1986 Honda 350 Fourtrax 4x4 blowing light fuse (15A)

Hello,

I have recently acquired a 350 Fourtrax bike that the timing was bad on and did not run well. The root cause was the timing chain tensioner which I bought a used one of eBay, put back in time (it was only off ~1-2 teeth), and reassembled. Prior to doing the replace the bike would start or try to. It did not seem to have interference with the valves and from what I can tell the compression seems good. Now that I have the bike back together when I hit the ignition button it will turn over 1-2 times and then blow the fuse (15A). I have check the EGI harness for cuts/bare spots and I am having no luck at all. I have found a few that I have tapped up but they were not close to bare metal. I arced the ignition solenoid with a screw driver to bypass the key and ignition switch and it still popped the fuse, but it would continue to turn over (didn't start) even after the fuse blew. This led me to believe it was a starter issue. I pulled the started and its turns kind of OK. It doesn't spin just freely though. I took the starter apart and cleaned it and put it back together (it wasn't that dirty and the brushes seem OK). When I apply a voltage to the starter it does turn. I put the starter back on the bike and the bike turned over 4-5 times and then popped the fuse. I took the starter back off and it didn't want to turn. I bumped it with a battery several times and now it turns again, but it just doesn't seem as easy as it should to me. Anyone have any advice on how to check if the starter is good or any troubleshooting ideas?

Thanks