[bharath_rbk]

Can somebody please brief me what a sprag clutch is and how will it help by removing it??

And also I heard that by removing the complete ES kit, the noise/ vibration in the engine is reduced to a big extent. Is it true??

[rabnawaz_b]

Nice looking Bull. Congrats again.

[JayPrashanth]

Originally Posted by bharath_rbk

Can somebody please brief me what a sprag clutch is and how will it help by removing it??

And also I heard that by removing the complete ES kit, the noise/ vibration in the engine is reduced to a big extent. Is it true??

People heading out to the hills/remote places for touring, especially on early LB500s have gotten themselves stranded in the middle of nowhere due to the sprag clutch giving way. In late 2008, RE came out with a delay circuit which helped get rid of EMI that supposedly caused most issues.

Now, the sprag clutch issues are pretty much resolved with this fix, but long term reliability is still unknown. For this, most LB500 owners on tour prefer to throw the sprag clutch away and prefer kicking their LB500s to life.

Now, I was planning to go the same route. But, my mech had other ideas. He said that the inner sprocket that drives the sprag clutch can be replaced with that of the non-ES sprocket. This single swap effectively keeps the sprag intact but without the drive to the ES. All it takes is 30 minutes. If you want the ES back on, you just need to refit the original geared sprocket and voila, you are ready to roll with the ES on. The non geared original RE sprocket costs about Rs400 and is available at RE spare parts shops. Plug and play.

PS: Make sure you disconnect the ES switch in your tool box. This will render the ES button on your RH switchgear redundant. So, now the battery will not drive the ES motor till you reconnect the white ES switch in the toolbox.

Cheers,

Jay

[bharath_rbk]

Hi Guys,

As most of you know, its raining and raining out here at Bangalore. Now the starting problem of my bike is amplified. Usually it used to start in 2 or 3 kicks when I bought. But now.. getting my bike started is a major problem.

I visited one of the mechanic referred by my friend, he cleaned the spark plug.. tuned the carb for air fuel mixture. BUT.. next day same problem, whenever the engine is let cooled the bike just doesn't crank. Again I removed the plug and got amazed to find black carbon deposits.. It was actually cleaned a day before. Noticed bike misfire sound from the silencer when de-throttled.

Now, I have started to kick in left foot parking the bike in center stand as my right knee is showing signs of wearing out


Please let me know your suggestion to this problem...

I have two 2 doubts

1) The carb tuning might be wrong
2) The battery might be weak as it produces a feeble horn after few kicks.

[JayPrashanth]

Originally Posted by bharath_rbk

Hi Guys,

As most of you know, its raining and raining out here at Bangalore. Now the starting problem of my bike is amplified. Usually it used to start in 2 or 3 kicks when I bought. But now.. getting my bike started is a major problem.

I visited one of the mechanic referred by my friend, he cleaned the spark plug.. tuned the carb for air fuel mixture. BUT.. next day same problem, whenever the engine is let cooled the bike just doesn't crank. Again I removed the plug and got amazed to find black carbon deposits.. It was actually cleaned a day before. Noticed bike misfire sound from the silencer when de-throttled.

Now, I have started to kick in left foot parking the bike in center stand as my right knee is showing signs of wearing out


Please let me know your suggestion to this problem...

I have two 2 doubts

1) The carb tuning might be wrong
2) The battery might be weak as it produces a feeble horn after few kicks.

First of all try a new plug.

Or unscrew your older plug from the head. Plug it back into the plug cap. Kick start and check for the spark at the plug. Ideally, you should have a blue spark right between the side electrode and the plug tip. If you are having a yellow spark/dancing spark(spark all over the place on the plug),you need to sandblast your older plug or get yourself a new plug.

A black plug plus misfire could be the result of an overtly rich pilot which is fouling the plug. So, check whether the air screw is open two and a half to three full turns. Anything more, your plug is susceptible to fouling, more so, if you are running an Iridium tip. Hope this helps. To know where the air screw is/tuning for idle, check your manual.

Cheers,

Jay

[Spitfire]

Early morning starts with choke or without choke?

[JayPrashanth]

Spitfire,

In Bangalore, I didn't have to use the choke for cold starting my LB500. Even when I was running the stock 15 pilot jet -> pretty lean for a 500.

Cheers,

Jay

[Spitfire]

Originally Posted by JayPrashanth

In Bangalore, I didn't have to use the choke for cold starting my LB500. Even when I was running the stock 15 pilot jet -> pretty lean for a 500.

Oh ok. But then i think you do know your bike well

I was wondering for bharath_rbk's bike here. Looks like the plug fouling is too much of choke usage OR the plug is a goner. Looks more of the later.

[bharath_rbk]

Originally Posted by JayPrashanth

Or unscrew your older plug from the head. Plug it back into the plug cap. Kick start and check for the spark at the plug. Ideally, you should have a blue spark right between the side electrode and the plug tip. If you are having a yellow spark/dancing spark(spark all over the place on the plug),you need to sandblast your older plug or get yourself a new plug.

A black plug plus misfire could be the result of an overtly rich pilot which is fouling the plug. So, check whether the air screw is open two and a half to three full turns. Anything more, your plug is susceptible to fouling, more so, if you are running an Iridium tip. Hope this helps. To know where the air screw is/tuning for idle, check your manual.

Cheers,

Jay

Thanks Jay...

Infact I already tried that exercise. Blue spark is generated from the plug if removed and when contacted to the BORE while kicking..

Usually what is the life of a spark plug, BTW mine is BOSCH (don't know whether Iridium or not). And what do you think about my Battery??? How to check it??? The lighting is perfect. Only the horn gets feeble after a few Kicks..

@Spitfire: Early morning - I have to try all the possibilities - First without choke, definitely won't start. Again with choke - after few kicks starts to breathe but won't start. And turning choke off and ignition off... few kicks. Then turn ignition ON and park it on center stand... hard blows with left leg will make it to crank.. then again shift to right leg and power kick brings it to life...

So.. this is tale as of now!!

[vaspro]

Bharath,

Your problem sounds very familiar to me :-)

First of all, i am completely ignorant about the 500LB or any other AVL engine as my bike is a 500CI. So please use your own judgement before you try my suggestions.

Few things to check for the starting trouble:
1. Check the spark plug if it has oily smudges on the tip (clean the plug, then start using it and run the engine for a minute and then stop, unscrew the plug and inspect). If there are oily smudges then it might point at other problems (might be engine oil getting mixed with fuel, this happened to me when my bull is new.

2. Change the plug and try with new one. I always keep atleast 1 new plug in my toolkit as there is no guarantee when they will give away.

3. Check whether rain water is seeping into your fuel tank, check and clean the carb reservior. Also check whether your fuel tap, tube, fuel filter are letting the water to be mixed in fuel.

4. Check the intake manifold (the rubber hose which connects airfilter and carb, i am not sure if it is present in LB engines). This hose cracks after few years of usage and you need to change it periodically (if present).

5. Check the strength of your battery. Change the battery if its more than 2 year old and its charge is not holding.

6. Looks like your starting pattern is flooding the engine and hence you are not able to start quickly. I normally follow the following routine on my first start (again this is for the CI engine, so use it as per your discretion):

a. I will hold the decomp and will give 4 to 5 kicks
b. I will push the choke to "on" and give one clean kick (max two kicks with choke on)
c. Normally my bike starts with the above two steps. Else i will switch off choke and give another kick. If it doesnt start then i will repeat steps A & B.
d. If its not starting after 2 or 3 tries of steps A&B , then leave it for couple of minutes, dont kick it till your legs hurt

I hope these steps will help.

Cheers!
Vaspro

Originally Posted by bharath_rbk

Thanks Jay...

Infact I already tried that exercise. Blue spark is generated from the plug if removed and when contacted to the BORE while kicking..

Usually what is the life of a spark plug, BTW mine is BOSCH (don't know whether Iridium or not). And what do you think about my Battery??? How to check it??? The lighting is perfect. Only the horn gets feeble after a few Kicks..

@Spitfire: Early morning - I have to try all the possibilities - First without choke, definitely won't start. Again with choke - after few kicks starts to breathe but won't start. And turning choke off and ignition off... few kicks. Then turn ignition ON and park it on center stand... hard blows with left leg will make it to crank.. then again shift to right leg and power kick brings it to life...

So.. this is tale as of now!!

[(Alok)]

Friends,
I am near to buy a second 5 speed 350cc machismo. Bike has covered approx 20k on odo. What fuel average I can expect from a 350cc machismo (AVL engine) with 5 speed gear box?

[Spitfire]

Originally Posted by (Alok)

What fuel average I can expect from a 350cc machismo (AVL engine) with 5 speed gear box?

30-35 max.

Regards
Spitfire

[(Alok)]

Isn’t it (machismo avl 5s) the thunderbird engine & gearbox setup? And many thunderbird owners claim 45+ mileage!

[Spitfire]

If you putter around on 40-50kmph in 5th gear all day long without any load then yes.

But then whats the point of having the bike?

If you go for long rides, riding at 80-90 kmph constantly then 30-35 max.

I believe the Bullets are best used for touring, commuter use is not really its forte...

For mileage get a smaller cc bike.

[aviator1101]

Hello
The bullet bug seems to have bitten me as well. So, after a long search, I,ve managed to lay my hands on an Electra 5S with front drum brakes. Thw owner quoted 75k initially but I managed to get him down to 65K. Ita a 2007 model and is supposed to have done around 15000 kms only. Is 65k ok price for a 2007 electra 5S with left gear and front drum brakes? Pl advice bullet gurus
I guess mods will pardon me for posting same post in two threads, Deliberately doing so as this thread is dormant for a long time.