2008 500cc Electra X Classic Valve Adjustment

[tooseevee]

How to find TDC, (or just past it). Leave the kill button or side stand down, ignition switch on, until you have done all the preceding chores listed above. Push the kickstarter until you feel the  piston resisting movement, then, with the decomp pulled, ease the piston on up until you see the ammeter center. I would just give it a slight nudge past that point, then release the decomp, turn on the kill switch or raise the side stand,, and kick it through with some gusto. You do this because when you get to the compression stroke again, the flywheel will have enough inertia built up to push the piston through compression with little wear and tear on you and the kickstarting gears.
Should start right up.
Bare

            Concerning the watching the ammeter tic Negative trick for finding TDC: This doesn't work on an AVL (which the subject bike is). I kicked mine twice today after it sat for 3 weeks. Started right up on the 2nd kick & just purred like a (thumping) kitten. Richener off after about 15 seconds.

             bitphire: Your bike just needs fiddling with the basics & learning the little details. Get good with the kicker & leave the electric start alone - save it for tricky traffic situations.

[bitphire]

Well when I had it connected to the truck so I could kick it, the electric start didn't even work so that is another project.

Hoping for more suggestions on to why it won't stay running otherwise it seems like pulling the carb off and cleaning it out might be the next step. Was hoping for something a little easier but I have a good person helping me out so we should be able to get it figured out. We might wait on the carb until we can get another battery to make sure it's not that.

It's been around 6 months since it was last started and ran. Give or a take a month as my girlfriend has clarified he did start it for her and that's what sold her to it: The bike is Her Style, it started, and it was only $500

[tooseevee]

Well when I had it connected to the truck so I could kick it, the electric start didn't even work so that is another project.

Hoping for more suggestions on to why it won't stay running otherwise it seems like pulling the carb off and cleaning it out might be the next step. Was hoping for something a little easier but I have a good person helping me out so we should be able to get it figured out. We might wait on the carb until we can get another battery to make sure it's not that.

It's been around 6 months since it was last started and ran. Give or a take a month as my girlfriend has clarified he did start it for her and that's what sold her to it: The bike is Her Style, it started, and it was only $500

            Wow! She got an '08 for $500? She's way ahead already. Does it look well cared for?

             The carb (a BS-29 CV Micarb if it's stock) is pretty simple to pull off & clean. Freeing the throttle cable might give you a little trouble - just take your time. I pull then carb first, then I free the cable. Works better for me.

              I don't know what to say about your battery. If it's the original, it's probably no good. You Must have a good battery for these bikes to run good & don't use the electric start ALL the time (OR the headlight). The battery can't recover in a lot of short-trip riding & it will always let you/her down.

           If it starts & dies, starts & dies, starts & dies, it's probably fuel/carb related.

            PS: Does the headlight come on when you turn the key on?

                 

[1 Thump]

I would clean the carb first. While you are at it make a note of the jet sizes that are in there. It will help you tune it further. Also, does it still have stock muffler and air filter.

[bitphire]

It was bought from a friend of my step-dad. It has 25k ish miles on it and 90% of it is all highway. The headlight itself needs replacing (got a replacement just not installed). He gave me a couple of sprockets but gonna have to get back in touch to see which one is which as I don't remember. The lens on the rear blinker needs replaced but I believe that is the majority of the issues. It was a steal.

[LarsBloodbeard]

$500!?  Oh man, you're killing me.  I would love to have that bike.

[DanB]

Nice bike. That's a steal!

I had a similar issue with my AVL. Things got gunked up in the shutoff valve filter and the carb bowl. If you haven't taken off the carb yet, I'd suggest unscrewing the bowl on the fuel shutoff valve and make sure fuel is flowing into the carb. Then drop the bowl in the carb and give that a quick cleaning.

I don't think this is your issue, but my gas tank cap vent was plugged on my as well. I'd run a couple of minutes and then it would just die until I equalized the pressure (of course, only learned that after many 4 letter words and pushing)

[Arizoni]

If one has one of those little angular screwdrivers with the ends at 90 degrees to a short section that acts as a handle they should be able to remove the float bowl from the bottom of the carb without totally removing it.

I got to thinking about the start/die that the engine was doing and it is exactly like some of my old carburetored bikes when they got some water in the float bowl.

The fuel would rise in the jet and allow the engine to start.  As soon as it started it would suck the water up into the jet and die.  After it died, the fuel would again float to the top of the water allowing it to start again.

Remove the float bowl and see if I'm right.  It only takes a little water  to do this and it will look like a bubble that moves around under the fuel if you tilt the bowl.

If that does prove to be the problem, no further repair beyond removing the water is needed although I would suggest that you get an in line fuel filter and install it between the fuel tap valve and the float chamber.
 That can help to trap any additional water that might drain down towards the carb.

[bitphire]

Did not notice any water but the guy helping pointed out a lil gunk in the bowl and the jet seemed a lil clogged so hopefully that's all it was. I am not sure how to tell what jet size it is but the number we did see was 110 if that means anything to you guys. I have a picture too but heading out to pick up the girlfriend from work so it'll be up in about an hour or so.

I can't thank you guys enough for all the help and info. I really do appreciate it.

[boggy]

bitphire,
A few notes from my 2007 AVL.

-I use NGK BR8ES gapped to .019.  Your bike gets running so that's not the issue but I've fouled a few on my AVL. Almost every time it won't kick over, it's been the plug. I highly recommend always having a spare when riding.

-I recently ran into an issue where my breather hose was pinched coming out of the catch can. This caused my bike to run like crap at idle and die on throttle.  There are a few hoses coming out of the engine case. They go back into a can onto the left side, below the seat just under where you'd sit.  3 hoses in, and I think 1 out. Might want to make sure none are pinched and all are clear of crap.

-There is a little fuel filter under the petcock. With the fuel off, simply unscrew it and clear the screen.

-I've had major carb issues with a different carb than yours.  One of which is what you are describing where it runs then dies.  In one case, my main jet had unscrewed itself (or I forgot to screw it in tight  ).  In another case my float bowl height needed to be adjusted but best to start with clearing out the jets.

-I don't think an old battery is causing your issue but a new one is always good after a few years.  However, I have a sealed one on mine now and I notice no improvement over a regular battery in it holding a charge at all.  Like I said before, if you don't ride these babies a good distance daily to charge them, these AVL e-starts don't really seem to do much more than make some odd sounds.

Good luck. If that bike has 25k on it then it was running great at some point - and for quite a long time!  Probably just some little thing.

Boggy

[bitphire]

Here is my ToDo list btw
Primary Drive Sprockets (Front and Rear)
Primary Drive Chain
Rear Wheel Sprocket
Bike Chain Itself
Front Break Cable
Rear Turn Signal Lens
Headlight

boggy thanks for that info!

[bitphire]

Sorry, was walking out the door when I did the last post. That is the to do list according to the previous owner and he supplied the majority of the parts.

Just to clarify, the battery was no good (not just old )

[bitphire]

Just wanted to post to let you all know that the bike will not start and stay running!! It would appear as though that little gunk in the carb/jet was the issue. Thank you all for the help. Now, about the rest of the todo list... not sure how urgent that stuff is so need to talk with the previous owner about it. Break cable and headlight are the only things that need to be done asap.

[Arizoni]

"...the bike will not start and stay running!!" 
I hope the "not" wasn't supposed to be there?

The headlight should be the same as the small automotive headlights that have both the high and low beam that are available at any auto supply store.
These Royal Enfields don't have the most powerful alternators on them so look for a headlight with a low wattage.  My 2011 came with a 35/50w bulb although the Indian AVL manual says it can use a 55/60w 12 volt bulb.

Before replacing the bulb, check to see if the light switch is turned off or to the park position.
If the switch will turn the parking/tail light on and off, some prior owner has removed the bypass jumper. (This is good).  If he/she did, there is a chance that the headlight switch is not turned on to the 'headlight' position.  If the switch doesn't seem to do anything, the "jumper" may still be installed.  If it is, when you remove the headlight for replacement you might look to see if there is a wiring bundle with a connector that plugs into a short bundle which plugs into another connector.
The UCE bikes use this method of bypassing the light switch to meet DOT requirements in the US.
By removing the short plugged in section and then connecting the connectors that remain behind, suddenly the light switch will start working.
I'm not sure if the AVL is the same as the UCE but I would bet it is.

As for the rear sprocket, if the teeth aren't chipped or bent it is probably okay.
The rear drive chain is probably the crappy Indian product that all of us have found to be very poor and easily worn out. 
With the bike on the center stand the rear chain should move up and down about 2-2 3/8".

[tooseevee]

"...the bike will not start and stay running!!" 
I hope the "not" wasn't supposed to be there?

Before replacing the bulb, check to see if the light switch is turned off or to the park position.
If the switch will turn the parking/tail light on and off, some prior owner has removed the bypass jumper. (This is good).  If he/she did, there is a chance that the headlight switch is not turned on to the 'headlight' position.  If the switch doesn't seem to do anything, the "jumper" may still be installed.  If it is, when you remove the headlight for replacement you might look to see if there is a wiring bundle with a connector that plugs into a short bundle which plugs into another connector.

By removing the short plugged in section and then connecting the connectors that remain behind, suddenly the light switch will start working.
I'm not sure if the AVL is the same as the UCE but I would bet it is.

            Yes, the AVL has the jumper. Find it, remove it, plug the two ends together & the switch will then work. Check ALL the lights while you have the headlight out. There are a lot of little ground plugs in there that come loose easily.

              That 110 jet you mentioned is the stock Main Jet. The stock Pilot Jet should be a #15.

              Glad you got it running. I figured you would