Hi folks I needs some advice on solving a problem. I have a 76 900 SS it has been off the road for about 8 years. She was running fine before I took it off the road , it just needed some tidying up and oil seals. About 3 years ago I started pulling it apart, but only got to taking the L hard clutch over off and took the plates out and took off the right hard drive sprocket cover off , it is a R hand gear change. And that is as far as I got. So over the last few weeks I have been sorting the carb out with new needles and seat, new drive sprocket oil seal and the usual plugs, oil. So then I think she is about ready to kick over after 8 years, well not quiet , the kick starter wont budge. so I pull the clutch's out again oil them , check every thing. I was thinking the pistons are seized in the cylinders after 8 years, I take out the plugs put some diesel in, let them sit for a week, then pull the front cylinder head off, its all good inside, no rust and the cylinder moves up the piston fine. All back together, still no difference the kick starter wont budge. I might have the gear selector linkages a bit out , but I can find neutral. With the bike in neutral the kick starter wont budge again, but once I engage the clutch I can get some action out of the kick starter. Am I missing some thing obvious? the next thing I can think of is, do I drop the engine and check the top cylinder. The bike was stored with oil in the sump. It was garaged and covered and dry. I would love some advice as I am reasonable mechanically minded and not too bad at problems solving. But I am stumped what the problem is and what to do next. I was tempted to try and clutch start it down a hill, but worried I could cause some serious damage , not knowing why I cant turn over the engine. I hope that all makes sense and someone can help.
Apart from continuing to strip engine offering the best prevention of damage, you could try (if you haven't already) walking bike forward with clutch in to start with and then (with plugs out) seeing if you can walk it forward in gear (assuming it selects ok).
I will try that tomorrow, I have tried it with plugs in and is wont shift once in gear and clutch out trying to walk it. I have tried it today with the plugs out, and on the centre stand and in neutral and the starter wont shift until I disengage the clutch. I assume the kick start travels via the gear box then forces the engine to rotate ? Is that correct.
They say WD40 is not a good idea, but I put diesel in there for a week, its the best option they reckon. The front cylinder was fine when I took the head off , to keep the timing right, I only slid the cylinder up the piston and down a few times, it was fine and moves easily. I cant imaging the top cylinder being any different , but that is looking like my next option to investigate what the problem can be. I keep thinking it is something else simple, but I am lost to explain what has happened. I don't think I messed with any thing else 3 years ago when I started tinkering with it. But you never know. If I drop the engine and find the top cylinder is fine, then do I look at the bottom end ? But it had oil in the sump the whole time. I checked the clutch basket today to see if any thing got caught between the teeth on the out side of the basket and the next cog it drives , but it was clear. The brain is burning out trying to solve the puzzle. But thanks for the advice , any thing is appreciated
I think standing for 8 years is unlikely to have seized the engine completely........It takes a lot longer than that for an engine to become so dry it won't turn over..........(unless it runs out of oil, of course). My guess is that the OP has reassembled something incorrectly, because even though he says he has 'neutral', he has to pull the clutch to get the kickstart to move.............therefore it is probably a false neutral. OK.........So I'm several years out of date with the comparison, but my Francis Barnett did the same thing a long time ago, when I had the cover off to change the kickstart return spring (it broke three one after another for some unknown reason).........Mind you, the bike was a pig anyway.....stop for traffic lights, engine would nearly stalls, go to pull away and the d*mn bike would go backwards.
You might be onto some thing there, when I put the gear change selector cover back on it was out of sync and I had to click it around so that the things lined up , I hope that makes sense. I might put a photo up so people know what I am talking about. I just don't know how to set them properly , I will pull the cover off and have a look and try and figure out if I have a true neutral and try the kick start with the cover off and keep off the clutch. Thanks for the advice,
Probably not the same in comparison, but my neighbour has just charged an old battery and easily started a Yam V-4 which has been standing for over 5 years........on the old petrol as well!
When you said you slid the front cylinder up and down a little are you sure the piston moved in the bore or were you just pulling the crank around with a wedged piston. Hope that makes sense, it did to me. You should be able to determine from what you have already done and without dismantling any more whether the crank turns freely. Good luck
IIRC the kick starter on my old 250 Scrambler disengaged from the engine with the clutch pulled in - i.e. couldn't start it with the clutch pulled in, so had to be in neutral (with clutch out) to start. I don't know if the 900SS was the same but I wouldn't be surprised if that was the case. If so it sounds like the OP has somehow 'lost' neutral...
I was able to move the cylinder up and down the piston freely , I assume the crank was stuck, I did not want to move the piston with the head off so as the keep the timing exactly as it was. As my thought at the time was that the pistons are stuck in the cylinders. At that stage I was not thinking it was a seized crank, there for avoiding disturbing the pistons. I am in no rush to have it on the road , just as well. I might go back and pull the front head off again as see if the piston will move , but other wise I will drop the front of the engine and check the top cylinder. I suspect it will be fine also, then I am lost where to look next. Any advice is appreciated, thanks so far
The timing marks on the Bevels are really easy to follow, don't let that put you off. I have suffered a seized Bevel crank before but it happened at 70.It seems odd that yours would seize between putting it in the garage and the next time you got it out,Even if that was a number of years. Hope not anyway and good luck
I know the timing marks are easy to follow, once you can line them up , but that is not an option with the crank seized. I will have to take the heads off and mark them with some white out or some thing. I am having a few days off this project, so I can look at it with fresh eyes. But I agree a few years stored dry should not affect the engine that much , may be 15 years out side yes. Its all a mystery at this stage. I hope one day I can post what the problem was. I keep thinking it must be something simple that I have over looked, thanks for the advice, it looks like the only option is to check out cylinder one again and them the top cylinder. I was so much looking forward to kicking it over the other week.
Try taking the gear change selector box off, put mole grips on the gear change shaft (near the sprocket), and try changing up and down all the 5 gears (including neutral) by twisting the mole grips. Once you have established where the true neutral is (not false neutral) set the selector box to true neutral and re-attach it to the engine. Now will the kickstart move, and turn over the engine?
