Hitchcocks Forum

Excuse a newbie question..

Just got my 4 speed kick start 350 Bullet, probably a 2002/3 version.
The decompressor lever has been removed from under the switch gear and there is a blanking plug in the cylinder head.

I haven’t fully checked out the manual yet, but:

Is there just a blanking plug and a decompressor still exists to open the exhaust valve, or is it an entirely separate item which has been totally removed?
If the second, then why was it necessary? I’m not the heaviest guy in the world and have no problem with the kick start. I could understand on a big 500cc single, but the 350?

Never had a decompressor, sorry chaps I’ve had a steady diet of Japanese and German Machines; oh with a brief sojourn into Italian territory.

The classic Bullet decompressor is a screw-in thingy (same thread as a 14mm spark plug) which has its own valve to release the cylinder pressure via a drilling into the exhaust port. If that has been blanked off there is no other compression release. They are sometimes removed becausethey can leak, or else people who can manage without them just fit a blanking plug anyway, one less thing to go wrong (the valve has been known to fall out of the decompressor body into the cylinder during maintenance, and it can be a s*d to extract without taking the head off), and one less control cable to worry about.

Having that second 14mm threaded hole does make twin spark plug conversions easier for anyone who wants to go down that route, though most Bullets seem happy enough with a single plug.

The valve lifter is a totally different mechanism which actually lifts the exhaust valve off its seat. A version of this was fitted to the Electra-X and one or two other RE models with the lean-burn engine (I think the EFI models have an automatic valve lifter, perhaps someone could confirm?). Our hosts list a valve-lifter conversion for those who want to retro-fit one to an older Bullet.

A.

Many thanks Adrian, clear as day.
I hadn’t read yet whether it was a simple mechanism or a valve lifter.

Getting it over compression is not an issue. Of course if I were a worrier....... I’d be thinking maybe I haven’t got compression!

Oh thanks for mentioning Pete Snidal, I got his guide, good reading.

John

Here's what they look like for intertest sake:
http://accessories.hitchcocksmotorcycle ... ages%2F607

As has been said, if you don't need one, you don't need one.

I can well imagine that when they had 3-plate clutches, it would have been impossible to get a few bikes over compression without it slipping.