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[Bertie the Bullet]

P.S. don't get caught out, you need a 6mm deep offset ring spanner to undo the condenser wire from the points..yet another spanner to carry, and I only live 15 minutes from Boyers haha...

[simon]

Put on an SR1 Mag. Looks terrific and hasn't required anything other than an oiling in three or four years.

[wilf]

Nice to know I'm not the only one having cold start difficulty Bobf. Unfortunately I couldn't find the post you refer
to. However, for those of us who are still undecided about whether to go electronic I think I've found the solution.....Fit a cheap electronic system which retains the points. That way you should have all the advantages of modern technology, and still have something to tinker with should you feel the need, whilst not having spent lots of money on something that made no difference at all to the bikes performance.

[Nettshubby]

A very good point (sorry!) about the choke on a Micarb. A few years ago on this forum, when Mr Hitchcock used to join in on postings, I joined a discussion about starting problems in which one or two people were saying that the choke was too weak and causing start problems.
I replied that it was in fact the opposite, and these days, with my 2003 sixty5, I use the technique stated above of one or two turn overs with choke on, ignition off, using decomp, then kick start with ignition on.
If you keep kicking with choke on you WILL flood engine and wet plug.
BTW, if engine does get flooded, to clear it, turn ign off, open throttle wide, and kick through a few times with decomp open. Then try start without choke.

[Thack]

I think I would probably disagree with Wilf. If you fit an electronic ignition system that retains the points, you gain *nothing* apart from a (theoretically) stronger spark. Is the spark on the standard setup known for being too weak? Not as far as I know. If you think spark strength is an issue, then yes - there would be some sense in this approach. If you don't, then it's just spending money for no reason.

[Thack]

By the way, I can't say I found the choke on my '06 Electra X too rich. It worked perfectly every time, and never caused flooding. On cold days I would let it run for a few seconds on choke, push it in and drive off. On very cold days I'd ride to the end of the street and then push it in. It seems that my experiences with the Electra X are very different from Norm's!

[Norm]

Thack my hatred of my Electra started within 15 mins of picking it up new from the dealer when it ran out of fuel before I could get to the first service station. Another 3 breakdowns on the way home having to get them to come and get it going again and I eventually got home at 10pm after picking it up at 4pm and the total distance from the dealership to my place is about 40ks. The problems with it never let up, frame miles out,would turn one way fine but you had to fight it turning the other way, crank not assembled true, gudgeon pin pushing the circlip out,piston 20thou off square with the top of the barreel, cracked barrel, big end failing, what a pile of shit it was. But I eventually built it into a great machine but all I used was the cases, the rest was sourced from a Cast Iron engine so hence it was dubbed the Crossbred, and at least it had a real decomp

[wilf]

My comment about keeping the points was meant to be tongue in cheek......But come to think about it.....???

[Thack]

Norm, that sounds just terrible!! I suppose you gave up trying to get it sorted on the warranty? I'm so glad I didn't have your experiences. All I can say, truthfully, is that mine had that weird failure of a tappet breaking in half, and after that it honestly worked perfectly. Mind you, I only did about 5000 miles on it, which I agree is not a rigorous test. I'm hoping my new B5 will be properly engineered, and I suspect it is from what I've heard and read.

[Thack]

Wilf, you're a devil, you are! Yes, I bit - I didn't realise you were talking tongue-in-cheek. Now don't you dare repeat that suggestion!