Over a year ago, I posted concerning the woes I was experiencing with the manual starter lever (from JP Cycles) I was trying to install on my '67 FLH. I struggled with the thing off and on all last winter. When spring came I had it working (sort of). The Bendix engagement was even more unreliable than it had been with the malfunctioning electrical unit, but it started, sometimes.

I didn't ride much this past summer, and a couple weeks ago I decided to find someone who knew what he was doing to open it up ("Remove primairy ((sic)) cover"), and try to get the adjustment right. I was unsuccessful, so before putting StaBil in the gas and buttoning it up for the winter, I had another go at it, myself. Oh serendipity! It worked. I will pass along a few tips which might be helpful to anyone else tempted to undertake the project.

First of all, DON'T! The thing can be made to work, and it looks sort of cool, but it is an absolute bear to install. The instructions included were not written by a native speaker of English and are, to put it mildly, less than helpful. One must use one's imagination and a certain degree of creativity.

Note that installation involves more than just bolting on the unit. There is considerable electrical work involved. I mounted the Bosch relay (not included) and the solenoid on an aluminum plate which I installed below the battery box. It was necessary to remove the kick starter. No loss there. I've never been able to start it with that thing, anyway.

Adjusting the tension on the two plunger springs (one on each side of the bellcrank lever) was a problem. It's done by insertion of washers on the shaft, and must be correct or the Bendix gear will either not engage when the lever is pulled, or not disengage when released. Here you cannot go by the instructions. Use your intuition. Secure the outside (right-hand) spring with a washer and clip pin, not the part which is included in the kit.

Happy tinkering!

 

i've switched over to the lever style solenoid. got it wired n hooked up exactly to the diagrams n instructions n the only way we can get it to crank the engine when pulling the lever out is running a dummy wire from 1 terminal of the bosch relay to the positive post of the ford style starter solenoid.let go of the lever n it just keeps spinning....mind boggled!! any help would be HUGELY appreciated.email me at hrgrant@shaw.ca if u can help me at all.