Kick start and clutch operation

[CB-500]

I see what your saying - When turning the engine over at the crank you also have the aid of the crank throwing weight

But with the issue I’ve found do you reckon I’m looking down the rights lines?

[McCabe-Thiele (Ted)]

I'm a few months away from your level of assembly so am not able to offer a comparison.

Sorry to ask but is there any possibility you have the con rods the wrong way round ?

[Matt_Harrington]

Ted, that is an interesting point you raise.....

[Bryanj]

Shouldnt make any difference to the engine rotating, if it rotates by hand it should rotate with kickstart

[McCabe-Thiele (Ted)]

So with the clutch pressure plate, friction plates/discs and clutch centre hub removed this leaves just the clutch outer housing on the main shaft

Turn the engine over via the crank - this turns the primary drive gear clockwise which turns the clutch outer housing anti-clockwise

Being careful with two long screwdrivers I’m unable to turn just the outer clutch housing on its own the same way (anti-clockwise) in an effort to turn the engine over like the kick start would

Am I missing something?

Although the clutch outer is a big diameter it will be difficult to turn the engine over using it because of the gearing.

Looking at the clutch basket when trying to rotate the engine by hand you are trying to turn a large gear - think cycle front chainwheel to turn a much smaller gear in my head that should work.

If I grip that small bottom gear I can move my crank pretty easily.

Not got my block in place yet so can't try my basket.

[CB-500]

After quite a few google searches by accident I came across a few posts on the sister forum where people have experienced the exact same problem with their 500 kick start - they also had the problem after a rebuild or if the engine had been sat on the bench partially stripped/built for a extended time

One post explained that they also were convinced everything was assembled correctly and decided to forget about the kickstart and just continue with the project - They found once their project was up and running they randomly decided to re-look at the kick start issue - However the kick start was working with no explanation

I looked at my engine again - concluded that everything was assembled correctly - So with the clutch fully fitted started lightly jolting the kick start - after quite a while I noticed the primary gear drive started jolting along with the clutch - at the same time as jolting the kick start I started manually turning the engine over - after quite a few turns everything appeared to free up and the kick start is now working as it should

[davidcumbria]

That’s good news. Sounds like the whole system has to rotate a few times to self align. Hard not to worry about these things when you’re not rebuilding engines every week!

[McCabe-Thiele (Ted)]

That is weird.
I did wonder if lack of oil everywhere might be part of the issue hence why I kept on thinking friction in the bores was causing it.

[CB-500]

If you go back to the kick start a while later it is again stuck - However it appears to free off easier each time

A mate of a mate who builds race/competition engines mentioned that the engine assembly lube I have used is fine for my normal engine build but can be known for causing slight drag on components during the build process - All should be good once up and running with normal engine oil circulating

Thanks everyone for your help on trying to resolve

[McCabe-Thiele (Ted)]

Out of interest before I fitted my pistons I could rock the crank by hand using the bottom gear on the primary drive - now with the pistons in place - no chance. I put that down to the friction from the new pistons.