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[Perfurt247]

A strange (to me) problem has occurred after winter storage, and I'm seeking your collective wisdom

Bike is a 2006 500cc Electra X, and it ran perfectly during last autumn, but at the seasons last ride I noticed, that the bike hesitated to start, when I would move it into winter storage.

Well - decided to clean the carburettor during spring preparations, and wait do maintnance then.

I have now cleaned the carb, and I can get the engine to fire up, but ONLY as long as I keep the starter button depressed. IOnce I release the button,l the engine dies - ie - no explosions, nothing...

Out with the spark plug - looks OK, checked for spark with plug out and touching metal - all OK. So now what.

Being a relative noob when it comes to engines, I have always gone by the these - if you have petrol and a spark in a compressed chamb er - there's bound to be an explosion. But NOT neccesarily in a Royal Enfield

It's probably something very trivial, that I'm too stupid to see/know - but WHAT?

Any help pointing me in the right direction will be greatly appreciated ... because SPRING IS HERE ....

[ericpode]

Sounds an interesting one!

I assume you have compression. Do you get a spark when not touching the starter button? i.e. when using the kick?
Problem with the Electra is that it's not easy to see if the spark is coming at the right time. A sheared key and shifted rotor may well give such symptoms.

[Chris [Stockport]]

Easy to try: Use a NEW spark plug, not just the cleaned-up old one.

(I've had it before in RE's and H*nda$ where the plug sparks ok when OUT of the engine, touching metal, but didn't do its stuff INSIDE. A new one cured it.)

Good luck, Chris

[Wheaters]

A couple of thoughts:
Fully charged battery?
Fresh petrol?

[PeteF]

What did you do last? You cleaned the carb!
That's where to start looking.

[Presto]

As you’re getting ignition with the starter turning then you have a spark and you have fuel. What you don’t have is any power. Not sufficient power even to turn the engine. In which case it is very odd that you have any ignition at all.

The engine has a CV carburettor and the first thing I’d look at is the rubber diaphragm in the carburettor dome. As PF says – begin with the part you’ve disturbed. But it’s a strange thing that you report and I’ll be interested to hear what is in fact the problem.

[Perfurt247]

Thanks a lot for your quick replies.

Actually I dismantled and cleaned the carb AFTER the symptoms presented themselves in the autumn - carb was cleaned a week ago. Slightly more explosions when the starter is running, but still dies when button is released.

The diaphragm (spelling?) looked fine, and I made sure to turn it right when assembled. Battery was replaced last spring, so its only about a year old now and fully recharged.

Could the rectifier come into play. Its the Indian one, but I have in stock one of the British ones that Hitchcock sells ( have a small stock og RE things, because we dont have a Danish distributor).

[Perfurt247]

Easy to try: Use a NEW spark plug, not just the cleaned-up old one.

(I've had it before in RE's and H*nda$ where the plug sparks ok when OUT of the engine, touching metal, but didn't do its stuff INSIDE. A new one cured it.)

Good luck, Chris

Will get hold of a new plug.I HAVE tried to switch plugs - even to an Iridium one - same problem - but both plugs was slightly used...

[Wheaters]

I did once have a similar problem with a car I rebuilt (actually, it was a kit car using parts from a single donor vehicle). There was an issue with the wiring on the starter solenoid. I'd wired it slightly incorrectly so that the ignition was only live while the engine was cranked over.

So it would be worth checking all the wiring connections in case something has come adrift.

[Daiwiskers]

I too think that it's a relay

Please don't forget to let us know when you have found the problem and tell us what it was

Good luck keep safe Dai