Starting problems 500T

... it is fitted with a manual advance / retard magneto? The classic starting methiood for a big single is:

Close the air lever (if fitted) and lightly flood the carb.

Hold the valve lifter to lift the exhaust valve and rotate the engine a couple of times gently using the kickstart with the throttle barely open. You should hear the carb sucking.

Set the advance / retard about half way through its travel.

Keeping the throttle barely open rotate the engine till you can feel compression. Use the valve lifter to ease just past this (a few inches on the kickstart).

Release the valve lifter, let the kickstart return to the top then give a long swinging kick all the way through keeping your knee slightly bent.

Don't jab at the kickstart or twitch the throttle open and closed.

The above usually works but every bike is different and it will need some experimentation to find the right settings. The 500T is a relatively soft engine and should start easily if you use the corrct procedure.

Agreed it should start as Ian describes, if there is no choke then just tickle it until a little comes out on your thumb.   

dan 

Welcome to the club, when you say the guy couldn't start it, do you mean he struggled or he never managed, has it actually run since it was rebuilt?, if not, valve timing, ignition timing, plug, tappets,  and the fuel system will all need to be checked. Also long term storage is not good for magnetos.

If it has run but not lately, check and clean plug, points, carb jets, that there is a decent spark, then do as Ian describes, and don't be frightened of it kicking back, as soon as it starts, look in the oil tank for oil returning. Good luck!

When I meet a strange bike that does not start, I am strongly inclined to give the magneto a check, and make sure that it is timed correctly.  If it is not doing what it is supposed to be doing, you will not get the bike to run.

Are you somewhere not too far from an NOC branch? Your problem of being a lone owner is I fear increasingly common.

Ps.  If the above instructions don't work, ot might be flooded with fuel or the plug oiled up. Try kicking on full throttle with decompressor open (but be prepared for a backfire) or, better, remove and clean the plug and try again.

It won't be likely to start if ignition timing is wrong. It must be correctly adjusted according to the manual (on full advance) and part retarded when you kick start it.

Soon you'll fund the correct settings and it should become easy. It's not a hopeless case like a Velocette.

... wasn't a hopeless case but responded much better to the standard big single technique as I described than it did to the "official" Velo method which always seemed a bit hit-and-miss to me. I think my right leg was stronger in those dyas however.....

I would emphasise a couple of points from Ian's technique.  Use only the tiniest whisker of throttle when starting the bike.  You do not need a fast kick,  do it slowly but push all the way down.  As soon as it fires, move the advance/retard lever to fully advanced.  Good luck.

Really?  I know several Velocettes which are well looked after and OK to start. 

Oh and just to add to the mix, my M50 fired once after a rebuild and refused to fire again, that is until I changed the new Champion plug to a new NGK, it started immediately after that. There are a lot of counterfeit plugs out there, and/or the quality isn’t what it used to be. 

Dan 

Hi Carol,

It may be worth getting in touch with the Bournemouth branch as they cover your area and there may be someone who is familiar with starting big singles. 

Go to https://bournemouth.branches.nortonownersclub.org/reports/contacts/ and you will see the contact email address.

If the bike itself is elsewhere, the same applies, Go to https://www.nortonownersclub.org/branches and get in touch with the closest.

Regards

Tony 

I have stopped using NGK plugs altogether, whilst what you say about fake ones is true (and bearings as well) the problem is that NGK have stopped glazing the ceramic insulation around the centre electrode, because it is not necessary on modern lean burn engines, they only have to get sooted up once and then they are useless because the carbon impregnates the pot and causes the charge to 'leak away'.

Also Carol, if nobody has mentioned it, Nortons have a party trick of all the oil draining down into the crankcase over time which can make the engine hard to turn over and be very messy, too if you manage to get a start.

... the key is a long progressive swing rather than jabbing at the kickstart as you might do with a 2 stroke. The objective is to get the engine spinning so the momentum in the flywheels carries it over the next compression where it should fire. I just didn't want you to be too cautious as this can result in a kickback as well!

I agree with everything else said here - it can be tricky especially if you don't have ready access to the bike.