Electric starter

[Roy]

Any one useing electric starter on there bike , twin/single ,any feed back regarding type and reliability etc

[Bitsarider]

Hi there Roy, I've got a couple of Beeza's fitted with electric starters by Steve McFarlane...
One is on my 59' A7 and the other is fitted to my 1960 A10 super rocket. Both are ridden when the weather is up for it. They were fitted by Steve himself in Cardiff, quite a wait to get them fitted it well worth the wait. That was 5 years ago and I've had no trouble with either bike..... as long as they are timed properly and are fitted with an auto advance and retard you should have no trouble.  The only thing you need to be aware of is although the starter is hidden from sight to all but people actually hunting for it, it lowers the ground clearance by about 25mm give or take..... so beware of speed humps or bumps. 😄👍🏻

[idie]

I have used a electric start from Pearson on my B33 since 2016 works really well. I have after a lot of work grafted one onto my 1949 M33.

[Roy]

Good morning ,thank you both for your comments, was/ am tad concerned about less ground clearance,kerbs and the ever increasing speed humps in road etc , 25mm approx not so bad I guess and may be a sump guard / protector give more piece of mind , the reliability is really good feed back , have you both converted to 12 volts , I'm guessing at  both systems used a sprag bearing , I have herd of the drive chain breaking on the singles ,but as mention quite possibly to advance ign and kick backs both my single and twins have auto advance fitted , I did/am toying with the idea of trying to fit one on top of gear box and graft ring gear on clutch ,and use bendix on starter ,how far I get is another thing ,beautiful thing about under slung is it's out of site ,( takes by stander's by surprise when starting ,I like that 👍 ) all the best have fun take care ,Roy

[Lone Wolf]

, I have herd of the drive chain breaking on the singles ,

Wotcha.

Yep - happened on mine twice now.  I don't like two chains running side by side.
There's no sprag clutch so the smaller of the two sprockets is constantly running at roughly three times crank speed.

The starter works fine - it does just what it's supposed to and starts the engine.   BUT and it's a big BUT, I just don't feel safe riding it, knowing that the starter chain will probably break again, and it would only be a matter of time before it jammed behind the clutch drum, locking the rear wheel.

I still ride my 600 ABSAF engined Goldie, but the electric start has been removed . . . a costly lesson leaarned there.

[Roy]

[/quote]


Yep - happened on mine twice now.  I don't like two chains running side by side.
There's no sprag clutch so the smaller of the two sprockets is constantly running at roughly three times crank speed.
[/quote]

Thank you for reply ,sorry to hear you have had a couple of failures, if there is no sprag bearing in the system what's is stopping the starter from spinning whilst engine is running ,
Have you ever grounded out motor, speed humps or Kerbs , getting my bikes in shed my be problem getting up small step ,Roy

[idie]

As I said I have been using my B33 since 2016 with no problems. What I do is change the starter drive chain every couple of years.

[MGI]

I had my B33 fitted with Pearson electric start about 3 years ago, no problems whatsoever to date - in fact it has been a Godsend because it removes the worry of stalling in traffic etc and avoids the problem of trying to kick start and keep the bike upright whilst trying to find neutral, although the engine is comparatively low compression (by todays standards) I discovered I was only capable of kicking it over about 3/4 times before muscle fatigue made its presence known. The starter motor does protrude below the engine but I haver grounded it anywhere - having said that it is difficult to get up ramps into a van, need longer ramps I think but only once have I needed to load it into my van and that was when I collected from Phil Pearson three years ago!

[Roy]

That sound promising, I guess they must be good ,I have never seen any second hand one advertised,
Roy

[Roy]

What size battery are you useing with your electric starter ,how many amps  , what's the C C A rating
Thank you Roy

[Lone Wolf]

Thank you for reply ,sorry to hear you have had a couple of failures, if there is no sprag bearing in the system what's is stopping the starter from spinning whilst engine is running ,
Have you ever grounded out motor, speed humps or Kerbs , getting my bikes in shed my be problem getting up small step ,Roy

Wotcha.

There's a bendix assembly - which looks like it uses parts of the original kickstart ratchet.  This flies back in once the engine is running, but the small sprocket still spins.

I never had any problem with the motor bottoming out.

[idie]

The starter sprocket is running free all the time. When the starter is operated a dog is forced up the bendix by centrifugal  force this engages with the crank shaft and turns the engine. The starter motor is one that comes off on of the larger Yamahas.  As I have said I change the small driving chain every couple of years The battery is a 9mp one. I have been using my set up since 2016.

[Lone Wolf]

As I have said I change the small driving chain every couple of years The battery is a 9mp one. I have been using my set up since 2016.

Wotcha.

I wonder if it's because mine is an alternator model.  Maybe the starter chain runs closer.
The place that did the starter ( the one everybody goes to ) said they'd put a slightly narrower primary chain on.

Having had both the primary chain and the starter chains snap in the past - I just don't think it's worth the risk of riding the bike.  Sooner or later a snapped chain will lock the back wheel.

[Roy]

That's interesting , wonder what chains was fitted then ,guess must be thinner side links ,did you clutch have Cush drive ,
( my bike also alternator model) , what did you do with you kit ,sell it ?
I did see on the net an article you wrote about your bike over some years ?
Regards Roy

[Lone Wolf]

That's interesting , wonder what chains was fitted then ,guess must be thinner side links ,did you clutch have Cush drive ,
( my bike also alternator model) , what did you do with you kit ,sell it ?
I did see on the net an article you wrote about your bike over some years ?
Regards Roy

Wotcha.

I also had an NEB clutch fitted.  Knowing this does not have a cush drive, I fitted a Suzuki rear wheel which does have a cush drive.
The electric start is sitting in a box in the garage - if anyone wants it, make me an offer.

The story of my B33 / Goldie can be found here.
https://www.lonewolf.me.uk/LWMEB33.htm