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[numptydad]

Hi all, new to the site, and still a wannabe, into the bargain; hope to get a Bullet soon.

I'm a bit alarmed with all this malarkey about starting, and am no authority. I had an Ariel Red Hunter in the 70s which had no foibles,despite its age; and a Jap made single later on which was a bit of a temperamental so-and-so.

Shades of the Velocette "Knack" here?

anyway, all duly noted and thanks to Les H for the information
ATB

[Les H]

Hi numptydad...don't be put off...I was suggesting ways to avoid kickback from high compression and large capacity versions mostly, however it appears that using the same technique on standard engines is very effective. With a well set up bike standard Bullets are pretty good starters. The Velo's had sporty valve timing and opened the inlet well before TDC and consequently tended to blow fuel out of the carb nearly as much as sucking it in at kickstarting speeds. They also had very slow kickstart speed so it was difficult to get a good spin on the engine to fire it. The standard Bullet is OK on these aspects.

[Howard 612]

I have tried the new approach today..... 100% success.

I am still in the process of calibrating the technique, so far it would seem that for my bike get her to the usual "just past TDC" and then let kickstarter up to the top and give an addition 1/3 of a full swing with the de-comp lever pulled in. This is now the ideal position for the starting kick. Doing this she started up first kick from cold this morning, and has been doing it all morning after each stop. The starting now feels a lot more positive and unlikely to produce a kickback. Of course it will be a while before it becomes "second nature" like the old routine, but once learned I'm sure I'll never go back to the old way. Very many thanks for bringing this to everyone's attention Les, I am sure it will help people avoid serious injuries, I was myself unable to walk for a week after a particularly vicious one a few years back.

[Durham Tim]

Try this instead!!!!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gaqaZmA_sbc

[numptydad]

Re:Try this instead!!!!


Well, really. And that cheeky smile to the camera !
I'm 65 and have been having my doubts about going for a bike after 20 plus years away, but that settles it, I'll B..... well have one now.

[Howard 612]

I'd like to see her try that with a 612

[Norm]

And the 9 to 1 350 I have here with no decomp valve

[Alan R]

Hi guys --- and LES H. WOW !!---- have been meaning to give this posting a thorough read for a day or two now, and glad that I did... Have I got the gist of this correct ?? In essence then we're reducing a certain loss of kinetic energy experienced from the crankshaft when 2 revolutions occurr ( ie When using the standard "ammeter-flick" method, which is just about on TDC on the POWER stroke)---- to having the piston now set at--or near--- TDC INDUCTION stroke, which will give just the one crank rotation as it comes up on to ignition. ????......I think that like a few others I may also have stumbled upon this more by me having a "clumsy" foot rather than design !! -------------- but it sure works, doesn't it ?? Also might be helpful to those with the "close ratio" convertion kit fitted to the 4-speed box as their kick-start spin-up speed will have been reduced a little. Anyway---thanks for attempting ( and succeeding ) in putting the practice so eloquently into words for the not-so-technical. As an Apprentice Master at the MoD I would have to wright-up descriptive papers as to the theory of, for example}--- an Epicyclic Gearbox for the lads ( and lasses ) to read, learn and inwardly digest, as they say. Easy to show at the bench---not so easy to put into wrighting, eh ?? All the best-------

[Les H]

Thanks Alan for more positive feedback. Yep, writing up a fairly simple process can be harder than you first imagine. You try to cover every aspect and try to make every point clear. Then it becomes difficult to read as you start to repeat terms and part names, so you go back and change things or reduce it down then you start putting in mistakes and after a while it seems you are making it harder to understand. There is also the problem here of the lack of paragraph spacing for individual numbered steps which does not help. I reckon most tips can be covered by a two minute demo video so the the future for all tips is likely to be by using Youtube and the like, but then you need someone to help do the filming for many tips, editing etc and uploading etc. I'm pleased the "new angle" tip is working well, my bike has never started so easily and calmy as it does now, I shudder to think of the damage I might have done to the kickstart mechanism. It kicked back so hard once that I thought the gearbox had split in two or the clutch had spun off it's shaft, the noise of crashing and grating metal left me too terrified to attempt another start and then the penny dropped...all ok now though...ATB.

[Riggers]

Just to give a bit of feedback on Les's method of starting, I can say that after a weekend of using said method my bike has never started so well. As I've mentioned before I've tried everything I know to improve its cold-start success but nothing has worked as well as this. I now get a really positive first kick start even from cold, and definately no kick back. My bike is not a high compression engine but this really works for me. Once again many thanks Les.