Tickler

Question to all.....74 850 Commando having some issues getting started. Amal 32mm's, had manual chokes and could get it going full choke but not off. Had a Norton years back and had no choke and never needed it so as per forum suggestions and experience I took chokes out. Went over everything, intake leaks, plugged jets, needle set everything. left tickler shows gas in a few seconds right tickler takes way longer and then shows fuel but not like the left. I've taken both carbs apart and checked all jets, pathways through the carbs and adjusted the floats per spec. Just doesn't flow like it should. possible that the tickler pathway is plugged restricting flow but hard to tell...hit all over carbs in/out with air.....any ideas?

Have you drilled out the pilot jets with a 16 thou #78 drill, these block easily and no amount of blowing or carb cleaner will budge the crud.

Did not thank you for the idea.....TBC

And FWIW, my 74 850 wants the choke when cold. My buddy's 750 does not. Dunno why the difference.

Difference in tickling, in my experience, is float levels.

With my last Norton I could always get it started first kick with just ticklers no choke. My wish for this one....

Some people swear their bike needs choke to start, and other people swear the opposite. I think regardless of which method works for a person, that method is a learned process. I never use the choke lever on my 750. I do tickle both sides, then hold the throttle half open to give the bike a gulp of fuel when I kick it. It's a 1 or 2 kick bike usually. The times it might torture me a little is if it's still warm and I go to restart it and mistakenly flood it with to much fuel. It seems that if it's warm, the tickle isn't necessary but holding the slides up half way is still required.

Probably the best thing to do is to chose a proceedure to start the bike. Then pay attention to repeat it exactly numerous times. If it doesn't produce a 1 or 2 kick result, change the proceedure and repeat it to test it's result. Eventually, you'll hit on a sequence that works for your bike.

Have heard others suggest in other threads the tickler itself can need adjusting/extending on some carbs so that is more fully depresses the float when used. Think there's a roll pin or such under/in the tickler body.

Another possible cause of slow tickling would be the flow rate through the petcock to that carb (if separate from the good side).

If you’ve got the new ‘stay up’ floats, you need to check the fuel level in the bowls rather than the float height.

The new floats are more buoyant than the old type, so measuring a 0.08” gap between the top edge of the float and the front edge of the bowl no longer means it’s guaranteed to be set up correctly.

Also, make sure you gave the aluminium Viton tipped float needles, NOT the brass ones, which are too heavy, and snap shut too early.

I noticed too that Andover now sell a fuel level check kit, which will save you from needing to drill out an old float bowl drain plug and tapping it for a hose-tail fitting.
https://andover-norton.co.uk/en/shop-details/20569