mikegray660 wrote:but they can be ancient (AKA worn) 932 "300s" correct?

Yes, certainly.

Although so far, nothing has been mentioned about the carbs (or jets etc.) showing any symptoms of excessive wear, just that the carbs are not flooding properly, because either the float heights or tickler buttons need re-adjusting?

As noted by others, go through the carbs and check/set everything. I'd replace the throttle needles and needle jets and at least check that the mains are the same and correct size. You might be surprised to find any of the changeable items different in each carb! Also a new viton tipped float needle. If the oem floats are ok, I wouldn't bother replacing them but some folks like the new "stay up" floats.

My experience with ticklers/floats...

First, it's worth remembering that the level of fuel in the tank determines the "speed" of the tickling so a full gas tank might result in a tickle "overflow" in 2-3 seconds while a nearly empty tank might require considerably more time. That's just physics!

Second, as noted, the float level has a major impact on tickling. The higher the float level, the faster the tickling overflow will occur (but the above re the fuel level still applies). It is possible to have no tickling if the float level is too low because the buttons don't reach far enough.

Third, on my 850 Commando, I have found that the best float level for operation, (with original amal floats/viton-tipped needle), is with the front of the float (free end) .060 below the top edge of the bowl. .080 works well also but tends to put the ticklers at the limt of their reach. I realize there are other much higher recommendations but when I've tried those higher levels, flooding occurs quite easily due to engine vibration. My Commando works really well at the .060.

Fourth, it is possible for the tickling action to dump fuel into the combustion chamber BEFORE there is any visible sign of dripping on the outside of the carb and you can put enough fuel in a cyl whereby the engine will not kick through and you have to pull a spark plug, kick it over a bunch of times (and spray gasoline on the ceiling of the garage). Yes, I know this from experience. As a result of this possibility, I never engage a tickler longer than a count of 5 (seconds). So for me, tickling is until fuel drips externally OR the count of 5 is reached, whichever occurs first.

The above is my experience with MY commando; your mileage may vary!

pvisseriii wrote:Or they could be fairly new 932 "300's", Correct? They look fresh.

Yes, indeed, they could be more or less brand new?

L.A.B. wrote:Check the float heights as suggested.
http://www.amalcarb.co.uk/TechnicalDetail.aspx?id=11

The waterproof tickler pin assembly can be adjusted by simply pushing/pulling the pin in/out of its button, but don't overdo it, as your one looks about right in the photo, measure the tickler button travel of both carbs, it should be approximately 5/16"?.

The carbs have obviously been replaced at some point with new items, as 932 R/L"300" carbs are not the originals, but that's no problem, provided they have been jetted correctly.

Thanks very much, that spec is what I need to check the ticklers out ...will do that and check the floats too

As per those instructions, one of THE most critical items if rebuilding the carbs is the information about truing the surfaces. It will make a huge difference in performance and reliability. It seems that it was extremely common to WAAAAY overtighten all the screws and thus warp the carb and intake manifold mating surfaces. I found that every such surface on my Amals was considerably warped - the bowls, the carb body-to-bowl surface, the carb body to manifold surface, the manifold to carb body surface and the manifold to cyl head surface. All is easily corrected with a piece of sheet glass and some 240 then 400 wet or dry paper with some WD 40 or soapy water for the lubricant. The carb body to float bowl surface is a little tougher because you can't sit it flat on the paper so CAREFUL work with a file will do the job.

Note that when you reassemble, the carb to manifold bolts should be just tight enough to cause the surfaces to mate - the orings take care of sealing. None of the screws/bolts should be any tighter than "snug." I realize that's not much of a scientific statement but I don't know how else to put it. But overtightening will cause leaks, not stop them. No gasket sealer is necessary and using it will just create the opportunity for the "squeeze-out" to obstruct jets/float needle seats.

Also note that the oem gaskets for the float bowl must be checked/ trimmed so that they clear the rotating portion of the float. The stock gaskets can sit against the float at the hinge pin and obstruct movement so check that carefully before assembly. One would think that they could make a gasket that worked correctly without trimming but that's another issue!

This will solve your tickler problems, it was picked up at a swap meet and marked "Ultra Duty Amal Tickler".



I figure one of these would get a bike started in the middle of winter in Alaska.

pvisseriii wrote:HEY HEY HEY, slow down there.
As lab says, there seems to be nothing wrong with this bike except for a tickler issue. I am inclined to believe that this bike runs as good as it looks. Let us not talk this guy into rebuilding his "Like New" motorcycle in the middle of summer.
Hey Bluto, go ridin and play with the ticklers on a rainy day. If it is warm where you are(where isn't it), it shouldn't take much tickling anyway.

Thanks, you are quite right, it really does run as good as it looks, got lucky and found a great bike at a bargain price....but I'm in sunny California and this thing STILL is a bitch to start cold and I more or less know how to do it , this is my fourth Amal equipped British bike (another Norton and 2 BSA's in the past FWIW) ...but will order the StayUp floats if I don't already have them and may even fool w/ the float seat levels if necessary in the meantime, got an extra set of bowls w/ the bikes...and there is always the tickler tool shown above if all else fails

I had this problem with a new carb I fitted to a B25, I took the float bowel off and the float checked out within spec so I screwed a self tapper into the hole at the bottom of the tickler shaft to make it adjustable in length.

turned out the new float bowls installed by the prior owner were the problem. installed the originals and cold starts are no problem now, one or two kicks is enough....thanks very much for all the suggestions, they led to a quick solution...also FWIW the ticklers DO work in 3-4 seconds now that they are right, since my original post heard from a very knowledgeable friend that 3 seconds was the rule of thumb back in the day