1981 Husqvarna 430CR

Hey guys, this is my first post! (Not my first husky)Got an 81 430CR in boxes a year back. Got it all together and runs well for the most part. I have a few questions hopefully some insight from experienced techs.

1.Runs clean and starts 3-4th kick cold. Runs well and very fast, but when Im tapped in 3-4 gear, and then put on the (very little) brakes, the engine races like its running lean. Only happens when Im slowing down from high RPM. That brings me to the next issue.
2. BRAKES! Where are they? Is there maybe a trick Im missing. I had a 72 250CR and brakes worked well. Ridden many huskies and all of them stopped much better than this 430.
3. Kick starter. The kick starter will jam into the cases causing gear oil to spill out and I dont like this. (Ive read this is an issue) I put on a steel brace and a rubber stopper but it still causes that issue. How would you guys fixed this? Thanks in advance!

Timothy, I'll take a stab at this but there are some brilliant guys here to help you, unfortunately I'm not one of them.
1. Verify main jet and needle size
2. Don't know- My bike stops fine
3. I can tell you that from recent experience that you need to inspect several things immediately regarding your kick starter before you grenade your case like I did. You may just have a worn out clutch cover that needs to have a sleeve pressed in and a new o ring to stop the leaking kicker shaft. It's difficult to tell by your explanation "jams into the cases". But this phrase scares me a little because you said you just got it all put back together. Did you inspect your idler gear needle bearing carefully? Did you index your kicker properly? Is the motor timed correctly? Im not sure which one of my mistakes lead to my case breaking but my money would be on a combination of all 3 of the aforementioned.

The 1981's (and 82's?) did not have the steel backing plate or added webbing behind the idler gear which is a weak point on these bikes. That coupled with an ill-timed or binding kicker could wreak havoc under your clutch cover.

I may be way off course here on your kicker spilling out oil but I am super paranoid now about all things 81 under the clutch cover (and the clutch cover itself). I recently bought two other 430 motors that have the same crack above the idler gear, It's very common.

Haha. What I meant by "jams into the cases" I meant when the kickstart lever goes back after kicking it, it will slap the case, and the lever has a sharp metal angle that pierces the case. I'll recheck everything and get back.

Tim
use some real good epoxy and glue a piece of rubber or such to the case. I use conveyor belt strap material. no dings to the case. Beauty is push back on kicker and then let it back and hold tension while it dries!

Re 1: sounds like an air leak between carb and barrel.

Yes, or crank seal on ignition side? Sounds like an air leak is causing this issue.

Jetting and air leaks mentioned so here's a few more . Fuel restriction , float level wrong now allowing enough fuel into the float bowl for sustained high rpm along with petcock and or fuel filter not passing enough fuel . How is the gas tank vented ? Bad vent could do the same thing . Have you checked to make sure the carb slide closes completely using the throttle ? ( not hanging up , throttle cable good ?) Check choke plunger ? Been having some jetting problems on other bike and found that the rubber at the bottom of the plunger rotted .
As for the kick starter , there should be a rubber bumper on the clutch cover to prevent contact with the case . If this was my bike , I would remove the clutch cover and do an inspection as previously stated . These bikes don't have a long throw on the kick start lever and some people will try to rotate the kickstart lever to get the engine to turn over more completely . When this is done , the kick start pawl gets very close to starting to open to engage the gear it is inside of . Now lets say the engine kicks back , that pawl may NOT release . I'm guilty of that , $1200 later , I learned my lesson . When looking at the pawl , you can see where it is closed and where it opens to engage the gear , mine is about 1/2 way in the area where it stays closed when my kick start lever is at rest . And somewhere on this site is a link another member posted about setting up the kickstarter also .

No air cooled husky ever had any brakes ! no matter what you did ... yamaha shoes ... arcing in .... longer lever arms .... !

All of my Husky's have good brakes, even the 76 250WR with the Lelieu front hub.

bike very likely has an air leak somewhere as stated by others....unless you know the info, very important to pull carb and record all jet sizes for reference. most of the 430 bikes are rich on bottom and are ok or a bit lean on top. make sure to record the float level, main, needle, needle jet, pilot, and slide size. i dont think its related but a compression check would be wise as well, along with verifying timing.

Post your jets.