ET: Engine (Twin) Starting Procedure Twin…Using Chokes or Not?

Monkeypants

Well Known and Active Forum User
Non-VOC Member
I find that the Hills stand works extremely well. The only problem it had was the small foot size, now rectified.
It's almost effortless to park the bike on the stand. Just step down on the lever.

Glen
 

oexing

Well Known and Active Forum User
VOC Member
Hi Carl,
trying to remember the logics in finding sizes of a new main stand I´d start by deciding on the mounting holes, maybe like the Hills design. So then your engine plates need some extension at bottom for shorter tubes. Not necessary I believe, you could have the holes in standard plates as well and live with longer stand tubes extending more to the rear when up. The stand needs not go up very high, just sufficiently to clear the road going round corners.
So then put the bike on its wheels and note the distance of mounting hole to ground.
Next dimension is the stand height when the bike is up on main stand: Jack the bike up at roughly the main stand location, check clearance of rear wheel for one or two fingers gap to ground. This is your desired height of bike on main stand, so get the dimension of mounting hole to ground in this stage.
Now you can do a sketch with a cardboard curved foot and tube length at jacked up height from ground according to the measured dimensions above. Have the feet a bit positioned forward to frontwheel relative to the mounting hole, so the bike will stay safe in jacked up state.
With the cardboard tubing and foot cut out for the jacked up length you then simulate the moment when you lower the stand at parking place: The curved foot will touch ground at bike height like you measured with bike on wheels, no stand lift action yet. So from this situation you want the curved feet to raise the bike up to the jacked up position when rolling the bike back to the rear. I want to get a smooth lifting effect along the backrolling action, so for this target you can modify the curve of the feet to achieve this motion by checking the additional height to ground while you slowly turn the cardboard stand towards the fully jacked up position - by "rolling it along the road" . The increase of lift should be linear I´d think, so you don´t have to heave at certain situations like with poorly designed mainstands.
Hope this write up will be helpful a bit for coming up with own designs. Certainly the Hills stand was a big improvement over the abysmal rear stand, but to me it does not look like it could not be optimised in places. I do know main stands which are a pain to use - well, to someone who never had rear stands like on lots of prewar bikes.

Vic

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Marcus Bowden

VOC Hon. Overseas Representative
VOC Member
One has to be practical about stands and apply a little logic. When the bike is loaded with camping gear it can be very difficult to get it on the rear centre stand. The stand is fitted with wide feet that were used when in the engine room for welding it to the deck for security as we did roll a lot on a banana boat. Notice the big 3" diameter foot pad, one could park on a fresh cow pad and not sink into it.



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When the rear stand is fitted with a second set of legs it is easy to use, we stop in a field she gets off and releases the rear stand, then stepping onto the two legs in the air and lifting from under the rack the bike rolls back onto the legs being very stable with the wide feet at the stand and been like this for thirty odd years, if I'm solo I park on the side stand dismount walk to the rear and release the stand, stand on the right hand leg until the bike is upright lift at the carrier and it sits it's self onto the stand also for starting with out exerting pressure on the rear fork spindle as the stand does not touch the rear lug at all to save this danger of opening the rear fork.

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Pettiford suspension springs had guides inside and are adjustable by turning them one way or another as they have 3/4" x 20 and 1/2" x 26 on the female and male respectively with a sintered bronze bush in the female. Next mod is to put a rachet on the top spring claw.
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Andy H

Forum User
VOC Member
I don't know for certain, but I'm speculating the coil ignition puts out a much healthier spark than any magneto, stock or B-TH. The result of course is easier starting, but trouble if you have a dead battery.
I have a magneto in a Touring Rapide. The 'cement mixer ,' method never fails. I don't know or care where the pistons are. If cold tickle the floats. Close chokes. Ease down kickstart whilst engaging valve lifter. Give it a swing followed by a second one and let go of lifter. Never fails. Same when hot but no choke . This method does not stress the knee or the kickstart parts.
 

CarlHungness

Well Known and Active Forum User
VOC Member
I have a magneto in a Touring Rapide. The 'cement mixer ,' method never fails. I don't know or care where the pistons are. If cold tickle the floats. Close chokes. Ease down kickstart whilst engaging valve lifter. Give it a swing followed by a second one and let go of lifter. Never fails. Same when hot but no choke . This method does not stress the knee or the kickstart parts.
Actually your method sure sounds like you're getting full rotation in with the immediate second swing. Thanks, will try it for sure and bet it works.
 

CarlHungness

Well Known and Active Forum User
VOC Member
One has to be practical about stands and apply a little logic. When the bike is loaded with camping gear it can be very difficult to get it on the rear centre stand. The stand is fitted with wide feet that were used when in the engine room for welding it to the deck for security as we did roll a lot on a banana boat. Notice the big 3" diameter foot pad, one could park on a fresh cow pad and not sink into it.



View attachment 53019

When the rear stand is fitted with a second set of legs it is easy to use, we stop in a field she gets off and releases the rear stand, then stepping onto the two legs in the air and lifting from under the rack the bike rolls back onto the legs being very stable with the wide feet at the stand and been like this for thirty odd years, if I'm solo I park on the side stand dismount walk to the rear and release the stand, stand on the right hand leg until the bike is upright lift at the carrier and it sits it's self onto the stand also for starting with out exerting pressure on the rear fork spindle as the stand does not touch the rear lug at all to save this danger of opening the rear fork.

View attachment 53020

Pettiford suspension springs had guides inside and are adjustable by turning them one way or another as they have 3/4" x 20 and 1/2" x 26 on the female and male respectively with a sintered bronze bush in the female. Next mod is to put a rachet on the top spring claw.
View attachment 53021
Somewhere along the line I read a story about a bike at Bonneville running rectangular panniers and it went 20 MPH faster without them. I made an aluminum set and ran them for about 20 years. Your bike is definitely fit for the trip to, anywhere you want to go. That's some side-stand
 

Marcus Bowden

VOC Hon. Overseas Representative
VOC Member
Carl my handsome, I used to use it to go any where and did more miles on the continent than the UK, joining ships in Bremerhaven (Germany) was quite a regular thing or Antwerpen. When it's camping the Carrier slides off and is our pick-nic table, all within 28" so fits through any door, sitting on the small boxes and eating off the large and stove in the middle for the kettle or frying pan, 10 weeks we toured NZ with son first time with the club then our daughter Camita flew out and jumped onto Roberts D" Rap and did another 3k miles with her and she had here twentieth birthday with the Von Tunzelman family. only time we had a holiday all together.
 
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