Starting a Velocette - The correct way

Starting a Velocette is always something that we hear people say is such a massive problem, yes it can be if they are not set up correctly like any bike, however we often see people kicking these bikes like a Triumph, BSA etc and they just don’t like that. The Velocette kickstart is such a short crank, you only really get one chance at starting it from the correct position. The way to go about it is as follows

1. Item With the fuel on, pull the valve lifter lever in and using the kickstart, turn the engine over 4 or 5 times to get the fuel into the carb and cylinder head
2. Item Release the valve lifter, and then depress the kickstart lever down until you find compression. Let the kickstart return to the top of it’s stroke
3. Item Pull the valve lifter in again and carefully depress the kickstart crank from the top to the bottom of the stroke, about a 6 o’clock position
4. Item Let go of the valve lifter lever and also then let the kickstart crank return to the top position
5. Item Now you are ready to give the kickstart lever a good kick, but make sure you go through the full swing of the kickstart from top to through the 6 o’clock position. You don’t need to jump on it, just a good firm kick – don’t be frightened!!!
6. Item If the bike doesn’t not start YOU MUST then go back to point number 2) and go through the procedure again, if you just try to keep kicking you will just end up with one leg muscle bigger than the other and a Velo that hasn’t started.