STARTING PROCEDURE

1 Check that the clutch pedal is all the way up – if the clutch slips as you kick the engine over, it may be because the heel operation of the clutch pedal hasn’t lifted it far enough to engage.

2 Turn the fuel on. The tank is in two separate halves, each with its own tap. Use the left side for ‘main’; the right half incorporates the oil tank, so it’s smaller and ideal for reserve.

3 Lift the choke lever (fully closed). Open throttle full, give two or three kicks, ignition off. When petrol drips out of air filter, the carb is primed and ready to go.

4 Open choke two clicks, ignition on, a little throttle, retard the ignition (grip nearly closed), give a hefty kick. Once warm, open choke, advance ignition, ride off..

5 If you’re unfortunate, you can get into a situation in which you’re somehow out of sync, getting no compressions kick after kick, and the engine won’t fire. If the kickstart feels soggy, turn the kickstart half a kick and try again.

1 Dammit, the kickstarter stop has been cut down slightly and the quadrant has gone over and jammed. To unbolt the stop, we need to take off the exhaust – and to add to the problems it’s blowing a bit...

2 I thought there was supposed to be a plate under the stop, which is missing on this bike. We made one that’s thicker than standard and sealed the exhaust with silicone gasket – it works well.

3 There we go – that should be the last of that problem. It’s just as well that it happened here, rather than as soon as Dave got home. Not only that, the exhaust is sealed, too – two jobs in one!