How to start an Husqvarna CR450?

[atelier.nm]

Hi guys, I need a bit of help...please
I've bought a 1974 CR450 and I can't seem to kick start it.
It started well before going into storage a few months ago and the previous owner also had a new electronic ingnition installed. He also mention that the carbs might need to be cleaned due to it being I storage.
Any suggestions?
Would also appreciate if someone could explain the best procedure to start it use the carb tickle or twist the accelerator a couple of times?
Thanks in advance,
Nuno

 

[jimspac]

The carb should be cleaned after sitting a few months because that is about when ethanol gas starts to gum up the jets. Do that and replace the gas in the fuel tank with fresh. You likely need to clean all your ground points if you are not getting spark.

 

[Crashaholic]

The early 450 can be difficult to start when everything is working properly. They have a long stroke and the kick starter lever has a short throw.

jimspac is right, clean the carb thoroughly. Air mix screw setting is 1-1/4 to 1-1/2 turns from the bottom.

I recommend changing the plug as well. Make sure the spark is hot, blue in color. Timing should be okay if its not kicking back.

To start the bike depress the tickler until fuel runs out of the carb overflow. Open the throttle a small amount since you don't know if the idle screw is properly adjusted. Find top dead center with the kick lever and kick it hard so you get a full swing of the lever. May have to do this a few times until you get the hang of it.

If you are motivated for it to start as easily as possible then check the following.

Since the bike is old and has been in storage seals and gaskets dry out so check the intake and base gasket, they need to be sealed 100%. Its also a good idea to check the right hand crank seal and the gasket behind the seal retainer plate but that requires removing the ignition.

The kick starter lever should engage with the starter gear after no more than an inch of rotation. Anymore than an inch and the short throw gets even shorter.

A big help on these bikes is a compression release that closes automatically when its kicked over. A cheap one for a chain saw works good along with an adapter for the 14mm plug hole.

 

[Picklito]

Excellent advice. Just want to answer one other question you asked about blipping the throttle a few times: There is no accelerator pump on these carbs, so you can blip until you're bleepin' blipped out! Won't hurt a thing, but also won't do anything!

 

[atelier.nm]

Thanks for the advice, I'll give it a go as soon as I'm back from my holidays.
In regards to the carbs and cold start does the Mikuni carb conversion kit make it a lot easier and is it a must on these bikes. I've seen that some people mention this a lot and that huskyjunk.com sells this kit.

 

[1982 XC 430]

You might check out what aftermarket Ignition it is that was installed. Some of them make starting using the Kickstarter more difficult. Sounds like You have seen the bike start on the kicker in the past this is a good sign. You might also learn to Bump Start the bike as its something that one needs to know when owning an open class bike.

 

[atelier.nm]

The new ignition is motoplat, however one of the things I did noticed was that it has two spark plugs and it was connected to the side one and not to the one on the top of the cylinder. Can this be the cause for it or it doesn't matter which plug you use?

 

[Crashaholic]

Doesn't matter which plug is used.

 

[1982 XC 430]

So I don't think that Motplat has been made in a long time. I'm going to say that Your 74 was a points ignition and somebody replaced it with a newer CDI ignition. Probably from the late 70's or early 80's Husqvarna. This is not a bad thing, as long as you realize that it is newer but still probably quit old.

 

[atelier.nm]

What's the general opinion about using ngk iridium BR8E1X spark plug on the CR450, I've read that it's the equivalent to the ngk b8es.

 

[atelier.nm]

I'm also thinking on buying a compression release valve to make kick starting easier? And install it on the second spark plug hole.
http://www.motorradteile-berlin.de/artikel.php?id=25407
Any recommendations or comments about this mod along with the ngk iridium.

 

[Houredout401]

Just me, but I don't expect much from spark plugs. I'm sure the iridium is a great plug, but these bikes ran just fine on plain old $2 plugs. One method that seems to have been left out is the rocking technique. Put it in gear, rock it back and forth a couple of times, then give a big ole boot.

 

[Crashaholic]

Regarding the iridium plug, I have no experience with them but even so I agree with the above post. Once any ignition, carb, and kicker problems are corrected the 450 is not a problem to start.

I'm also thinking on buying a compression release valve to make kick starting easier?

Yes it will make kicking-over the 450 tons easier. This decompressor on Ebay comes with the m14 plug adapter. IMO the decompressor handle is too short making it difficult to find among the head fins when wearing gloves.

http://www.ebay.com/itm/Maico-Husqv...se-no-cable-or-lever-needed-14mm/281916520502

I found this longer decompressor to be easier to operate. This requires the m14 plug adapter.
http://www.ebay.com/itm/Decompressi...314817&hash=item3f56b4bf0f:g:Q5MAAOSwkShY-iX1

 

[atelier.nm]

In regards to the engine, clutch and gear box, the Haynes manual is mentioning to fill the primary drive casing with SAE 20 oil.
Does anyone have any recommendations to what is the best lubricant to use (manufacturer and oil reference). Or what do you usually use and how often do you change the oil?

 

[atelier.nm]

For premix, I've got Motorex Cross Power Motorcycle Racing 2 Stroke 2T Engine Oil but I'm also going to try Maxima 2T Castor 927 Racing Castor Motocross MX Bike Oil to see which one I like best or smells better.
Any suggestions on this?

 

[markt2]

Oil questions can often turn into heated discussions...

Back when I got my new 1976 250CR, Malcolm Smith's dealership recommended Torco light weight gear oil for the trans... used it then and still use it now. Current name is Torco MTF-L. Please note "gear oil" and "motor oil" use different viscosity scales... 75w "gear oil" is roughly equivalent to 20w "motor oil". http://www.doolittleoil.com/faq/viscosity-sae-iso-or-agma. I believe in changing the oil fairly often.

http://www.torcousa.com/technology/TDS - MTF.pdf

(ATF is used by many in the trans... after trying it and seeing a lot of "metalflake" at changing... and also speaking with the Maxima Tech people who told me ATF is designed for planetary and helical gears with far more surface area than the straight cut gears in these transmissions and that their tests show more motorcycle gear wear even if using their high-end ATF, I'm staying with "real" gear oil as recommended... A lot of people use ATF and swear by it though.)

On the premix, most modern bikes are watercooled so most new oils are formulated for watercooled requirements and not aircooled... I don't know anything about Motorex. I have used and raced with the Maxima 927 in air cooled and it's a good oil... and has been around for decades.

There are many good oils... and just as many opinions on which is "best"... Make sure the gear oil you choose is rated for "wet clutches" and the premix is good for "aircooled" and you should be fine no matter what you choose... The cheapest oils today are probably still better than what we were using in the 1970's.

 

[Crashaholic]

I couldn't agree more with "changing the gearbox oil often" and that will even depend on how hard you ride. You'll find that most racers change gearbox oil after every event. There is so much that can get chewed up from metallic debris that its not worth the $10 to try and get two or more events out of an oil change.

For what its worth I use 75wt Maxima MTL Trans Lube in my cow trailing 450cr. Its cheap, I don't have clutch issues, and I change it often.

the Haynes manual is mentioning to fill the primary drive casing with SAE 20 oil

The factory Husky manual also recommends 20w

BTW markt2, excellent post.

 

[justintendo]

atf shifts well but does induce more debris on the magnet..if atf is used it needs to be "type f" as this is almost a 20 weight. others are 10 weight and many newer fluids are thinner than that.

i like to use a 30 or 40 grade jaso ma motorcycle engine oil. rotella t4 or t6 works well and is cheap. many others to pick from as well. i change about every 4-5 hours of use.

 

[atelier.nm]

I've been using Faher anti-friction oil additive on my Triumph Scrambler, since I've seen a demo at Kempton park motorcycle autojumbles. I was very impressed to see that during the test the transmission would only stop and lock if you added 10 times more weight/pressure than normal, this was after removing the oil and let the parts run dry, keeping adding weight until it stoped and locked.
All other lubricants pretty much locked when you removed the oil and the best ones would run dry for a short period before stopping. They would all stop immediately when adding weight except if the Faher anti-friction was added to the oil.
I'm definitely using it on the husky, plus it reduces the noise considerably, you can just ear the engine gradually going silent when you start it for the first time after adding the anti-friction.
http://www.faher.co.uk/anti-friction-hd/

 

[atelier.nm]

I finally found enough time this weekend to check the Husky and I believe to have found the reason for the bike not to start. I've now added a decompression valve and it works like a charm, I can even operate the kick start with my hand.
Changed the spark plug and tested for spark, which showed a good spark and that all is good with the ignition.

The problem is the rust inside the petrol tank, not too much but there's a loose dusty/sandy layer in there and the fuel line doesn't have a filter. I'm going to degrease, clean rust and seal the tank with a specific product and then clean the carb or install a Mikuni conversion kit from HuskyJunk. Hopefully that should be it, simples.