I believe you are reffering to the sprag clutch, (don't know what Honda calls it, but that is what it is!). From his description, it is hard to tell if that is the problem. Not sure what he means by "whines" I have had people describe anything from slow cranking to bendix gear not engaging.hi bert. sounds like starter drive in motor behind flywheel is bad. sorry but it requires pulling the motor an removing the back cover. the parts are 3 small springs, 3 spring end caps. an 3 rollers. possibly the gear is bad to but not always. good luck