I think it sounds as though the starter is spinning backwards. I did the Motolectric earth mod and replaced the starters magnetic sleeve 90 degrees out of alignment. Result being that the starter span backwards, it sounded as though the sprag was gone but this was not the case. I lay my bike up over winter (5 months) and it has never failed to start in spring time.

Yes i did think at one stage that i may have put the plate that holds the brushes in back to front but once i removed it and had a look it will only go in one way.

Well the starter end Cap is off again, i cannot see how the plate inside that holds the Brushes could go on back to front, i may be wrong on this point but to put it on back to front would be a nightmare and would most likely damage the wire that goes to the terminal post, but i do think that the starter is spinning backwards could it be in the starter Solenoid does anyone think. Like is said earlier the starter is spinning when i push the start button but it is not engaging.

Thanks for the Link to your pictures Paso750, yeh i did have my one assembled correctly. I am really lost for ideas now . What is a good product to use when cleaning the inside of the Starter?, i saw somewhere that contact cleaner is no good so before i reassemble once again i will give it all a good clean out and then install the replacement Brush Kit that should arrive in the next few days.

good old soap and water,just make sure to dry it well before assembly.

Electricity is not my strong point (not sure what is) but I seem to remember on one of my classic bikes when I fitted a new regulator which required the earth to change I had to alter the polarity of the dynamo which wass relatively easy to do and just involvedd putting wires onto the field coils and sparking from the battery. I do not know if it is possible inadvertently to alter the polarity of a starter motor.
Another problem I had with a dynamo spinning the wrong way when getting it to motor was fixed by taking the brushes out and reversing them.
Don't know if this is analogous to a starter motor or is totally irrelevant but it might spark an idea from someone knowledgeable.

I always use brake cleaner spray as it dries completely. Works very well.

G.

Jeff, I had the same problem over in 750 Paso land. Starter stopped working: didn't make a sound. I could hear solenoid clicking, so I checked voltage which was very similar to your values. I replaced the brushes. Afterwards, starter spun, but not starting bike. After some discussion, decided to disassemble/reassemble cap and brush carrier thinking I may have put it in the first time askew. I honestly couldn't see how the whole affair could be reassembled but one way, so I put it back together very carefully. Now I get nothing when I hit the starter button. I've given up and am seeking professional help. I'll keep you informed as things progress. Good luck with your brush replacement: I really hope it goes much better than mine. I think that is likely your problem. It is difficult to do the job with the starter still mounted to the bike on the 750 Paso.

I still say put 12.5 volts direct to the starter and see if it then kicks in the sprag. Not clear if you've tried that yet. If so you're losing voltage somehwere. It could possibly be the solenoid causing your one volt loss. I think that is the only point you could be losing voltage at for the starter feed, other than battery, solenoid, or starter posts, isn't it? It may be the 11.5 at the starter that is the problem.

Consider the following, which was my main starting issue, even after replacing a solenoid...........

Another thing you can try is cycle the off/run/off switch while pressing the start switch. If you get any better action in the starter by doing that, it could indicate a dirty switch.....even if nothing changes I would clean both of those switches. You can also do a test for voltage drop through the switches.
If you have voltage loss in either of them, it's robbing from the overall battery voltage available for the starter. Stop the voltage loss through the dirty switches and what was lost through them before, now becomes available for the starter.

I geuss you could try jumping up and down while cycling the on off switch AND pressing the starter button ( you may need an assistant... get them to do the jumping ) and mind you dont slip over in all the lost voltage

Mc Tool you raise a good point, do you think it would work if i made my 8yr old son do the jumping? i would make sure he had some protection for not slipping in the lost voltage

Sorry I forgot to mention that whoever does the jumping should be wearing her bikini , that way even if the bike doesn't go the day hasn't been a total loss

Well i received the new Brush Kit and installed it correctly, hit the Starter Button and ........ yep you guessed it the same old deal but now the Starter Motor spins even faster lol. So the only other thing i can think of trying is to relocate the Earth Strap from the Battery to the Motor back onto the Frame where it was , i know this is a long shot but its the only change i made when i fittied the Hi Cap kit. If the starter keeps spinning as fast as it does i wonder if i will achieve what they are trying to do with the CERN Experiment and start creating miniture Black Holes ?mmmm i wonder if Steven Hawking nows anything about the mysteries of the Ducati Paso instead of wasting his time with calculations on Deep Space

Perhaps he is interested in Ducati's. I found this headline on the net !

¿Que le paso a stephen hawking?