For the benefit of any newcomers here who may have or are thinking of acquiring a nice old AVL or Iron Barrel Bullet with a starter still in place--maybe someone's old "third bike" with some absurdly low mileage on the clock as one sees from time to time, you'd do well to sift through the Forum Archives for the keyword "Sprag".
In the meantime, here's the Cliff Notes version of precautions to at least
try to keep that notoriously wonky starter sprag clutch from grenading:
- NEVER use the starter if you can avoid it
- Always use the decompressor to stop the engine to avoid kickback (the "Sprag Killer")
- If you MUST use the starter, first engage the decompression lever to help the crank build up a bit of inertia with a couple-few spins BEFORE releasing the lever (again, to try to avoid kickback)
- Don't even think about using the starter unless the battery is tip-top
- Run about 800ml or close to a quart of Type F Automatic Transmission Fluid in the primary chain case instead of the 420ml determined by the fluid level plug to better bathe that finicky sprag gear cluster
- NEVER use the starter if you can avoid it!
Of course, none of this helped my Iron Belly's sprag, which crapped out gentler than most, but shit the bed all the same of its own accord, though it hadn't been spun in many weeks.