting to change their own GL1800 starters and causing thousands of dollars worth of damage, if you break the gear the engine has to be removed to replace it.
My advice, Make sure you know what you’re doing before you start or else pay someone with plenty of experience to do it for you.

 

For sure what cycledude said, read this:
Starter Replacement Warning

 

And then read this….

https://www.gl1800riders.com/threads/i-cracked-the-starter-reverse-gear.492236/?post_id=6214894#post-6214894

Be carefull

 

It's been a while, but I'm back with an update. Thank you to everyone that has responded. The short of it, the starter was not the issue (I may have a used starter for sale 😁). The long of it is below.

Summers are hot here and I put the Wing on the back burner since my garage is not airconditioned. The temps have dropped and I'm back at it. After I replaced the A & B Starter Relays (OEM from Cyclemax), a fuse, checked all the under-seat relays (all 4 banks) to confirm they were good, and a battery charge, I got the old girl to start. 😁 That's the good news.

Now the bad news. once it started, I noticed a puff of smoke rise from where starter relays are, which is where this whole mess began. I shut her down and restarted her multiple times after seeing the smoke and she started up each time, with no more smoke. Obviously, the smoke is an issue, so I'm looking for some advice, direction or ideas on what may have happened since the relays were new OEM. At this point, I have not yet removed the saddlebag and looked at the relays since I wanted to end the day on a good note (she started, multiple times).

My question is, what would cause this puff of smoke? Is there something that is pushing too much voltage or current to the relays and how can I troubleshoot that?

As always, thanks in advance.

 

You are gonna need to get back in there and look for burned wires/insulation, and loose connections

 

I got back in there and didn't really see anything outside of what was already burned. I cleaned everything up, put some electrical tape on some areas and tightened everything up. I still haven't seen any additional smoke, so I guess I'll chock it up to some residual rubber or something that burned. It's really hard to tell as there was some melted rubber from the bad relay.

With that, I'm officially back on the road! It starts each time I've tried it with no issues. I took her out for about 10 miles running around the neighborhood and the freeway. Fingers crossed! 🤞🤞🤞

Thanks to all for your responses.

 

Remember if you ever remove the starter make sure you put it all the way up against the engine before installing the stater bolts, if not you can break the gear that engages the stater my friend did this now he has a 3K repair and the bikes a 02 with 30K miles and it is not worth the repair.