Rebuilt Engine Startup Checklist?

I'm getting close to firing up my '74 850 Commando after a complete tear down. Is there a good startup checklist available here or elsewhere? I searched the forum and didn't find anything very pertinent. I read somewhere that it is important (critical?) to run oil into the the chamber inside the crank prior to the initial startup. Are there other critical things to do on the Commando 850 engine before starting it after a rebuild? I used assembly lube on the moving surfaces (bearings & cams) and will shoot a squirt of oil in each of the cyclinders on the initial fire up. Any startup recommendations you have will be appreciated.

Thanks,

Jim

When mine was ready to go I was already confident the crank was full of oil as I'd filled the tank a few weeks earlier.... and it was empty on the BIg Day, so oil had definitely travelled through the crank.
I drained the sump and refilled the tank, and poured a good amount of oil over the valvegear (mostly to get oil onto the cam).
I set the carbs with the pilots out 1 1/2 turns and the tickover screws giving a minimal lift to the slides.
I 'd fitted a Trispark and made sure the static timing was good (It was found to be a full 2 degrees out when I finally got the strobe on it!).
I went round the bike with a handful of spanners and checked everything I could access for tightness (yes, I found a couple which needed tweaking)
I fitted a fully charged battery and confirmed the ignition and kill-switch were working by giving the bike a couple of kicks with the plugs out, and gave the bores a small squirt of oil before refitting the plugs.

I finally fuelled the bike, flooded the carbs, set the video running and gave it a reasonably firm kick, whilst lifting the throttles slightly...

[video]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OQGQ8uK-pYM[/video]

I still find it hard to believe that it all went so smoothly.
I'd recommend going round the cylinder head bolts after 5 miles rather than 50 (but still do it again at 50), as I lost one of the sleeve nuts under the exhaust ports (composite 'flame ring' head gasket), probably within the first 10 miles.

It's been very good since, but one of the exhaust collars worked loose, despite me tightening them after the first 3 or 4 rides with the engine good and hot.
They're now lockwired :roll:

Good luck, and keep us posted

Agree with Ludwig on getting it out and about quickly if you have a Trispark fitted as the static timing will be close, on a Boyer box of any type you will have to strobe it first as the timing set to their instructions statically could be up to 10 degrees out, but keep idling to a min as you want to get those rings bedded in quickly before the bores glaze.

Best way to break-in a new build engine: RUN IT HARD

Warm up your engine fully, and start of riding asap alternating short bursts of hard acceleration and deceleration for 200 miles to obtain maximum piston ring seal.

www.mototuneusa.com

A handy Fire Extinguisher, especially the CO2 type as
the powder type make such a mess, though less than
a consumed bike and shop.

I know one reason Norton got rid of Lucas sparkers from under
the Amal carbs.

hobot

Everbody has different ideas about initial startup and breakin. I'm inclined to follow some advice from some authoritative sources. If nothing else it's a nice topic of discussion, though just about everybody's engines seem to turn out fine.

The guys at TotalSeal said to install the rings dry and not to slather the bore bore with oil. They also told me to load the engine with mid-rpm WFO blasts. The pressure in the cylinder is what actually presses the rings against the cylinder wall and you have a fairly short window to get the final hone on the ring surface before the wall surface gets glazed. Short blasts because then the piston gets a chance to cool down, which is important especially on new pistons. Gordon Jennings said that pistons, more forged than cast, expand and assume their final configuration by expanding till they are cooled by the cylinder. After a few heat cycles they settle down but long uphill blasts on an aircooled engine is asking for it with new pistons.

An engine builder told that cam makers will void their warranty if you idle the engine on startup. He explained that on a flat tappet engine the cam and the followers work harden their surfaces with the initial run in. Believe it or not, he said that the pressure at the lobes is higher on an idling motor than one that's running at 2500rpm because the followers are launched a small amount at higher rpm's by the ramps. Go figure. I tend to think that the higher oil flow all through the engine is reason enough to get the show on the road as soon as possible, not to mention air flow. Carry whatever you use to tighten the exhaust collars with you

Jim Malm said:

I'm getting close to firing up my '74 850 Commando after a complete tear down. Is there a good startup checklist available here or elsewhere? I searched the forum and didn't find anything very pertinent. I read somewhere that it is important (critical?) to run oil into the the chamber inside the crank prior to the initial startup. Are there other critical things to do on the Commando 850 engine before starting it after a rebuild? I used assembly lube on the moving surfaces (bearings & cams) and will shoot a squirt of oil in each of the cyclinders on the initial fire up. Any startup recommendations you have will be appreciated.

Thanks,

Jim

Click to expand...

I agree with the others here about not adding any additional oil in the cylinders before startup. Of course this will set off the dreaded debate about dry bore versus oiled bore startups!! Did you put any oil on the cylinder walls during assembly? If so, I definitely wouldn't add any more. I have fired up all my iron bore rebuilds dry or with a very slight smear of oil and it seems to work in terms of ring seating.

My understanding is that the cam is lubricated by splash from the spinning crank, below 2000 rpm it's not throwing enough oil around the keep the cam good and wet.

bpatton said:

Everbody has different ideas about initial startup and breakin. I'm inclined to follow some advice from some authoritative sources. If nothing else it's a nice topic of discussion, though just about everybody's engines seem to turn out fine.

The guys at TotalSeal said to install the rings dry and not to slather the bore bore with oil. They also told me to load the engine with mid-rpm WFO blasts. The pressure in the cylinder is what actually presses the rings against the cylinder wall and you have a fairly short window to get the final hone on the ring surface before the wall surface gets glazed. Short blasts because then the piston gets a chance to cool down, which is important especially on new pistons. Gordon Jennings said that pistons, more forged than cast, expand and assume their final configuration by expanding till they are cooled by the cylinder. After a few heat cycles they settle down but long uphill blasts on an aircooled engine is asking for it with new pistons.

An engine builder told that cam makers will void their warranty if you idle the engine on startup. He explained that on a flat tappet engine the cam and the followers work harden their surfaces with the initial run in. Believe it or not, he said that the pressure at the lobes is higher on an idling motor than one that's running at 2500rpm because the followers are launched a small amount at higher rpm's by the ramps. Go figure. I tend to think that the higher oil flow all through the engine is reason enough to get the show on the road as soon as possible, not to mention air flow. Carry whatever you use to tighten the exhaust collars with you

Click to expand...

The cam is also oiled by oil returning from the head, Through the pushrod tunnels.

I do agree that 'running in' is a misnomer - once I'd assured myself the engine wouldn't (a) p!ss oil everywhere and (b) stall every time I decelerated, I took it out and although I didn't wring its neck it got used 'properly'.
It would take a braver man then me to go thrashing a bike flat-out that's just had everything either replaced or otherwise molested!
It smoked a little for the first 100 miles or so and now runs clean, although I could do to drop the needles to the top notch, as the midrange seems a bit rich.

I put new rings on un-honed bores BTW.

B+Bogus said:

I put new rings on un-honed bores BTW.

Click to expand...

Yes, I was thinking after all I read about honing, about leaving my bores alone with the new GPM pistons and rings after an earlier hone (10K) and only 13K miles. Nice to hear it worked.

Dave
69S

Put a 2 foot extension on your exhaust lockring tool and tighten them with the engine hot and you can lose the lockwire forever.

B+Bogus said:

It would take a braver man then me to go thrashing a bike flat-out that's just had everything either replaced or otherwise molested!
I put new rings on un-honed bores BTW.

Click to expand...

It wouldn't take a brave man but a stupid ass one. Putting new rings on un-honed bores ain't that smart either.

Rich_j said:

Put a 2 foot extension on your exhaust lockring tool and tighten them with the engine hot and you can lose the lockwire forever.

Click to expand...

+1 this is definitely the best way to secure your exhaust lockring.

ludwig said:

+1 this is definitely the best way to secure your exhaust lockring
By far the best way to do it is with RUNNING engine !
rev to 4000 rpm while tightening the nut .
The vibrations take away all the friction caused by small misalignment of the headers .
You can get the nuts much tighter with less stress on the threads .

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You're right. A week ago I went on a ride after having one of the pipes off. I got around 2-3 miles and started to hear the clatter. Pulled over and tightened it up without shutting off the engine. The heat and the vibration work in your favor. Skip Schloss was selling these wrenches around ten years ago. They're 1/2" drive and around 7/16" thick and work great. I haven't found anybody else making them.

nortonspeed said:

B+Bogus said:

It would take a braver man then me to go thrashing a bike flat-out that's just had everything either replaced or otherwise molested!
I put new rings on un-honed bores BTW.

Click to expand...

It wouldn't take a brave man but a stupid ass one. Putting new rings on un-honed bores ain't that smart either.

Click to expand...

There's a difference between riding a bike flat-out and what I was describing. I tried to make it as clear as possible. As long as we're pressing peoples' hot-button, TotalSeal prefaced their advice with, "Ride it like you stole it." You have to remember two things as far as their advice goes. They are concerned with the bedding in of their rings, and only bedding in their rings. And they assume that everything else in the motor is good to go.