Motorcycle Repair: HONDA CB 450, honda cb 450, starter clutch

Question
"lifted the rear wheel off the deck and put her in gear , then I rotated the wheel a few turns and then shifted the gearbox back to neutral . by doing this I rotated the crank and starter gear until the gear teeth meshed and she started up. I noticed too that sometimes if I tap on the side of the motor with a rubber hammer while engaging the starter that does the trick as well."

This was what was told to me about my bike can you tell me what I need to do is it the starter gear? This is my first bike, thanks.
Mike

Answer
It sounds like there are some teeth stripped off the starter gear.  Usually this is a major job since it is coupled to the primary shaft or the crankshaft.  Not sure on the CB450 since I do not know that engine well, but if you obtained this bike cheap, you just found out why it was cheap...  If you want to persist with the bike you will either get good at bump-starting or you will learn a lot about the engine internals.  Buy a service manual and weigh the job up  Looks like you will have to remove the stator and overhaul the starter clutch.

In looking at the web, this thread may help you:

http://www.hondatwins.net/forum/viewtopic.php?f=17&t=1935&start=0&st=0&sk=t&sd=a...

Good luck,  Jan