Fresh 1964 starting help

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dogonit

Fresh 1964 starting help

#1

Post by dogonit »

with 80 inch wheels ,stock bore,short 8.5 pistons.andrews solid B grind, S&S E carb new, The old girl runs great but is going to put my leg in a sling, everything is set pretty much by the book what way should I go on timing mixture ,maybe mallory,she aint suckin air. takes a solid hour of kick in the morn Im sea level pac,NW,Im not much for askin for help but help. Ten years ago it took seven thousand miles to figure her out.I'd like to cut that to seven hundred thanks for any ideas.
57stroker
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Re: Fresh 1964 starting help

#2

Post by 57stroker »

What are you running for a timer (distributer)? Are you using an auto-advance unit or the original style manual advance?
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Re: Fresh 1964 starting help

#3

Post by Cotten »

How are you so sure that "she aint suckin air"?
kell
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Re: Fresh 1964 starting help

#4

Post by kell »

Not much to offer here, but non-resistor plugs will fire up better than resistor plugs if there is any fouling going on. If you have stock heads I don't remember for sure but I think it's Champion J12YC plugs. For my STD heads I use Champion N11YC. You can also switch to solid copper plug wires instead of the commonplace suppression wires, which you don't need. Also look at the plugs, maybe it will help you get an idea what's going on. And give it enough gas. You have to give it several cold wet kicks (ignition off, twisting throttle) before the hot kicks, by way of priming it for the start. And with an S&S, cold starts mean no throttle on the hot kicks.
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Re: Fresh 1964 starting help

#5

Post by DuoDave »

Post by duodave

I am probably the last person who should offer advise on this, as I am still trying to figure out a reliable starting sequence myself. She ain't called The Reluctant Dragon for nothing. However, I find that my motor floods real easily. Go through the priming kick routine and if she does not fire up after two hot kicks, open the throttle fully, choke off or maybe one notch closed if she is cold. Ignition on and she should fire up after about four kicks. Keep the ignition retarded while kicking or you will be heading for low earth orbit.
This is not the definitive answer, but it's a lot better than cranking, sweating and cursing for an hour.
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Re: Fresh 1964 starting help

#6

Post by King »

Hi 64

I don't know what type of electrical system you are running, but with my 6V if the battery ain't up to snuff starting is a real bear. I've even resorted to hooking up the batttery charger (6 amps) then kicking her over sort of like starting an aircraft.
Also it must be wet. With a cold motor I usually do two squirts off the accelerator pump(I've got a Bendix) two kicks two more squirts two more kicks then go hot. Most of the time it starts after one or two hot kicks. Hot starting is much more problimatical as I believe it can flood very easilly when hot.
Any Pan hot starting advice out there?

King
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Re: Fresh 1964 starting help

#7

Post by DuoDave »

One thing I've learned on this site is that if there is one topic that is dear to the hearts of most Panhead owners, it is how to start the darn thing. I'ts been a beautiful day here, so I went out and put another hundred plus miles on the Harley. Obviously, when I returned home, the bike was good and hot, so in the interest of science I carried out a series of hot start experiments. The results seem to bear out what some of the other guys have said. Choke off, ignition retarded, throttle closed, no priming kicks. Ignition on, one good shove on the kickstart and most times she settled straight into a slow potato, potato, potato. With the throttle closed, the motor tends not to flood, so even when I did not catch her on the first kick she would fire up on the second or third. I should mention that my bike has a Linkert carb, but I dont think it makes much difference what carb you use. Of course every bike is different, and they seem to grow more individual as they get older, so the bottom line is that you will just have to find what works for you, but this method is worth a try. Good luck!
doggone

Re: Fresh 1964 starting help

#8

Post by doggone »

I started this thread some how I turned into doggone anyway. I struggled for days makin sure she wasnt suckin air after half hour rides my splitfires made color before all my toil they always looked whiter than out of the box.I dont think shes suckin? Im runnin single mech advance same points as my 60 chevy six. Im wanting to run rich for the first thousand miles 300 now,I changed to mobil one 20 50 syn oil whichhelps on thosecold days. Since the bore is stock with 80inch wheels hows that going to effect my timing which is set to the book. My new glide standard is makin me lazy and doesnt have the built in soberiety test.thanks
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