Small round window...

[gellermpd]

Alright, I've searched the net and cannot find the reason for the small round window on the left side of the motor. Any special reason for it? I can't really see anything through it and not sure the purpose?

Many thanks!

[comanche91]

Alright, I've searched the net and cannot find the reason for the small round window on the left side of the motor. Any special reason for it? I can't really see anything through it and not sure the purpose? Many thanks!

So you can look through the window to see the timing marks on the belt pulley to set TDC. I can't see through mine either..........

[DAVID THOMPSON]

fellow with a Harris Matchless same motor told me it was a mark to use to kick start the bike
his had no electric start

till he changed his to electric he always bump started his down the hill from his house
then the rest of the day as long as it was warm it would start ok
i have started mine once with the kick and it was a warm motor
never again i do not want a broken leg

i find it very hard to kick this motor the lever is on the left and that's my weak leg
i put it on the center stand and do it from off the bike with my right leg
dave

[gellermpd]

Well, whatever it is, it's pretty unconventional. Thanks for the scoop!

[radiograf]

The window is to allow you to find top dead centre, so you can pull in the decompressor, and ease the engine over before kick starting. I also had a Harris matchless, probably the worst bike I've ever owned.

[metric]

The Silver Star owner's manual gives good instructions on how to start the engine with the kickstarter and advises you to use the little window to view the timing mark. Using this method I can usually start my machine with the kickstarter in one or two kicks, hot or cold. I do this astride the bike with the machine on the centre stand. But I usually use the electric starter.

Radiograf, what was so bad about the Harris Matchless? I've often thought one of these would be a good companion for the Silver Star.

[DAVID THOMPSON]

post a jpg scan of the starting instructions
could be very useful to those like me that did not get the manual with the used bike
dave

[radiograf]

Lousy starting, stalling at traffic lights, having to remove the tank to change the spark plug, uneaven chain adjusters, kick start slipping down the shaft and hitting the frame, eventually causing the side case to crack, petrol boiling in the tank when the oil got hot in the frame........

[metric]

Here is a picture I took of the relevant pages from my English language Silver Star owner's manual:

I hope it's legible.

I think this is the first time I've read it closely; it says to start the engine with the valve lifter lever pulled. This is not the procedure I've been following, since I don't believe the engine will start without compression. I checked the German language version; the relevant passage says, "Soll der Motor mit dem Kickstarter gestartet werden, die Kurbelwelle vorherauf den oberen Totpunkt stellen. Dazu den Ventilausheber betätigen,den Kickstarter vorsichtig nach unten treten, bis im Schauglas am Ventiltriebdeckel (Bild 5) die weiße Markierung erscheint. Bei eingeschalteter Zündung und nochmals gezogenem Hebel für Ventilausheber den Kickstarter kräftig durchtreten." Again with the valve lifter pulled. Very strange.

My procedure is to pull the valve lifter whilst turning the engine slowly with the kickstarter, peering in the little window for the white mark. When the mark appears, I close the valve lifter (release the lever), reset the starter pedal and "depress the kickstarter forcefully".

[DAVID THOMPSON]

on mine the lever clicks off a bit before tdc so it has some compression but if it fires it is usually past tdc
and hopefully does not kick you back
dave

[metric]

Thank you for the clarification, David. All this time I did not understand that one "cocks" the decompressor and that it then turns itself off. I thought that the lever's staying in the decompressed position with the control released was a problem; now I see that it is a feature.

Is this how you use it with the electric starter as well? My procedure is to pull the decompressor and hold it, then press the starter button. When the engine has turned a few revolutions I slowly release the decompressor and the engine starts. When stopping the engine I pull the decompressor, then switch off the igniton once the engine has stopped.

I look forward to trying this new method of kick starting, though the motorcycles here have just begun their hibernation.

I don't intend to make a habit of kick starting the Silver Star, but I like knowing that I can do it efficiently if I wish to.

[DAVID THOMPSON]

as the cam moves the release is on the exhaust valve and there is a point it kicks off by its self if adjusted proper
on the electric start i hold it and let it off after the starter has the motor up to a good speed ..
this way the weight of the crank helps the starter
i always stop it with the decompression lever so motor does not run backwards against the starter sprag clutch
then turn key off

i will have to do some experimenting on the kicking as mine has been parked since dec of 2007
after i had my wreck it is going back on the road summer of 2013..
mine has the bing CV carb had them on bmw and there not my favorite carb
28 years on an r90s with dellorto carbs and never a problem period...

i had a Suzuki gn400 it had a feature to help you start it ...i never really got the idea of how it was to work
so i left the key off and forced it passed tdc kicked it once then set it again turned key on
and kicked ..even cold it would usually go by 3rd kick wish i had not sold it on but at the time i had to many bikes
and turned some profit on it after i cleaned it up and got its problems sorted

i just could not get it to go with the factory method
dave