=========================================================================
Maxim-X Starter Rebuild with Brush Replacement
=========================================================================

Installing new starter brushes in the Maxim-X starter is a much bigger
PITA than you might think.

The positive side brush - the one with the bolt attached - swaps right
into place.  Although the new brush is missing the metal arm that the
original part had, that won't effect the installation.  Just pull the old
brush out and put the new brush in.  The negative brush, however, is an
entirely different matter - it has what looks like a crimp-on end but it
isn't simply meant to be crimped on.

It's clear that Yamaha intended for the old negative brush wire to be
cut off at the point where it **appears** to be crimped onto the brush
plate.  I say **appears** because it's not just crimped - when you open
up the crimp you find that the wire was actually braised onto the brush
plate with industrial grade silver (a yellowish colour) before the tab
was bent over.  Don't bother opening up the crimp because the wire won't
be freed by doing so.

Judging by the size and spread of the connector end of the new ground
brush, it's pretty obvious that it was intended to just slip over the
original crimp and then be braised back into place... but that's not as
easy as it sounds.

The brush plate is stainless steel and I'm not sure what the new brush
connector end is made of but it's tricky to solder the two together.  I
tried several torches, 3 different types of solder and both with and
without flux but I had no luck.  The heat was insufficient to solder the
new brush connector into place and additional heat looked like it started
to harm the hair-width strands of conductor that make up the brush lead.
I didn't dare increase the heat any further.  But crimping alone is not
reliable.

Even if crimping alone were enough, the new brush doesn't really lend
itself well to crimping in the same way.  To do so, you'd have to cut
the connector end off but I wasn't willing to do that for two reasons.

	a) The original connection was indeed braised so
	   installing a new brush without braising again
	   seemed like it might not be enough.

	b) The crimped original piece on the Maxim-X's
	   starter didn't look like it could be crimped
	   again.  Uncrimping it wasn't easy and when I
	   finally got the crimp open, I got the nauseating
	   feeling that the bend had been over-stressed and
	   that the bent-over piece would fall off if I
	   were to bend it anymore.  I just didn't have any
	   confidence that it would stay crimped if that was
	   all I was going to do.

Those things, and the way the new end is shaped, convinced me there was
no reliable solution but to have the connection braised professionally,
as it originally was.

By the way, if you have the ability to braise the connection yourself,
don't use typical silver solder or lead solder because they won't hold
up - if there ends up being any resistance at all, the solder will likely
melt and drip away. The right stuff to use is apparently industrial grade
silver and the shop that did the job for me used an especially small
acetylene torch to heat the area of the connection without harming the
adjacent wire strands.

=========================================================================

Conclusion:

To me it seems there are only two sensible choices for installing new
starter brushes in the Maxim-X starter.


1) Buy the brushes as part of the complete brush plate
    assembly.  It'll cost you more but the work will already
    be done so there won't be any need to struggle with
    securing the troublesome ground brush connection.

2) Don't even bother trying to solder/braise the new
    brush connector onto the stainless steel brush plate
    yourself.  Chances are you'll have the same problems
    I did.  Save yourself the grief and pay someone who
    has the ability to braise the two parts together using
    the right braising material and the right tools.  It
    won't cost a lot (certainly less than buying the entire
    brush plate assembly) and it will save you time as well
    as trouble.  In my case it was all over in a matter of
    minutes for only $10.

HAP