Forum

[david w]

Hi All,
After a backfire of magnificent proportions I think the sprag clutch has broken! on strip down their are no missing teeth or bits of metal anywhere, the problem is it is not clear to me how the thing works and so I dont really know what to look for. I am thinking of removing it entirely and the starter motor and blanking off the starter motor hole, has anyone done this? The fitting of electronic ignition should sort out my timing issues, it's funny really as the bullet 65 has always run like a swiss watch until now!!!

[Norm]

David,
I assume the starter was spinning and not grabbing.If nothing appears broken most likely one of the sprag teeth has flipped over. It is very hard to see the differance and I can only do it with a magnafying glass. Your call as to should you remove or try again

[Leon Novello]

As Norm says, one of the teeth must have flipped over, if you can turn it, it must only grip in one direction and slip when turning it in the other direction.

[david w]

[david w]

Thanks for the replies regarding the sprag clutch problems on the bullet 65. I am sure that Norm is right on this subect because damage is not apparent( I haven't used a magnifier ). The thought I have had concerning the removal of this seemingly fragile item is probably the best solution for me and then making a blanking plate for the starter motor hole. I will spend the money on electronic ignition to make enfield even more reliable, on this subject i will report in due course.
Regards David w

[Alan R]

Hello DAVID W, -------- our hosts do a blanking kit for just this very purpose PLUS, they also can supply a full kit to change the 65 engine to "Classic" set up. The bonus for you is that you still have a larger battery than the Classic bike, plus a solenoid that can be put to some other use.

[Norm]

David,
The next question is why spend money on the electronic ignition, nothing wrong with points, if you are ditching the starter, put the money towars a K/S inner primary case and remove about 6kg from the bike

[PeteF]

I'm with Norm, why ditch the perfectly good (and easily understood) ignition system for an electronic one? Isn't it one of the strong points of the classic Enfield that you can pretty much fix most problems by the side of the road? Looking at this forum regularly, I think I see more posts about problems with electronic ignition than I do with points.

[Nick Name]

I've read somewhere (not here) that the sprag clutch needs lubricating and there should therefore be a litre rather than 420ml of clutch oil?

[potboiler]

I had about 800 cc of oil in the primary on my AVL Electra but the extra oil just made it impossible to select 1st gear at a standstill with the engine running (due to the oil causing clutch drag I assumed).