Hitchcocks Forum

I have a 2007 iron barrel bullet 500 that came with electric start. The sprag gear failed a yeaar or so ago and I took the starter rotor out to bypass the problem. Now I'm getting ready to put a lot of work into the bike and I'd like to convert it to a kick start only.

In the store the kick start only primary covers only go up to the 2003 models. Will they bolt to a 2007? I already know about the necessary conversion to right side shift.

Also, if the covers will fit does anyone know what drive-train parts are needed to replace the now unnecessary sprag gear?

Hitchcocks sell the complete kit to remove electric start primary for both left or right gear change models four or five speed models here below.


http://www.hitchcocksmotorcycles.com/ac ... crankshaft



Its not too hard to do just same as if you were replacing the drive sprocket but you need to drill out the original three holes in engine once you remove the original electric start primary case.

What you actually have to do is drill and tap the three 8mm holes to locate the K/S mounting studs for the replacement inner cover in their original position. Assuming the they provide 8mm studs and an 8mm tap in the kit, you will also need a 6.8mm drill. I went down this route when my Electra's sprag clutch went belly up.



Another option, if you know a really good alloy welder, is to keep the existing inner case and carefully remove the "blob" that holds the E/S gear chain & sprag, and weld in a filler piece to plug the gap. The importance of a neatly finished job is obvious, because the end result could look ghastly if not done well! A third option is just to remove the offending bits from the inner cover and fit one of our hosts' bungs to seal off the hole for the starter motor.



The only drive component needed in the replacement is a plain 25 tooth engine sprocket, which is part of our host's kit.



A.

I saw that kit but I'm a bit gun shy about drilling holes in my bike. Is the drilling something that I could trust any old machine shop to do?

Also, Adrian, do you have a picture of the installed kit on your Electra? I was curious how the kit looked compared to the new and old style iron barrel primary covers.

When you drill the new holes you need to ensure that the new primary inner lines up with the gearbox main shaft. This is much easier to do if the engine and gearbox are assembled together. This would make it pretty difficult to do a proper accurate machined hole on a pillar drill or mill so your machine shop probably isn't the way to go. A pistol drill will do the job OK with a second person to keep you perpendicular. A good accurate center punch followed by a centre drill or spot drill before the tapping drill will be accurate enough if you're carefully.

Having done this conversion myself, here are some tips: To save unnecessary delay, obtain the correct drill size for tapping the new stud holes before you start the job, because you are unlikely to find them stocked in your local B+Q etc. (17/64in. or 6.8mm). Secondly, the three countersunk allen screws that hold the E/S inner primary case are a real bitch to remove, so I suggest you buy a 5mm hexagon bit that you can use with a 10mm socket to give you sufficient leverage to budge them (an ordinary allen key is usually a waste of time and might cause you to chew up the screws) and the bit will enable you to whack them with a hammer, or impact wrench, if they are extra stubborn. Both these items are cheap enough on Ebay. Thirdly, when fitting the new kickstart inner primary case, only fit the gearbox mainshaft oilseal and holder after bolting the case on, so that the seal can be centralised to the mainshaft.

warnlz



It's not quite the same with the Electra-X as the kit doesn't exist, I had to source the parts individually, the tricky bit being trying to get hold of the ten-hole inner cover, as they were never fitted to any UK export models. I was fortunate that our hosts had one for a 4 speed right foot shift gearbox, and my Electra-X already had the right foot shift conversion.





Hébergé par Imagesia, le meilleur hébergeur d'images du net !





Hébergé par Imagesia, le meilleur hébergeur d'images du net !



Fitting the new inner cover was exactly as it would have been with the standard Bullet, though. I managed to get the holes in the crankcase drilled accurately enough with a hand-held drill, ready to tap for the mounting studs that replace the countersunk socket screws. If you haven't already got a 6.8mm drill, try here.Other suppliers are available!



http://www.ukdrills.com/?utm_source=Eba ... -102177845



A.

Thanks for the info! I'll grab the kit and throw it on once it gets cold again.