[jammydodger]

Hi All,

So on the bank holiday I went out for a ride and stopped off at national park where I stalled trying to get into neutral. After this happened I had major issue restarting the bike, The electric start sounded like it was tripping out and all I could hear was the crackle of electricity each time I pushed the button.

Thankfully the bike has a kick-starter, however, It took a good 15 mins to kick start the machine. Each time it sounded like it turned over for a round or two then lost momentum and died. Eventually it started, in-between kick-starting whilst on the side stand the bike lost balance (the side stand retracted) and a fell slightly into a sign post knocking off the mirror (not the stick) and cracking it in the process.

With lots of people standing around admiring the machine and with my tail between my legs I picked up the mirror to fix on later. Whilst trying to work out how to get it  back on I took off the internal spring which is behind the glass. I thoroughly DO NOT recommend this as it was absolute hell to get back on! Eventually after 3 attempts each taking 1 hour I got the spring back on and the mirror back onto the stalk.

Any ways – I’m about to order http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Shatterproof-Acrylic-Round-Circle-Mirrors-1cm-to-45cm-/151025841433?pt=UK_Home_HomeDecor_Frames&var=&hash=item2329d77519 as replacement mirror to fit into the housing but it is just a normal mirror – I noticed that the mirrors on the bike make things smaller I guess to increase field of vision. So will this replacement be ok? If not, what type of mirror do I need?

The last question is regarding the starting issues – Does this sound like a battery problem? I didn’t have a multimeter on me at the time but checking the battery last night, it showed 12v. I did have the lights on before I stalled the other day though so it may have recharged since. But it may be another underlying issue after the bike has stalled and trying to start again?

I’ll put the violins away now and hope that you knowledgeable people can shed some light on the mirror and starting issues.

Cheers!

Jamie

[JVS]

Sorry to hear about your starting problems. The battery seems fine to me.  So you ended up starting the bike eventually and going home?

I would think that it is probably your ground connection behind the battery that has rattled to the point where it has become loose/has cracked. Check all the electrical connections around the battery, even under the tape i.e. remove the insulation tapes and check if the connections inside are okay. It can also be the infamous side-stand switch intermittently cutting off the fuel supply. You may try disconnecting it if you haven't done it.

But then again, if you reached home without the bike stalling...it  might be something else...but! still check the connections first. If you have the stock battery, just have a look if the electrolyte level is optimum. Also, 15 minutes of kick-starting with the ignition (EFI) on must have led to a lot of fuel in to the system. If you are confident with kick-starting, TDC etc and know how to do it, then it's okay. Otherwise, have a read of this one - http://www.enfieldmotorcycles.com/forum/index.php/topic,14198.0.html

These bikes are probably the easiest to kick-start, once you know the technique. 99% of the time it will start on the first kick if you do it correctly. Works for me at least.

Regarding the mirrors, you might just need to buy another mirror stalk/setup by itself. Or, you can opt for bar-end mirrors. There are plenty of options available. CRG bar-ends, Cycle gear ones etc. Here is a thread which shows the bar-ends I have used till date - http://www.enfieldmotorcycles.com/forum/index.php/topic,14759.msg157451.html#msg157451
More recently, member 'heloego' installed some bar-ends on his C5 - http://s147.photobucket.com/user/Heloego24/media/NotMickeyMouse.jpg.html

And yes, bar-ends are probably not for everyone. They do somehow reduce the field-of-view, but IMO they are still okay.

[jammydodger]

Thanks - I'll check the connections tonight. I did manage to start it in the end with the kick stand and get home ok.

The side stand switch is disconnected and the bike never stalls on it's own accord - I'll admit that it's rider error when it does happen  I just don't know what the electrical crackling sound was. I must admit, I didn't know the full technique to kick start the bike but usually I slowly kick the lever until there's resistance, leave it for about 10 secs and give it a full kick which sounds similar to the thread you pointed me to.

So replacing the glass itself with that one from ebay wouldn't be advisable? The bracket and mounting is fine, it's just the glass that's cracked.

[JVS]

To be honest, I'm really not sure about the glass. As I haven't done this type of thing with the stockies, I can't really comment if it will be perfectly advisable.

It seems alright, but as you mentioned, that glass on ebay doesn't seem convex..so on one side you'll see traffic close to you, and on the other it will seem a bit far off. If you think you will be comfortable with that, then go ahead.

Also, you've said that it involves quite a bit of effort with the spring to remove/put the glass and there is no guarantee if the glass you'll order will fit in the thing. So considering this, I will recommend you to buy 1 stock mirror from Ebay via India instead. A pair of them is around 12GBP on the site, but you can request the seller to only send you 1 unit (LH side) and adjust the price accordingly. I've done this with other parts in the past, and the sellers agree to send bits and pieces of a said 'item' individually with the cost adjusted. Or better off, you can just ask Hitchcocks MC! 

[jammydodger]

The spring didn't actually need to be removed...My silly mistake 

The mirror glass is only held in by a rubber gasket so can easily be replaced. However, like you say the whole one mirror close one mirror further might be an issue...

I'll think I'll opt for your replacement option then  again it's probably me trying to fix something that's not worth the hassle..

[mattsz]

I'll echo JVS's response regarding the starting issue:

The crackling electrical sound is probably arcing across either a short circuit somewhere, or (perhaps more likely) across a broken battery cable connector.

The first time mine broke, it caused intermittent problems for about a week over about 100 miles before it finally failed me for good.  I have no doubt that it could be your problem yet still eventually let you get home - the tape and heat-shrink insulation will hold the broken bits together just enough to allow current to intermittently flow.

When you weren't able to start the bike, were the lights and electrics working?  If no, I'd say battery cable end.  If yes, it could still be a battery cable end.  When mine failed, all the electrical stuff (lights, fuel pump) seemed to work perfectly, until I pressed the starter button, when everything would go dark.  Release the starter button, electrics worked again.  This was before I really knew how to properly kick start the bike, but even when I did get it kicked over, it wouldn't run, due, I assume, to the broken connection opening as the engine vibrated.

If your terminal ends aren't broken, then maybe check to see if all your wiring harness connectors are secure, and look for short circuits in places where the frame or other metal body parts might have chafed through wire insulation.

Incidentally, I replaced my cable ends with proper sturdy aftermarket ones, and a few days ago, one of them broke, too! 

The real helpers here will chime in soon enough, I am sure!

[Craig McClure]

At least look up, Stadium & Napolean Bar End Mirrors on  Ebay-there are even good knockoffs with convex wide angle glass. That way you will see more road & less of your shoulders. They are a classic European style, work well, & go with British relatives.

[hortoncode3]

I highly recommend the Napoleon bar end mirrors. MUCH better field of vision, very adjustable and very sporting. They do make you a little harder to squeeze in those narrow spots though.

[GSS]

Get the authentic made in Japan bar end Napoleons. They will bolt right onto your original handlebars using the included bolts. You can even retain the OEM bar end weights. These are a huge improvement compared to the OEMs......less vibration and you will no longer see your elbows!

GSS

[mattsz]

Jamie - I guess the moral of the story is, don't post about problems with your mirrors and with starting failure trouble in the same thread!  Let's get him running, then he can worry about his mirrors!

BTW, I really like my Napoleon bar-end mirrors! ( ) They fold in nicely to fit in narrow parking spaces, too...

[jammydodger]

Well, I didn't want to be rude being British and all that

I do appreciate the mirror suggestions though. I've searched through ebay and I can only get the Napoleons from the US and the postage almost doubles the cost. There are some very similar ones here on the UK market but I like the sound of the direct fitting and keeping the OEM bar-end weights and I'm not sure which one would let me do that.

So I checked the battery connections last night and there was a tiny slit in one of the wires running off the fuse so I taped that up. Apart from that, the button starter is working fine and concentrating on my kick-start technique it's starting within 1-2 kicks.

I guess I'll just have to carry a multimeter and wait till this issue reappears and diagnose.

[Arizoni]

Good idea.

I'm sure you don't have Harbor Freight stores over there but they carry some very small multimeters with solid state readouts for about $8.  Even with postage that might be worth looking into.

Just a thought about kickstarting the fuel injected RE's:
With the ignition switch on, every time the engine comes to TDC some fuel is injected into the inlet.
If the bike needs to be kicked repeatedly, this can flood the engine.

If it doesn't start on the first kick, click off the "Kill" switch while you slowly bring the piston back up to TDC on the compression stroke.  Then turn the Kill switch to the Run position and give it a full stroke kick.
I've found that on my G5 (Electra) it starts best if the throttle is left totally closed while kicking it over.

[Craig McClure]

MOST BAR END MIRRORS CAN BE FITTED TO BAR END WEIGHTS,  Might need to change out the center bolt, but you can find a nice Allen Head Bolt at the hardware store.