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[Timothy zote]

Hello guys, i recently bought an electra 5s ci 2007 model from a friend who is the first owner,the bike has clocked 22000 kilometre.starting up the bike in the morning is difficult the bike won't start while the choke is on,without turning the ignition key and pressing the decomp pulling the choke on i used to give 3/4 kicks,after that i turn on the key,push shut the choke release the decomp and kick to start (it usually start up like this). But the engine splutters,only after i turned the choke on briefly (pulling the choke knob up and down quickly)it gains momemtums if i leave the choke on a bit longer the engines dies.
And when climbing slopes in 1st or 2nd gear (in high revs)there is a lot of noise from the engine,but no engine noise in lower gear or when engine is in idle.is this normal.suggestions would be highly appreciated

[Adrian]

OK, let's just confirm this is an Indian home market 350 Electra with the classic engine, and NOT the export model 500 Electra-X, which more of us will be familiar with.

If so the carburetor is a standard VM24 Mikarb which might need stripping and cleaning in case some piece of crud has got into the tiny jets or drilled passages in the carburetor body. That gives you an opportunity to fit a new carb mounting gasket. Does it still have the Pulse Air Valve take-off from the carb mounting? This could be allowing air leaks. The ignition is fixed electronic on these, so if you're getting a decent spark at kick-over I would look at the carburetor first.

What SORT of engine noise are you getting in 1st and 2nd gears? Rattles or clonks?

A.