Royal Enfield won't start? Check for a carburetor

Carburetor nearly knocked out of hose to motor, right.

Your Royal Enfield Bullet won't start? Check to see if the carburetor has fallen off.

Or, more accurately, been blown off.

Let me explain. I ducked into the garage Monday all suited up and ready to ride my 1999 Royal Enfield Bullet. I was pretty confident. It had run perfectly on our previous outing only a few days before, and I had plenty of gas.

My first kick, though, brought a powerful kick back from the motor. That happens sometimes. Just clearing its throat, I figured. I was surprised when the second and third kicks brought more kickbacks. Each one was more mild than the one before.

And then: nothing, no matter how much I kicked. Not even a kickback anymore.

I went through my starting drill carefully. No good. I changed the spark plug. Nothing. With time for a ride running short I rolled the motorcycle back into the garage.

A motorcycle only needs three things to start they say: Compression (I could feel that through the kick starter lever). Fuel (I thought I had that). And Ignition.

There's an old saying that most fuel problems are electrical problems.

"It's always the electrical system," runs an old saw.

So Tuesday I started with that, cleaning and adjusting the points even though they were fine to start with. I experimented with different spark plug gaps. I experimentally advanced and then retarded the ignition timing.

No joy.

So, Wednesday, I decided I would have to consider a new battery.

My multimeter is a cheap Radio Shack device my dad gave me when I was in Junior High School, 55 years ago. I don't trust it and, in fact, internal corrosion finally dealt it a death blow this time. But before that happened I managed to get identical readings from the motorcycle battery and the battery of my car. So the battery (relatively new) was probably still good.

Thursday, I decided I would tackle the fuel system. Maybe, I thought, I could rap on the side of the carburetor to free the floats, assuming they were stuck.

Backed out and off kilter, carb let lots of air enter motor.

But wait. As I tapped the carburetor with the hilt of a screwdriver, something struck me as odd.

I knew I had my answer: the carburetor was coming off the motor, leaving an opening that undoubtedly drew in more air than fuel. The motorcycle wasn't going to start in this condition.

But with the carburetor back in place, the motorcycle started right up. No kickback either.

Did the original kickbacks knock the carb back off its inlet fitting? Or had it already fallen loose, causing the kickbacks with an over-lean mixture?

I don't know. But add examining the carburetor to the list of a hundred things I'll check next time my Bullet gets too grumpy to start.

Air filter box leaning way left should have been the tip-off.