[Al Skierkiewicz]

Jason,
Besides the intermittent design feature of these motors, they are intended to produce a lot of power depending on the motor they are used with. A small four cylinder engine in a warm climate will produce a much different load than a full size V8 in Calgary. I would expect a significant bias on direction but that should be easily overcome with software. Many starter motors will also contain a temperature cutout to prevent damage under hard starting conditions.
In general I would expect a larger motor to easily run several hundred amps stall current. The battery recommended for my Odyssey V6 has a cold cranking spec of 800 amps at 75 AH, so I would not be surprised to find the starter in 300-400 amp range.