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[Norm]

Clive, it has been a long time since I fiddled with a valve lifter on an Electra but I can't recall any adjustor on the tappet door, could be wrong. Did you adjust the exhaust tappet to get the door to fit. I can't see that making it easier to fit because I'm unsure of what you have adjusted.

[carpe diem]

Hi Norm

The tappet door has the decompressor shaft with a flattened cam on the inside and on the outside the decompressor lever which attaches to the decompressor cable, the cable has an adjuster nut and lock nut and then goes on up to the decompressor lever on the handlebars. When I tried to get the tapped cover to fit back the cam on the inside woild not fit under the valve, so the cover would not fit flush, I loosened off the adjuster cable and turned the cam as far as I could so that it would fit under the valve (so it could lift it I suppose). I didn't adjust the exhaust tappet ( at least I don't think I did, I did try and turn something to se if it would move freely, a pushrod I think))
I managed to do that and get the cover to fit back flush against the gasket and tightened it up nicely. I then adjusted the lever to where I thought it should be, ie by moving the decompressor lever on the habdlebars the lever on the shaft on the tappet cover moved and lifts the valve. I hope that makes sense. It may just be a coincidence, but I don't know why it suddenly cut out when the throttle is opened.

Sorry to be a pain, maybe I need to adjust the tappets but I am not completely sure how to do that.

If my explanation doesn't help I'm sorry but I am not sure of all the terms yet.

[Norm]

Hi Clive, I understand what you have done and it should have no bearing on the problem you now have.I would clean the spark plug and try again and then if that doesn't fix it you will have to fiddle with the carby but only do one thing at a time and run the motor before the next step each time

[carpe diem]

OK Norm, Thank you very much for the advice,I will follow it. One of the reasons I bought the Enfield was so that I could occupy my time with "fiddling" with an old style bike, but I don;t think I appreciated just how much I had to learn. Still, it keeps me out of the house and I do enjoy it, even if it is not quite as straightforward as I thought!

[carpe diem]

Well I've got her running again. You were right Norm it was nothing to do with the decompressor. I am pretty sure it was the choke lever. This was mounted on the front crash bar and I didn't like it there so I moved it to the handlebars. In doing so it seemed a but stiff so I doused it with GT50 and operatde it a few times till it felt smooth. Mounted it and fired her up and away she went, so I think that must have been it. I have put a new plug in as well just to be safe as the one I took out looked pretty black, so hopefully problem solved. I'll try and take her out for a good run tomorrow and check the plug again.
Thanks for your help.
Clive