Forum

[papasmurf]

Norm, that still does not quantify the problem. A lot of motorcycles have sprag clutches, some of them big singles with a lot more oompg than an Enfield. They don't appear to have any problems.
My Electra X (ish) starts first touch on the starter button, (I always take it past TDC first.)
ALL I am asking is it ALL Electra Xs that have the problem or, a high percentage.
The doom and gloom on this forum about it is worrying.
If it really is that bad, I will remove the current method of electric starting and make another method using a "thrown" starter "cog" and a fixed starter ring.

[Norm]

Entirely up to you Papa, but if you can design a better starter then you had better patent it because you will be able to sell thousands of them to all the poor sods that bought these late model Enfields for the same reason you have

[papasmurf]

Most of the bits needed are readily available, I have seen pre-engaged type starter motors and starter rings retrofitted successfully to bikes than never had an electric starter.
(Including an old Hardly Dangerous that had been bored out to 800cc a pot, and kick starting was not going to happen.)

[Adrian]

Papasmurf, as you need your Electra's E/S to ride, you'd be welcome to my old inner primary cover complete with working starter motor and blown sprag assembly for a derisory sum (to cover postage), so that you could either put together a fully rebuilt starter assembly to bolt straight on if yours goes belly-up, or use it as a test bed to develop a more reliable starter set-up. Let me know if you're interested.



If it's any consolation my Electra sprag clutch lasted 9.5 years, it probably would have still been working if I'd kept the CV carb and stopped the engine on the valve lifter every time.



Regards,



A.

[Norm]

Papa the negative posts here are not to scare anybody,in earlier days the net was full, almost daily with sprag failures, not so much these days because I figure most of them are now redundant. Very early in the piece Hitchcocks came out with a plug to fit in the inner primary for when the starter had been removed. Anyway good luck with your idea, should keep you busy for quite a while. Once you pull an inner primary cover off and have a look at the design you will begin to understand why they fail

[papasmurf]

Norm I am disabled so I will HAVE to sort the sprag out if it fails.
I really cannot understand why one backfire can destroy a sprag clutch, all that should happen is the starter motor is rotated backwards.
Has anyone the exact dimensions of the sprag clutch fitted to an Electra X, so I can do some research on getting a non Enfield industrial one which have a much different design of "tooth" and are far more robust.


There is a not very pretty alternative, using a fast acting actuator with 200lbs thrust, 6"-7" stroke and 1/2 a second operating time connected to the kick start.

[Norm]

Papa the sprag is from a 9&1/2 inch Borg Warner-35 automatic torque converter but I wouldn't be spending too much time worrying about the sprag, the big end in them is of bigger concern. We have one here at the moment that was running well, although hadn't been out of the shed for about 6 years, it is getting a new big end fitted (nothing wrong with the original one) but the bike is going on a long trip in a few months (about 8000ks) and the owner was too afraid to ride it on this trip with the potential dodgy Indian big end still in it

[papasmurf]

Thanks for the sprag spec. As for the big end, I don't take the engine much over 3000 rpm. The engine has only done just over 3400 miles and I don't expect it to do more than 3000 miles a year.
I have to admit to being surprised at all the troubles getting next no airing since those engines were first built.
How have Enfield managed to keep it quiet for over a decade with only "officionados" seeming to be aware.
How many of them have had a big end problem?

[Norm]

Papa, every Electra I personally know of has had the big end fail, not sure of what the ratio is but is is ugly out here

[Norm]

I should have added that the only one that hasn't failed is the one being replaced at the moment, but that bike has been parked up for the last 6 years because of the fear of the bearing failing