If you tune them up they can start first kick every time He flooded it in first instance before attempting to start Eventuality runs real nice with strong even idle for a sporster. very nice bike.I would of fixed the throttle cable and gone for a ride
@billyfromtheusa I think robbing a bank with bikes Is a good idea. If you are s small group with one motorcycle each (a street fighter or motard) and carry a big duffel bag each during rush hour, the popo cant catch up and you split the money so if 1 gets caught it isn't such a big deal.
@@SiggyCloudHaha, I was about to say the same thing. If it was a chick starting it, COOL. If it was a wimp starting it, weak! At least it started...eventually! lol
while the idle IS too low, I'd worry about those 2 air cleaner bolts working loose and going into the carb, then intake and into the intake port. And yes, I've seen it happen. Not pretty, but is pretty expensive to repair.
So many arseholes on here. Dude just enjoy the bike, it looks nice. Do turn the idle up like others have said and definitely follow through on kicks. Have fun learning and riding mate and post progress vids.
Cool bike man , I read some of the comments about how you started it I’ve been kicking bikes for 30 years I think your fine you can regard the distributor a bit but make sure you kick all the way through and don’t lift until its started, good vid thanks
Way to many kicks ! I had 1976 XLCH that Hall's Cycle worked the engine rebuild and it started 1st. KICK Every time. Amazed and shut up the wisecracks every time... Only once did it not... the points had closed up and took about 12 min. To fix them. Then 1 kick and start. God I really miss that bike... Richard
Put the air cleaner back on set the points right , idle it up a bit . Through the boots in a dumpster , unroll your Jean's it ain't happy days try outs . If got a man bun forget the above and go play in the traffic
I bet you wish you had not asked anybody anything on here. I have a 77 and Wouldn't put mine on here. Definitely a lot of a holes on here. Your bike looks good ,actually you had no trouble in starting it. Kick starting will come too you as you do it. Always push the kicker all the way thru and wait till the motor come to a stop before you let it go back to kick position. Avoiding a kick back and messing your leg up. I agree idle it up some. Everything else will come to you as you ride. Have a safe one on the road. I hope this helped.
The best sounding of all the Harley's motors ever made but also the most troublesome vibrating shaking motors. I had one and one was enough...everything on it had to be locktited .. also the ironheads came with solid lifters so the valves had to be adjusted around every 4 thousand miles. The oil cap gets very hot on your leg too..
At least it sounds like a Motorcycle and not a lawnmower like the newer Harley's .if it has no kick start or chain it's just a rubber-band bike ...be proud you own a REAL Motorcycle ..
Hey brotha, here is a great trick I use on my older bikes. Get a magnetic pickup for your breaker point setup. If you haven't noticed, that carb you have (Bendix?) will cause your bike to "sneeze," and load up on fuel. It will also backfire and kick back on the kickstart (I destroyed my ankle this way). If you replace the points, this will save your ankle and it will start much more easily. Make sure you get your timing right though. Good luck!
I had 68 at 17 called it goofy foot brakes shifter backwards. Your starts whole lot nicer than mine did I had to leave 30 minutes early coz you never knew got big twin 72 FLH at 20 I'm 58 it's 10 ft away behind dining RM table waiting for spring have great life peace
I've got a 67 Electra glide. I usually pump the hell out of it a few times and kick it through twice with ignition off to get her good and wet. Set throttle 1/4 plus a little take it with ignition on and she'll bust right off nearly every time.
g.g. 63 hey I’m wondering what carb is that?? I just purchased a 69 xlch and it’s missing the carb, so I’m wanting to get one. Has that same looking distributor looks like.
Mascotal A good buddy of mine who has already passed on , owned one of these . Never got to drive that often , as he did with his Kawa Z 650 . When he died I picked both up and brought them to his brother‘s house . I’d better have kept it for heavens sake , his brother is an &(;hole
@@michaelworse6034 My first motorcycle was a 1978 KZ 650 sr. It could also be really hard to start, but it had four carbs and analog ignition. Sorry you lost your friend. Think of him often and his spirit will live in you.
@@Mascotal Thanks a lot , one day we're gonna pick you up and take you out for a great ride up there , over the rainbow . I know we all meet again , as it is promised. Peace out
Nice, the days of self control. (adjustable by self) And low idles. My 2017 comes factory 1450rpm. Thanks to V&H it is now at 1150 (oil pressure over 30). I am building a 1972 1000cc. BTW, where did cubes go?
My Royal Enfield starts on the first kick just about every time, unless I've inadvertently left the kickstand down. My buddy's '68 XLCH, needs at least a dozen kicks, sometimes three times that. Instead of the Bendix, he has a Tillotson diaphram carburetor, modified to have a tickler which he says helps expedite things, and he just put on a fancy new $1000 magneto with a spring loaded auto-advance feature, so it's nice and retarded when he's kicking it.
No wonder it needs a rebuild. With an idle that low, the oil pressure is going to be stupid low plus it sounds terrible. There's a reason these bikes call for a ~1k rpm idle
@@erswnn I KNOW IF GUYS I RODE WITH IN CLUBS WHEN WE WENT ON WEEKEND PARTY RIDES TOOK THAT LONG 2 START THEIR BIKES THE REST OF THE CLUB WOULD'VE LEFT US & RODE AWAY.
Pimpy Bojangles it has nothing to do with "liking bikes". It has to do with the fact that he doesn't put any real power into his kicks. He is simply relying on his weight. That's no way to kick start a bike.
pbkayakyer He's not taking the chance of a Charlie horse. I had a 69xlch (the letters ch actually meant something back then) (completion hot) mag w/O electric start . His is a xl900 Electric starter has been removed for the I'm so cool factor. Your right he has no weight in his ass.😆🇺🇸
I had a '79 XLCH. The starting trick was to kick it over 2 or three times with the key off to prime it. Then turn the key on and it should go on that kick. However if it coughed out the carb, you were screwed. You then had to kick a lot. Usually priming worked well, though.
NICE LOOKING BIKE BUT DOUBT HE RIDES WITH A CLUB. EVEN THEY WOULD LEAVE HIM BEHIND WHEN THEY WERE READY 2 RIDE OUT. NEVER SAW ANY BIKE TAKE AS LONG 2 START & STARTED RIDING WITH MY DAD AT AGE 9. GOT ADDICTED. WAS BARTENDER IN BIKER BARS 17 YRS. RODE TIL 2 OLD 2 RIDE. MISS IT SO MUCH. THAT'S WHY I STILL WATCH THESE VIDEOS. BE SAFE EVERYONE.
Just sell the RK and buy one. Better yet, KEEP the RK and buy one. They look great but Ironheads (besides working on many customer bikes I built my '73 with 74" S&S internals and complete Andrews box) are as unreliable as contemporary British bikes (I collect those too). You'd better be a competent mechanic if you want to seriously ride an Ironhead and even then they are maintenance intensive. You can run a magneto cam cover on later Ironhead cases if you buy magneto cams which I did on my '73 (first year of the strongest 1000cc Sporty cases, 900 cases are weak). Later electric start cases give you to option to install a modern aftermarket electric starter. In CONUS you could do that bike with a stock engine for several thousand bucks depending on engine/transmission overhaul cost.
Yes, keep the idle speed up a little higher. Bad on bottom end & some cycles it is bad on the charging system. Research more & learn some good tips. Take Care My friend !
Hi my futuristisk best friend! as you know this is a brand new experience to me that im starting to like. So if you want to help im glad to read your comments :) Help me grow and become a real man! ;)
Also, don't let it idle too slow. Ironheads don't flow oil under much pressure, but they flow more oil due to the oil pump speed, which is related to engine speed. So keep it idling around 1000-1100 rpms.
