Electra starter

.. have I made a fundamental error assuming the end of the part I propose tapping rotates with the mainshaft?

<edit>Yes indeed I have as I see when I look at it. That part is not attached to the mainshaft at all.</edit>

I have perused the details on Al's website and everything else I can find and think I now have a grasp of how it's supposed to work. It's all much easier when I have the parts in my hand and can see what's going on - I can't find a decent exploded drawing.

I think the pawls are in good enough condition - the pins are firmly attached and unworn, and the pawls rotate freely in the housing. The leading edges are very slightly burred but I don't think enough to stop them working. The ratchet on the crankshaft shows no signs of wear..

Things I'm dubious about:

1. The fixed steel washer is quite distorted. I think it needs to be flat to work effectively. NOC spares list this.
2. The fact I have 3 wave washers. I can see that the unattached one could float and defeat the operation of the pawl pins. I assume the NOC spares washer is a single one?
3. A LOT of oil came out of the primary chaincase - a litre at least. I suspect that the bike has wet sumped having been stored for a number of years and the oil has found its way past the crankshaft oil seal. I do wonder whether the excess oil could have over-lubricated the working parts (perhaps clutching at straws). I need to think about that seal and whether it can be replaced without splitting the cases which I really don't want to do.
4. The chain is very worn and was very slack although I don't think this could have caused the problem I see.

Any suggestions very gratefully received!

 I've ordered a new chain, wave washer and stationary washer from NOC spares - maybe the first was unnecessary! Yes I do have the tensioner which as you suggest is a bit Mickey Mouse. When I assemble the bits I have it's clear how it's supposed to work but when I get the replacements I'll put it together and see what happens.

All good fun eh?

.. My thrust washer is 1.5mm thick and seems to show machining marks on one side. Not sure why. I think I'll try it and if no good will get one made (beyond my capabilities). I can't work out what 24760 and 24794 are from the very poor diagram I have. Are they the nut and washer that hold the ratchet onto the crankshaft?

Waiting for the bits from NOC spares to crack on.....

...assuming that 24794 is the large bolt that holds the ratchet to the crankshaft end, there are indeed witness marks that it has been contacting the outrigger shaft as you suggest Peter. It was also barely more than finger tight! The tab washer is very thin although I haven't measured it and am unclear about how I could get at it to fold over the bolt head - if indeed that is required.

It's within my ability to turn a recess within the head which I assume will prevent this from happening in future.

... so have occupied myself making a bush and shim for the floppy Kawasaki prop stand....

Hopefully tomorrow will see a nice little parcel.

Oh, Nick - good lick with yours as well. I'm sure these things can be made to work properly. A pity Edgar Franks was no longer with Norton as he'd have sorted it out!

... have done a trial fit. The new (endless) chain is much tighter than the old one. The triple wavy washer exerts much more clamping force - with the old ones finger pressure was enough, now I need to use the vice to compress it all. Twice as the chain has to be in place to assemble....

And does it work? Yes indeed. It spins the engine, with plugs installed, very nicely and the sprag engages well. Just out of interest I tried putting a voltmeter across the battery - no load was 12.6v (a little low as it had been standing). With the starter turning the engine over it dropped to just over 10 volts which seems reasonable to me. The battery is a YB9-B AGM Powerline from Tayna - excellent value at £28 inc VAT and delivery. It has CCA of 120 and is 9Ah rating.

... a Mark 4 Boyer which is said not to be so badly affected by voltage drop. We will see in due course. I didn't think 10 volts was too bad actually.

I agree 200cc isn't much to kick over but (a) it's impossible for me with a replacement knee to lift my leg that far and (b) the reason I sold my ES2 and bought the Electra was that I was increasingly uncertain of my ability to start if I stalled it - particularly at the head of a queue of irate drivers at a traffic light. And I wanted to stay in the Norton community.

 ... the following when I asked Boyer about this:

"10 volts at the battery terminals when cranking is fine if supply connections feeding the ignition and coils are good, with low electrical losses.
The later MKIV ignition require a minimum of 7.5 volts, the ignition coil sparks get stronger with higher voltage.  
A 21 watt lamp and voltmeter can be connected to the ignition supply to simulate standard ignition coil current. Measuring the voltage across the lamp whilst cranking will test the voltage available for the electronic ignition system during  e-cranking. "
 

... a key operated ignition switch but modified the wiring so that it only activates a relay that switches the main ignition (and light) feed using decent cable. The leads from the ignition switch are pretty feeble.