Hitchcocks Forum

Some of scaly’s vids. (I not going to ‘embed’ them here until somebody

lets me know how without screwing the post up!)



03:44 Starting my classic https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=azxW6YbuNZ0



28:24 Tornado’s day out https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7CyfO6VUdws



07:35 Wet road run https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JZzNPTW6234



Hope you find something interesting, comments/suggestions

over stopping engine with decompress lever should be interesting!



Simon

Starting your classic...... well, I found it quite interesting that you changed your footwear halfway through (!) ...... but for anyone else watching this routine, if you continue for long enough to simply let the kickstart lever fly back after kicking you will eventually loosen/damage the stop inside the gearbox....

oh heck, I never even thought about that! I will have to

spend some time practising. Luckily, the return spring

is not very strong, but still no excuse to let it fly up!



Never to old to learn, thanks



Simon

A lot of palaver finding out if the bikes in neutral - should be pretty obvious. Also, turning the fuel on AFTER priming the engine? Probably why you need 7 priming kicks.

Oh, and leaving the bike ticking overt after starting? Should be start and ride away (gently) so the engine warms up as fast as possible.

The idea was to do a vid for those new to classic bikes, and when I was first

trying to get info about them myself, I found that there was lots of conflicting

information.



One thing I was told, was to let the iron barrel get hand warm, before starting

out! I also wanted to give a foolproof method of getting neutral for new guys!



My question now to everybody is... With a 1994 classic iron barrelled engine,

what IS The correct, recommended, whatever, way to start and stop my bike?

I will redo the video when I next get Tornado out, and this time, I would like

it to be correct. There is enough mis-information out there without me adding

to it!

And i promise no crappy music, it was only that the first days film was ruined by

a continually yapping dog (one that scratched the tank) That I had to push

Tornado 200 yards down the road to cold start it there! That explains the

change in footware as it was shot over two days!



Any suggestions on 'correct proceedure' video will be greatly welcomed,



Simon

Your basic procedure is right Scalyback. All these engines are a bit different so the procedure has to be adapted. My 350 will not stand any throttle when the "choke" is on (on hot starts however, it insists on a bit)
With reference to warming the engine before riding. Internal combustion engines do not like running cold; it accelerates wear and causes condensation. The absolutely best way to start any engine would be to have it (and the oil) at operating temperature before starting it (they do this with F1 engines). This is obviously impractical day to day so it's best to get the engine up to temperature asap after starting. The quickest way to do this is to ride it. There is be very little difference to the stress on the engine between ticking over and riding gently but it will warm quicker. Don't worry about oil circulation; oil will be circulating after a few seconds.

ok, thanks so how does this flow, remembering it aimed at first timers, something like "well, I can tell you how to start it or you can go watch this neat video as it shows you how to do it!" sort of thing.



cold start...



Check gearbox in neutral,

Free off clutch,

Turn fuel ON,

Choke on here or tickler valve if Amal, (or after pushing through?)

Push through (how many is usual?)

(Choke on here if not before)

Top Dead Centre and wheeze. (can't actually show the ammeter, Tornado has boyer electronic system)

Turn key on,

Small amount of throttle if needed,

Push down hard on the starter without stamping, (don't let it fly up)

let go throttle (if used),

flick choke to normal (if not Amal carb)





stopping.



engine stop button if fitted or decompress lever,

turn key off,

leave engine at TDC to help prevent wet sumping.




warm start,



check engine at TDC,

a little throttle if needed,

operate kickstarter.



bit about selecting neutral at junctions or when stopping...





If somebody else had made this vid last year, then I would already know how to treat my poor bike correctly!

It seems quite happy with me though, hopefully!



Simon

Hi Simon. My 2000 iron barrelled 500 WILL NOT start from cold if I just ease it past TDC (as in your vid) and then swing the kick starter. What happens is the engine swings round to approach TDC on the compression stroke but doesn't have enough momentum to get over TDC and fire, resulting in a horrendous back fire which can even shoot the carb off its mounting. I use a method championed on this site by a guy called LesH (where are you Les?) whereby the motor is moved further along its cycle (exactly where this is can be found by trial and error). The idea is that when swinging the starter pedal pressure is STILL being applied by your boot to move the motor through TDC on the firing stroke. Using this method mine will start first time, everytime. Cheers mate. Tony.

I'll second both those----------Come on LES H, where the hectors are you ??---------I also use that method which is absolutely the way to get 'em going, for all the reasons RIGGERS has just said..........