Starter Motor for Airheads, Denso

This replacement Stater Motor fits all Airhead twins 1970 and later.
There are TWO versions, differentiated by the number of teeth on the Bendix drive. Choose the one for your range of model years: 1970 through '76 (with 8-tooth drive gear) or 1977 through '95 (with 9-tooth gear).

These starter motors are adapted from the Denso (formerly called Nippondenso) unit made for Toyota vehicles. They are especially suited to replace the failure-prone Valeo starters on 1988-'95 Boxers, but just as useful for '77-'87 twins that came with Bosch starters. Because of their performance and practically bulletproof construction, they're also very well suited for use on high-compression or performance-modified engines. In all cases, drop-in replacement requires no modifications or rewiring. Use your existing starter bolts & nuts.

The Denso starter is mated to a new casting and drive gear to fit the BMW engine. The high torque planetary gear design DOES NOT use glued-in magnets for the motor fields. Robust construction and wire-coil fields insure long service and can be rebuilt. At 6 lbs., it's approximately half of a Bosch's weight, and draws 80 amps of battery current, compared to the 120 amp draw common to Bosch.