Mechanical Genius.....Not!!!!

Slightly off topic as it has nothing to do with Volksies but i am sure some of you will relate to this.....
You know how you think you are being clever doing shit yourself coz you are interested and you think its going to save you money and then at the end, reality hits and you realise you can be a complete dick... This is my story!!!
I have owned over 40 or 50 bikes since i was 14 (now 2 months off th big 50) and initially due to finances (read nil) i got into the habit of doing repairs and maintenance myself.
Rebuilt my first car engine when i was 17 and have rebuilt loads of single cylinder dirt bikes, one 4cylinder road bike, another car and generally know enough to do most things but also enough to get myself into trouble.
I have owned a dozen or 15 road bikes and currently own a Ducati ST-2 (1000cc sports tourer for the non-believers out there).
I had owned it for about a year when last November (2009) it started turning over too slow to start. I thought it was just a dead battery as when i bought the bike (repossession from auction) it had a dry battery.
I got the bike home, topped the battery up, charged it and away it went so 12 months later i assumed incorrectly that i was probably lucky to get 12 months out of it and dutifully went out and bought a new battery.
No change.... Bugger!!
I had done a couple of oil and filter changes in the 12 months i had it so wasn't scared to tinker with it.
Looked a bit closer thinking the problem may be a bad connection as some previous owner had duplicated the leads from the negative to earth (motor) and the positive to the starter solonoid.
Must have been a grunt problem in the past.
Couldn't find a problem there but when i undid the nut on the positive post on the starter motor the thread was cross-threaded and rooted.
Totally unacceptable...
Pulled the end off the starter motor, got a new terminal post fitted it and now the starter was spinning freely but not engaging.... Bugger... Starter Clutch!!
Now the starter clutch on the Dukes is not like a car, it is more like a centrifical clutch with cam shaped thingamajiggies that fly out and grab the outer drum and the whole shooting match spins the engine. Simple..
This is where i showed unusual maturity and thought "i'm out of my depth here" and took it to a mate who is a qualified bike mechanic and auto sparky.
Good decision i tell myself as its by now Jan 2010 and i'm missing out on valuable summer riding weather. My mate will have it going in no time.
New starter clutch... easy.. no better.
Popping and farting like an old mole, like the timings out.
We took the immobiliser off as it was aftermarket and a likely candidate. No difference.
New fuel, no difference.
3-4 months later and after much nashing of teeth, a $750 starter clutch and no more summer the bike is still not going and my mate tells me i have to come and take it away as he can't get to the bottom of it.
Take it to the Ducati guru and after lots of hours of fiddling he discovers the culprit.
Some dickhead (read me) had put the starter brushes in backwards and the starter was trying very hard to start the motor...... backwards!!!!
So, there you have it.
The only one thing that doesn't make sense is.
Why didn't the old starter clutch engage when it was spinning backwards when the new one did??????
I'm not sure i even want to know.
What i do know is i now owe the local Duke man lots of money for all his hours nutting it out...
And lots of beer... Fines for not bringing it to him in the first place.
Fair enough i reckon!!!!!

I'm not really getting it...the starter motor / DC / spins according to polarity when connected...

I have seen VW starters rotate the correct way with the battery backwards, and run....until the coil spat the dummy
So without seeing the brush holder, and hww the wires are connected to the startor windings, I believe anything is possible.
Dont let that put you off doing your own work!!

Yeah it sucks when stuff like that happens, but I like to look on the bright side. Sure you ended up spending just as much money, if not more. But more than likely you have bought some new tools that you needed so you can add it to your collection (which you will probably not use again for a very very long time).

Just went and picked the bike up.
Wasn't the brushes i put in backwards, there are 4 magnets around the armature and muggins me had turned the housing 90deg thereby reversing the polarity.
And the reason the second (new) starter clutch engaged when the first one didn't is because the little sprags can be put in either way and first mechanic put them in to suit the way the starter was spinning. (which was the wrong way.)
A lesson learnt.
It probably would have cost me $1500 less and a complete summer of riding ($500 or rego and insurance) if i had taken it straight there in the first place.

What you should've done is buy a jap bike and it wouldn't have broken down in the first place 🙂

or a Kick Start