Unofficial Royal Enfield Community Forum
Royal Enfield Motorcycles => Bullet Iron Barrel => Topic started by: tjt4792 on October 18, 2013, 11:43:00 pm
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Greetings friends! I recently posted here regarding an E start issue on my '08 Bullet Classic. I was advised to remove the Electric start sprag clutch and just use the kickstart. I did as was advised and the bike ran great...until today. As I kick started this morning, the entire carburetor blasted off of the head. This has happened before but in the past, I just reattached the carb and re tightened the screws that hold it in place. Since then, the bike will not start when I kick her over. I'm getting compression, spark, and pop as I kick, but the engine just doesnt sustain the "pop" when I turn her over. Also, the previous owner installed a new exhaust and the seal attaching the exhaust to the engine seems to have broken. I have since applied some exhaust sealant and am waiting for it to dry. Anyone have any idea as to why my bull wont start? ANY and all advice is welcome. Thank you.
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Carb blowing off may be caused by a few things:
1)Timing advanced too far, spark ignites fuel before the piston is near TDC, causes kickback and fire exits through the carb. So, check to see if your timing is correct.
2)Lean fuel mixture, adjust the air screw.
3)Cracked carburetor body when the carb hit the frame, need a new carb.
4)Carb body out of round from the impact with frame, need new carb.
5)Rubber tube between carb and head cracked causing vacuum leak.
There could be others, but start with the timing.
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Thanks for the info. I am a new owner, so my knowledge is pretty limited. Do you think timing would stop my bike from turning on? Also, what is the easiest way to check timing? Thank you
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When these things happen,I go back to square one on initial set up to run.
Set the points,the timing,and so on according to the manuals and/or all the info on this forum in previous threads concerning this.
As well as what has been said here.
Fuel,spark,air.
The backfire that blew off the "carburettor" may have caused a foul up in the jetting by way of a piece of dirt or whatever.
These things are as simple as lawn mowers.But lawnmowers also act up.
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This has happened to me and it was caused by a leak in the induction "manifold" between the carb and the head. A new one made from a radiator hose and two new heavy duty hose clamps fixed it.
If the bike was running great before and you had no other problems, then I'd look to that.
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Assuming that you are in the northern hemisphere, the weather is getting colder now,and that makes the engine need richer mixture for the denser colder air. This often creates kickbacks on cold morning starts. It would be advised to switch to your winter jetting now.
All the things previously mentioned by others are also valid things to consider. But sometimes, it's just needing a re-jetting for winter.
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A definite +1 on the radiator hose to replace the stock connection between the carb and head. What the other guy's said for the rest. Keep it simple. ;) ;) ;).
Roverman.
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when you say you "applied" exhaust sealer do you mean that you removed the pipe and applied it to the port and or the pipe diameter and then reinstalled the pipe? or do you mean you wiped some sealer on the exposed joint? which won't last if that is what you have done in my experience. Also it is a good idea to see check how far that exhaust pipe is fitting into the port, I found on my bike that the pipe was only inserted about 1/2" when I got it, by adjusting the clamps and bending that front strap that attaches to the down tube I was easily able to get that pipe in twice as far, I marked it with tape then applied some hi-temp silicone and reinstalled it back to the tape line. The leak at that joint will cause you to run lean as well. Good luck with it.
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Greetings to a fellow neophyte:
I too blew the carb off my bike when I used the micarb round slide carb. I never could get it back solidly onto the cylinder and the performance wasn't very good either. Sometimes at a stop, waiting for a light change, the engine revs. would begin to in crease even though I didn't twist the throttle. Long story short I didn't like too much about the carb so I got a 30mm flat slide from our hosts. Best move I ever made. More power and performance than ever before.
Also starting became much easier. By the way, easy starting with the kick start is to use the enricher to get some fuel into the cylinder to begin with leaving the ignition key off. To make it easier, activate the decompression. Several kicks all the way down and through will get gas into the cylinder where you want it when you turn on the ignition and lift the kick start lever to begin the start stroke. Then with the cylinder partially filled with a fuel charge, the de compressor activated and the ignition on, push the kick start all the way down, until you think you will strike your shin on the foot peg, then you can stop pushing down. The engine should fire and continue running at a brisk speed as long as the enricher is used. In a few seconds, you can stop the enricher and let the engine warm up until you've checked lights, tires and are ready to get your gear on and ride off.
I also dumped the points ignition because my eyesight was poor and setting them in that tiny dark housing was beyond me. I have electronic ignition now and I don't have to constantly fuss with it. I ride instead.
Best wishes and ride safely.
Neil and Buzzy the Bullet.
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Neil, would you mind telling me which electronic ignition you installed? I'm thinking of doing the same thing.
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Oops !
Been away from the site for a few days and didn't see the current request. I used the electronic ignition that fits into the points cavity. It was a kit from Enfield Gear, that included the reluctor and magnet which fit onto the shaft that turned the points. It also included the bosch coil which gives a very hot spark. Cost was reasonable at a little over $100.
The only difficulty I had was after it was installed the ignition key would not shutoff the engine. I had to change the circuitry to run the grounding through the ignition, kill switch and then to the brown lead on electronic ignition and the ground lead on the coil. That way it functioned the same way the points circuit worked. Not too difficult but you need to think it through as you make the change. Now when I turn off the ignition or the kill switch the spark is grounded out and the engine stops. This works for me.
Neil and Buzzy the Bullet.
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I used the same kit as Neil except that my kill switch worked. 2007 Iron Barrel Military. I don't recall the details of install too well, but I think I only disconnected one wire from the coil per the instructions that came with the EI (there was one wire from the coil to the points and two on the power side). I think my on/off or kill switch simply grounded power to the coil.
The only hard part was getting the plastic trigger onto the end of the distributor cam. I had to lightly tap it on with a mallet. It was never going to shift or come off of it's own.
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I thought that might be the one. Seems like good value, good improvement for little cost. I also looked at the Power Arc like I think Ice has installed and spoke highly of. Looks like a very good unit but the price...ouch!! I know it's probably a high quality ignition but would have to balance the cost against all the other mods I plan for my bone stock bullet. (Many of the same mods as Neil and many others have done). Now that I think of it, not such a bad problem to have!
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I thought that might be the one. Seems like good value, good improvement for little cost. I also looked at the Power Arc like I think Ice has installed and spoke highly of. Looks like a very good unit but the price...ouch!! I know it's probably a high quality ignition but would have to balance the cost against all the other mods I plan for my bone stock bullet. (Many of the same mods as Neil and many others have done). Now that I think of it, not such a bad problem to have!
The OEM EI will work fine if you want to keep your mechanical advance. I added the heavier advance springs from our host which Hitchcock's also sells. I put the electronic box in the left tool box with the starter solenoid and relocated my fuses there with a Bosch fuse box for modern mini fuses. In a hot environment you may want the electronic box where air can get to it, I don't know. You can get just the EI by itself, but a better coil really helps kicking and doesn't break up at higher revs like my OE one did.
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D the D, sounds like a good way to set up the simple ignition. I didn't know they had heavier springs available and if I go with the simple ignition I'll be adding the bosch coil. After looking thru ignition threads, I saw that ace.cafe thought that the advance mechanism was the weak link in the OE. I'm liking the idea of the Power Arc and a VOES switch to be able to retard the advance on the many hills around here. It also has a smaller coil included that I can mount somewhere to clean up the engine area (want that see thru look). Might move the battery where the OE coil is now. Like you're idea of the fuse relocation but since electrical is magic to me I'll be reading a lot of threads before I do much there. Thanks for the info and advice.
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I did not know how to kickstart a single when I started this company. I soon learned and became VERY good at it. One of the most important lessons I learned was to NEVER kick start someone elses bike. You have no idea of how they are tuned and it is a sure way to get a kick in the shins.
In addition to the list below another reason for poor starting, kick back etc. is a weak battery. The tube between the carb and head is a wear item and timing is critical. Like someone else here said the best place to start is with the basics. good plus, good battery voltage, no intake leaks, good gas and correct timing. All of these things are dirt simple but if they are off you are only throwing parts at the problem.
The problem with the stock advance system is that it goes to full advance very quickly. For the most part this is not problem at all, but remember these bikes were designed to be a very basic low speed commuter and there is a lot of leeway allowed.
A tip for installing electronic ignitions is to hook up the wire coming from the wiring harness to the points and not do it directly to the coil. This will allow you to retain the kill switch
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Funny u should mention the tube between the carb..After 6 years, I decided to replace it today and few other odds n ends...Free shipping till tomorrow Midnight...GM