First Kick ! ! ! !

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Chester

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Mar 28, 2010
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74MKIIA

Hi Gents,

Just got all the fluids back in from a rebuild ( well...more of a total teaardown, cleanup, and reassemble ) with the right amounts of the right stuff for the new millenium.
Thank you all very much for your advice on brands a viscocities.

I'm at the , put the battery in stage....getting a little nervous.
Is there some preliminary thing i should do, is there a way to tell if oil is getting to all the right places?
I'm 99.9% sure all wiring, lines, hoses, are correct. There's always that .1% that something is going to smoke or cease. (maybe greater)

It's been a 2 year project. I'm by no means a mechanic, but with the help of a bunch of shop manuals, and the most valuable tool....this forum... I "think" I'm good to go.
Any thoughts on the initial startup would be greatly appreciated !
 
Most say to pump some oil into the timing chest until it comes out the head, then keep going and get plenty of oil on the cam followers. Apparently that's the bugaboo to get enough oil there at startup. I guess you could pour some down the exhaust holes. But most say just start it up and hold it around 2k until you see oil returning into the tank. I'm sure others will chime in.

Mine started 3rd kick (after installing battery) from total rebuild.

Good luck, it'll surprise you no doubt.

Dave
69S
 
This is how I do it.
1. Fill the oil tank to the proper level and let it set overnight. The leakage through the oil pump will fill the crank and oil passages with oil. Do not start the engine for the first time with an anti-wetsump valve in-line.

2. When you are ready to go, pour about 1/2 cup of oil into each exhaust rocker box. This wets the cam and lifters and puts about the right amount of oil in the crankcase.

3. Start the engine and immediately raise the speed to 2000 rpm while looking into the oil tank to watch for oil return from the scavenge pump. You should see oil return within about 60 seconds.

4. Run it for no more than about 5 minutes at 1500 rpm without a cooling fan. You don't want to burn the oil in the piston ring grooves or they may stick or glaze.

5. Set the timing and ride it like you stole it. Jim
 
Jim, that is the simplest,clearest method of starting a "new motor" I think I have ever seen. I've asked a lot of people as to what they recommend on first start up. and as you can imagine, i get a lot of differnt answers. Us psuedo mechanics need and depend on guys like you, and this forum. thanks, Don
 
Keep it spun up 2000-ish as settled on universal flat tappet rpm to surf the lifters for cam run in. After seeming too short a period, like before road running, not a bad idea to go ahead and change out the hi detergent clean out oil then should be cool enough to do first re-torque sequence of the several to come. If ya get lazy and skip one re-nipping in first 1000 miles, it raises likely hood of head gasket leak that's a bugger to nip up again w/o re-opening. If rev'd to 2000 rpm with oil cap open, better have a blankie over bike and floor and goggles over eyes. I help the wet sump process out by pumping oil in crank shaft end till drips out drain plug but if TS already sealed then just go for it. No Zn-Ph nano pad protective layer laid down until surfaces oil encounter have gotten over 200'F for a period before shut down. Its all wiped off on eat new restart. I've gotten to be like sword carrier, don't draw it out unless to draw fully hot blood.
 
Just prime the oil pump then up to the rockers by just kicking it without the ingition on and when oil is showing at the rockers she is ready, turn your fuel on and tickle the carbs then turn the power on and give it one big all mighty kick, if done right it should fire on first kick, mine did, when fired up just make sure the oil is retuning to the oil tank it will take a little time to make its way there, have fun, its the best feeling when it first fires to life.

Ashley
 
I can't add anything to the above regarding oil, but I'd strongly recommend re-torquing all the engine/head/barrel bolts before its first run, and again after it.
I lost an exhaust sleeve nut on the first ride, and I've since had to replace the lower engine mount bolt twice due to it vibrating loose and shearing.
From now on I'll only use the correct Norton shakeproof washers for the engine mounts - they dig in and look pretty nasty, but they do work where nylocs and spring washers don't. The situation is made worse where newly painted cradles are bedding in against the crankcases.
I've also read (but haven't tried myself yet) that re-tightening the exhaust nuts with a hot engine running at 4k rpm is a good idea - makes sense to me, as mine loosened off on me early on, despite fairly swinging on them when first built.

Looking forwards to hearing how you get on - and I dare you to video the event. Swooshdave's first efforts are a matter of legend :wink:
 
Thanks for all the Ideas guys ! Got the confidence level up.

I won't even be able to try till the weekend cuz of insane schedule, which I want to be WIDE open ! ! !
Suspence is the killer. I guess it gives the oil some time to trickle in to places.

The excitement you speak of is sure real and present, just like the first time I kicked this baby over in '74 , right out of the crate.

I wish I had the gear and the sav vy to video it and put it on line, but alas.

I' d definitely like to relay a blow by blow thread after. Which might be followed by a " hey guys, what do you do when the _______doesn't________?"

Tnx again
 
well, at the least you could just use the video camera in your cell phone to record the first startup

and then I think you can download that video to Utube somehow and we can link to it?
 
That sounds possible.
Perhaps the spousal unit would know how to put that together, or one of the 2 burly gents that will help me lift it out of the
basement this weekend.
Tnx for the tip !
 
You can video it on your camera and load it to Photobucket it will work, this is a short video of my first start up 18 months ago

First Kick ! ! ! !


we had a few beers in us by the time it was ready to fire up and do you think I was happy, the Norton is still going great to this day I ride 6 days out of 7 and have clocked up just on 12,000 miles since this was taken, just clik on the pic and it will go to the video.

Ashley
 
I would think that first and foremost assembly lube is present on all critical surfaces.
Secondly loosen the oil line on the left feed to the head. Pull the plugs and kick it over until oil is present at the fitting. Reconnect and give a dozen more kicks. Don't be lazy here. Squirt oil into the tappet, the rockers and down the pushrod holes.

The assembly lube is your cushion and along with the priming you should be good to go.

Triple check all fasteners particular motor mounting and the like. It is amazing how may of us leave one motor mounting loose or maybe they just settle after the initial start up. Either way, check them.
 
goo said:
what do factories do for first time engine starts?
Click to expand...

I don't know about Norton, but here's how Triumph did it (from 00:20) :)
[video]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mahAoNvH2pQ[/video]

Parts 1 & 2
[video]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=s-ABelgFdjA[/video]

[video]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ipiD6nm7Iy0[/video]
 
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