Hitchcocks Forum

Well, I still haven't tried to open up the primary chain case to find out if the sprag is the source of my electric start issues (EFI Electra sprag clutch thread from a couple of weeks ago) but the woes continue. I was cleaning up the front caliper on my EFI Electra today and on completion I decided to start her up...she kicked into life quite easily and I let the bike run for a minute or two whilst putting some tools away. As is often the case, the bike cut out (it's cold in Scotland so idling is sometime tricky). I wandered back over and stupidly hit the electric start switch...

CLUNK.

Now she won't start. The bike kicks, and you hear a few puffs, no real ignition and then nothing. The exhaust is puffing out so I assume compression is fine (you can also feel this a little with the resistance on the kick start lever).

Any ideas on what to investigate first? Second? The primary cover is coming off soon, but I want a running bike first

Michael,bit more info needed,why is it stupid to hit the ES?Does the starter motor still turn?or just spin freely
without engaging.
May be just a dud connection.A jumper straight on to the starter may be the answer,
But we are talking of an EFI,problems like this were supposed to have been sorted on this model.
Out of warranty i presume?
jack

Hi Jack,


It was stupid to hit the ES because the ES does the following: whir, whir, CLUNK, crack. And then it stops turning, without firing and then i resort to kicking. I only hit the ES when im not thinking now. The clunking was originally occasional, but now it's almost every time. As for the current issue, a change of spark plug allowed me to get the bike going. The old one was very, very black with almost no gap left - I guess my difficulty starting came from that. Plug was dry though, no oil. So just carbon - I don't really know what might be the cause of a dry, black plug though.

Micaael,well at least she's running now with the new plug,i'd occasionally remove that and check colour now,
and then,can't fathom how the last plug gap had closed up,on it's own.I doubt to many Bullets would be running out
there with the exact proper plug colour,but dry and black may simply indicate pulling the plug after a long run.
Go by what this new plug tells you.As to the Sprag,yes the Whir whir is the starter spinning but the sprag not
engaging,until it finally does,not very nice.Disconnect the wire to the starter for now.Oh,and there are sprags,
and then there are sprags,the ones with 14 little segments are junk,get the one with 18 of those.
jack

Interesting Jack,
I haven't seen a sprag from a UCE,haven't had to because they are more less likely to fail because of the auto decomp, are you saying they are the same as the early sprags. I realise the sprag isn't the underlying problem, just the weakest point when things go wrong

Actually Norm,i was thinking of the previous model sprag (AVL)and was under the impression
the actual sprag clutch(segments) was the same in the EFI.Hopefully others will chime in.
jack.

Hi guys--------- I'm just wondering a bit about that plug gap .. That's never right in a month of Sundays..MICHAEL, would you describe in a bit more detail just what this means, QUOTE}---"The old one was very, very black with almost no gap left"
Are you saying that the centre electrode has closed up OR has disappeared ?? --- maybe a picture would help ?? If it's closed up then my guess at this point is the piston has clouted it...but why ??..What's the condition of the air filter system--As it's fuel injection maybe one or more of the sensors are playing up causing it to over fuel, hence the rich mixture ( Black, sooty plug )
Is it out of Warrenty ?? Whats the mileage, please ??

Hi Alan, sadly no pic as I cleaned up the plug after taking it out - but I can describe it. I was using a twin electrode plug where the side electrodes DON'T hang down below the centre electrode, but form a sideways gap instead. The piston hasn't hit it because it would have shattered or damaged the centre electrode because of the plug's design. It seems to have closed up due to soot build up. Mileage-wise I have about 15000 on the clock, commuting on the bike for 25 miles per day (running for around 30 to 40 minutes twice per day normally). In the summer I did a monster holiday putting around 2000 miles on over 9 day- averaging over 200 miles per day. I serviced before and after that journey - but I may have neglected the plug... can't remember for sure. I'll check the air filter and inlet today for cleanliness, blockages and leaks. MIL warning light shows no sensor issues... and sadly it is WAY out of warranty.

Hi MICHAEL, -------------- thanks for that swift and informative reply...I don't have any detailed experiences with the EFI Electra model so what is the }--- "MIL warning light" ??
I think understand what you mean about the design of the plug electrodes--- Would a view of the 2 electrodes and the centre one look something like this >>>>>> l . l

Hi Alan... That's exactly what he plug looks like the bike ran ok this morning, started first kick so the plug was definitely a factor. I checked the air filter - a wee bit oily and dirty but nothing unusual, I don't think. [the efi model engine breather feeds into the air filter box so oily filter isn't unusual]. Engine not sounding perfect though - big backfire on opening throttle after a minute or so idling - backfire killed off the engine and restarting was a bit tricky - but it did restart, unlike yesterday!! Taking primary cover off tomorrow to investigate sprag (finally)... Is anyone familiar with the efi engine? What might cause backfires, rough-ish idling from time to time, occasional cut outs on throttling back, a dodgy sprag and a wee clickety sound from right hand side of engine??


Any help would be great!