Hitchcocks Forum

I'm having severe starting problems with my 2004 500cc Bullet Electra X. It is fitted with an Amal 32mm carb with 200 main jet with needle on 3rd groove down. This new carb was fitted in January and has only done a few miles.

The engine was running superbly once started last week for a mini ride out. Now there is no fuel getting into the combustion chamber at all. (No petrol smell and dry finger.)

The carb has been stripped and is spotless with the main jet clear. I have not checked the pilot jet and am waiting for some cleaning wires to do this.

Fuel flows freely into the float chamber and the needle rises completely out of the jet but with no sign of fuel getting into the engine itself.

Any help gratefully received.

Does fuel come out of the tickler when you hold it down, These later Amals are notorius for the tickler being a fraction short and not pressing the float down

Thanks for reply Norm. yes the tickler does let fuel flow out.

With a squirt of Aerostart into the carby will it start? Does it have a choke? Are you using the electric start or trying to kick start it? Electras are a pig of a thing because the factoy tossers removed the decomp valve

Norm, couldn't find aerostart but used a similar product, Easy Start and hey presto she fired up. Thanks a lot. I use the kick start to turn the engine over 5 to 10 times before starting but then rely on the eletric start as my legs are not what they were. I can usually get between 1 and 4 compression strkes per "press". What I did notice was that the needle is not seated correctly and missing the main jet. This was probably the root cause so I'll fix that pdq. Once again thanks a lot, should be out by the weekend!!

On my Mark 1 Inter I have a can of Start ya Bastard mounted in the toolbox with a button on the top of the toolbox, clear tube going directly into the inlet manifold, give it a squirt every time before starting, it fires straight up. Has been that way now for some years. No way I could start it before and it always gets a laugh

Hi NORM-------- Can't find that "product" on E-Bay....must be unique to your part of the world, but did find this }---- http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Powered-by-Pr ... arParts_SM -------------- Seems to be a "Universal" thing then ?? Maybe even the Starship Enterprise had cold start problems as well ???

Hi Alan, maybe a product just for Aus probably packaged by Aerostart because the can and writing looks similar

Made by the Nulon oil co.

A clever little possum aren't you Leon