early husky kick start lever

Here's a old thread reply from another Husky Forum i kept with
a similiar starting problem. Author was Dave Byland

Dave's 501 Maico method works for all my big bore Huskys
(read below)


Sounds like you have a factory fresh Husky. Seriously, this is
very common. The primary difference between the Husky and virtually
all Japanese off road bikes (and maybe all other bikes period) is
how fast you can spin the motor with the kick starter. I'll bet you
can push your 360 ten feet and bump start it, and it seems almost
instantenous. Husky kick start design makes it very hard to make
the motor spin more than one revolution. Since it's a '76 360, you
have either the "bent" kick lever (like you heated up the lever and
bent it forward) or the first of the pretzel levers. Marginal
improvements, but better than the original short / straight lever,
as used from late 60's through 75. Ignitions don't generally
produce their hottest spark at minimum rpm, nor do piston port or
reed valved engines produce their hardest "suck" of air / fuel
mixture at the speed of "barely moving".

Timing 3 degrees btdc? I might be wrong, but you ought to check
your manual again...seems like 18-22 degrees btdc (depending on the
model and modifications) is more like it. At 3 degrees, you'd be
trying to fire the fuel / air mix awfully late....but that ought to
make it start easier, not harder. Won't run worth a crap tho..

Solutions? A shot of starting fluid helps, but it's kind of tedious
taking the plug out to shoot a squirt in the plug hole, reinstall
the plug and then kick it. New mikuni carb with a richer starting
circuit? Nope. PVL ignition? Uh uh. Dynamite? Sometimes you
feel like resorting to that, but all that will do is END the
problem. You gotta kick the starter fast (but not necessarily hard)
and frequently.. .like as quick as you can. Not so hard to do with a
125, but progressively more breath-taking as the cylinder size goes
up. As a 54 year-old 450 rider, I can attest to the necessity of
learning how to do this really well, cause after about 6 kicks I
have to stop, breath oxygen, take a nap, take a leak and have a few
gulps of water before I can do it again. Some things that can help
(other than timing being spot on, carb float level set correctly,
good compression, no air leaks, new plug, good reeds, etc) are: If
using a Bing, lean the bike over to the left a bit while you tickle
it...maybe even shake the bike back & forth while tickling...and as
soon as you're getting a good dribble from the overflow, turn the
petcock off (this should result in getting a little fuel in the carb
throat). Kick the beast 2-3 times rather quickly, and then give it
a good fast kick with about 1/4 throttle. Usually works. I learned
this from a Maico 501 rider who swore by Bing carbs with his reed
valve setup! If using mikuni, turn the petcock on, turn the choke
on, put the bike in maybe 3rd gear and rock it back and forth for
about 60 seconds (makes the piston go up & down a bit and kind of
helps get a little fuel / air charge in the cylinder). Then, turn
the petcock off, NO THROTTLE, and kick, kick, kickety kick. Of
course, if these methods don't work, remember to always unload your
bike at the top of a small hill.

One other thing I've read is that some Husky's have a minor
interference problem between the ridges on the underside of the head
and the top of the cylinder, which prevents a good seal when the
motor is cold. The '75 - '76 360's have a problem with the cylinder
liner being pushed a little off if you torque the head down too far
above spec, and could create this problem. Once running, the
temperature produces enough expansion to close up the leak. This
can indeed cause very hard starting, but once running things seem
fine. You can test to see if you're getting a good seal by using a
piece of carbon paper between the head and cylinder...tighten the
bolts, and then take them off and remove the head. There should be
a carbon trace all the way around the seal area of the head and the
top of the cylinder. If not, there's your problem. (There's lots of
other methods to do this...but I'm a simple, old fashioned guy). I
haven't personally experienced this on a Husky, but I did see this
on an extensively modified Yamaha (came from turning the head to
increase compression, but didn't catch that part of the head came in
contact with a rib on a cylinder fin...). There are also stories
about folks who have grafted on modern compression releases, primer
pumps from jet skis, etc. to find the elusive way to start a Husky
easily. Haven't read about anyone installing one of those electric
start things tho....at least, not yet!


Like i said Dave's rocking method works on my big bore Huskys &
i find kicking my 250 fast works too.

John