From:Steve Marks e-mail:steve@microdesign.ltd.uk
Subject:RE: RE: On the road at last! Date:Fri Jul 13 13:33:10 2007
Response to:1585
Hi Doug
You are absolutely right. I have always started bikes with it off the stand and standing astride it. Many years ago I used to have a Lambretta scooter and the centre stand on that was so weak that if you tried starting the bike while it was on the stand, the stand would bend until you had two propstands - two wheels plus one side of the stand, or the other, on the ground! A pal of mine recently had a fall which twisted his knee and he could only start his bike (29 Norton) with it on the stand. After just one week's rally riding he was suffering from the same bent stand problem too. It always makes me wince when I see people jumping on kickstarts while the bike is on the stand but I appreciate that, for some, this is the only way they can do it. Several people have asked how I manage to kickstart the Hen with my left foot but I'm lucky, I seem to be able to use either foot without any problem.
Maybe, when I am more confident in being able to kick the bike whilst standing alongside with the bike off the stand, I'll give it a go but at the moment I'd hate to drop it and scratch the paint!
Looking forward to the Irish but let's hope the weather picks up - we've had so much rain recently that rainfall records have been broken and some parts of the country have been severly flooded.
Steve
----- ORIGINAL MESSAGE FOLLOWS -----
Steve,
Congratulations! It sounds like you were trying to kick start the Henderson from the saddle. May I suggest you stand along side the bike to kick start it. Just make sure your kicker gears are meshed before you give the lever a heave or you may just slip through with your foot. The pain can be indescribeable.
See you at the Irish Rally.
ACEdoug

----- ORIGINAL MESSAGE FOLLOWS -----
After fourteen years work (not continuously of course, I had weekends off....:-)) The big start up day had finally arrived. Kicking her over was difficult. The engine was tight and every time I kicked down, the back of my leg hammered into the edge of the seat – boy have I got a bruise! It fired pretty well every kick but I could not get it to pick up. Just not able to turn the engine fast enough I think. The audience(!) persuaded me that I should try bump starting it so with plenty of volunteer pushers we set off down the yard with second gear engaged. As soon as I dropped the clutch it fired and continued to fire but wouldn’t pull away. We ran out of room so had to stop. Next time down the yard I dropped the clutch and again it fired straight away. This tme, I pushed the clutch pedal back down and she was away!

Oil presure was good, response to the throttle was pretty good. Have to admit that moving the advance/retard didn’t seem to make a lot of difference but then it was stationary with no real load on the engine. After a while the paint on the cylinders and exhasut pipe started to smoke so I cut the engine. Even that short run seemed to free up the engine – once it had cooled down, it kickstarted with no problem. Then someone suggested putting it into gear and going for a ride. I was thinking of quitting while I was ahead but hey - what the hell!

Clutch down, gear lever forward and away we went. But a bit of a disappointment – it didn’t seem to want to pull. The engine almost stalled and I had to dip the clutch, pick up the revs and engage the clutch again. After several dips of the clutch we were away but a lap of the yard showed that the engine was reluctant to pull cleanly. I stopped and put it into neutral. Throttle response when stationary was getting better and better. Anyway, at least she was running! There were a few cheers and we broke open the beer cans. A non-motorcyclist amongst us asked what all the levers were for so I went through them all until I got to the last one. ‘This is what is called the emergency brake. It can be locked on a bit like a car’s handbrake.......’ That’s when I realised it WAS locked on...........

So, with the emergency brake OFF, I started up again and had several laps of the yard in first gear with no problems! Having that brake on probably also explains why it wouldn’t drive away on the first push, especially as it was in second gear as well.

Next day I went off down the road and did about a mile and a half. Yes there were a few things that needed doing.
The valve caps leaked. I had used Holts Fire Gum with the copper ring washer but it wasn’t too successful. Resealed using Permatex High Temperature RTV silicone which has been OK since.
The rear stand fell out of it’s catch and dragged along the ground. A plastic cable tie did a temporary repair followed by the touch up paint(!)
The gear change needs looking at. I can adjust the connecting rod and get first gear but not third. If I adjust to get third, then I can’t get first. And I had been so careful to get the hole for the front clevis in the right place! Looks like I’m gong to need to drill another one higher up the lever.

More short rides out with my son Andy following me showed that, not only did the speedo work but it was pretty accurate - at thirty mph at least!
Kickstarting now is no problem. I can stand further forward and kick backwards rather than down so my leg now misses the seat. The engine is much easier to kick over. I more or less just straighten my leg and she fires up easily – no real effort at all (not compared to a Velocette anyway!) I’ve done about ten miles so far and one thing I do need to do is lower the gearing. It’s fine in first and second but is not comfortable in top. The Deluxe parts books list 15, 16 and 17 tooth engine sprockets so when it was time to make them, I made one of each. Then I fitted the 17 tooth sprocket on the basis that it was easier to fit a smaller sprocket and shorten the chain if necessary rather than go bigger and try to lengthen the chain. What are you other Model K riders using on the front sprocket?

A special thank you to all you guys out there who have helped with answers to my questions and sent photos of bits I’ve needed to make. Apart from the technical side, the moral support and encoragement has been great as well. There have been too many to name individually (and I would hate it if I inadvertantly left anyone out) but you know who you are – thanks a lot. Having said that I feel I must mention Rob Olsen. Apart from the technical support both through this site and directly, I feel I must mention his clutch kit. When I put the bike into first gear from a standstill it is so easy I’m not even sure if it’s gone into gear – but it has. Changing up is silky smooth too. Changing down is a bit crunchy sometimes but I’m putting that down to rider error and with a bit of practice I’m sure it’ll get better. I’ve ridden several different fours before, including Indian and Ace, and know all about clutch drag and crunchy gear selection. No problem with this set up though – highly recommended. Thanks Rob. Tied up with the clutch operation is the oil I guess. I know this has been covered before but when I took the advice offered and went shopping, the oil I wanted was not available in the UK. Many hours (maybe even days) research into what was needed led me to the conclusion that two things were important. First, the oil needed to meet the JASO MA specification which indicates that it is suitable for wet clutch and combined engine/gearbox applications. Second, it should have zinc dithiophosphate (ZDDP) - an anti wear additive - in the oil. I won’t go into the reasons why we need it in a Henderson engine – if you have an hour or two to spare do a Google search on ‘zinc camshaft’. I chose to use Castrol GP 4T (mineral 20W-50) for running in. It’s far too early yet to see whether it’s the right choice but I thought some of you might be interested.

Anyway, attached is a ‘before’ photo taken when I collected the bike fourteen years ago.