Hitchcocks Forum

on a run up to london a few weeks ago I had the bike running lovely, the bike being a 2011 efi with amal carb conversion carried out in february, untill on the way back if I went above 60ish mph the ride became very jolty. I managed to get home and the bike got progressively worse until one day it wouldn't start at all.
After some investigation I discovered the sprag clutch bolt had come out and was loose in the primary chain case, I checked for any damage and found nothing (lucky).
Ordered a new sprag clutch bolt and washer, fitted.......and nothing.
So I checked everything I could think of, the list:
I have spark
I have fuel (spark plug gets wet)
I have air (checked carb for any blockages and cleaned filter)
I've checked the timing (spot on)
I have good compression
I have checked tank for vapor lock
Engine turns over
Full battery
New coil

So all I can think of that I haven't checked are valves and TCI, the bike has less than 5000 miles so hopefully not valves but will check if people recommend and I don't want to spend the money on a new TCI unit without knowing if thats the cause or not.

Timing in the right place ?

yep, timing checked with the woodruff key slot at 12 o'clock as per the manual.

Have you tried a new plug just because it sparks outside don't mean it does inside I've had this problem of plugs spark perfect outside but once fitted not working?. Also If its the kit brought from Hitchcocks with TCI they might be able to advise on how too test it.

Hoping to get another spark plug arrive later in the post, and I emailed the guys at hitchcocks, thanks

hi jake sorry to hear of your woes ,i did make people aware a long time ago to check the bolt on the front primary sprocket /sprag when the efi that i service had the same problem ,i got a bolt locally and i put thread lock on it and a spring and flat washer ,i hope its just your spark plug my electra eats them for dinner,on the efi i service we usually change the spark plug every 2500 miles as par for the course atb paul.

No luck with the spark plug.....looks like I'll be stripping the motor. Thanks for the advice.

Hi Jake

I have an EFI with the FI still in place (no conversion ). Your jolty ride sounds familiar - I get that from time to time. Never sorted out the cause, but it is intermittent so difficult to pin down. I would be interested to hear if you find out the problem.

What symptoms would a loose sprag bolt result in anyway (apart from catastrophic damage, potentially!)

m