A serious back injury has left me unwilling to risk kick starting a motorcycle- even though my CB should be easy to kick over. The best crankshaft I have available is a CL, without the lubrication hole on the starter end. I'm not sure what needs to be lubricated in the starter assembly. I can think of 2 options, but there may be more.
1) Drill a hole in the CL crank- not sure if it's case hardened or fully hardened- the CA crank(the one I have out) does seem 'glassy' to a file, so probably not easy to drill. I do have access to a milling machine, so I could set it up and try a carbide drill, but would like to hear if anyone has experience. I did read the post where someone used a Dremel and a stone and it apparently worked OK.
2) Some sort of external lubrication scheme- if the oil passage is just lubricating the chain I could oil it occasionally- a chain running for a few seconds at a time isn't under a lot of stress. If the oil passage is lubricating the starter clutch it's a different matter- the starter clutch appears to be similar to clutches I've seen on punch presses that run for years with no lubrication, but I don't know if this clutch needs lubrication.
I guess one of the dry film lubricants on the starter parts is another option.
Rick
CL crankshaft with an electric starterRick
Interesting one. The biggest problem is fitting the starter on the CL engine as you would have to modify the frame to fit it in. The CL has a full cradle frame and the tubes are in the way of where the starter should go. Also I have discovered recently that you need more than a hole to let the oil out to the starter clutch. You need a hole to let the oil in through the crank web end of that shaft. It should be possible but you will have to press out the crank end, unless one of the learned experts here can tell you different. Might be easier to get a CB77 or a CL350. Regards G '60 C77 '60 C72 '62 C72 Dream '63 CL72
'61 CB72 '64 CB77 '65 CB160 '66 Matchless 350 '67 CL77 '67 S90 '77 CB400F
The oil passage is to lube the Sprocket Bearing not the starter clutch.
Ya may be able to insert a wire into the crank end of the tapered shaft to check for a drilled path and if there ya would only need to drill the shaft at the distance required to lube the sprocket bearing. ...............lm
Rick
Sorry - wasn't paying attention there. I am looking to do something similar as my CB77 crank was rusted solid. I have two NOS CL77 cranks but that isn't much help until I can sort out the drilling operation. G '60 C77 '60 C72 '62 C72 Dream '63 CL72
'61 CB72 '64 CB77 '65 CB160 '66 Matchless 350 '67 CL77 '67 S90 '77 CB400F OK, helpful replies. I will start looking for a CB crank, but would also like to have a recipe for converting the CL crankshaft- as parts get 'used up' the day is coming when just buying a crankshaft on Ebay won't be an option.
LM's reply was the answer- the starter sprocket on the crankshaft is stationary when the clutch is disengaged- the crankshaft is spinning in the stationary sprocket- so a good supply of oil is required- an external oiler is out. I hope this picture of the sprocket loads up:  [/img]Just so everyone has a picture of the parts, here's the crankshaft oil hole:  So, the bushing in the sprocket needs oil. Looking at my crankshaft it's hard to tell where the hole ends- it doesn't seem to go through the tapered end of the shaft. If it just goes through the crankshaft/cheek assembly, drilling through the tapered end of the crank may work- the rotor bolt should seal it off. Does anyone know where this oil hole originates? The Silver books says there isn't much oil pressure in this engine- doesn't seem like just a hole through the crankshaft could supply enough oil to keep the sprocket bushing from frying. Thanks for the help. Rick
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