My TE300’s OEM starter finally gave up the ghost after 4 years, and I decided to try out one of these cheap ebay starters. £60 is a lot less than £229 so it’s worth a try.
The installation was smooth, all the holes lined up, and on first attempt it seemed to work well.
After a week it was a different story however, as the starter didn’t seem to want to actually turn, merely emitting a faint hum / hiss, and it started to smell of burning metal.
On disassembly I discovered that the armature contacts were fouled with carbon buildup, and the brushes showed excessive wear. Cleaned and re-assembled, and when tried applying power the brush tried to weld itself to the armature.
Ridiculous stuff. I think its fair to say that this starter is toast.
To end this saga, I just bought a genuine KTM OEM starter, and it just starts the bike.
No fuss.
No bullshit.
No smells of burning steel or trying to weld itself to itself..
It just works.
The cheap Chinese starter motor after melting itself won’t even turn.