I got my project wdm20 1942 bike running a couple of weeks ago. It was firing great and starting ok. But I tried starting it today and it started blowing a lot of smoke and oily fuel out of the muffler. have I got a sticky value or is it just a normal thing?

Bryce, I think your bike has wet sumped, Ie oil slipped past oil pump into sump, Try draining the sump , there is a drain nut underneath, if oil comes out, (there will always be a little) then try starting again,if problem goes away and oil is returning to top of tank with bubbles, and smoke clears thats the problem, and you will have to address the problem by starting with the non return valve. Of course it might not be a wet sump problem there is lots on the back posts about Wet sumping problems andrew.h.

email (option): warbikes@gmail.com

Thanks Andrew That sounds like it could the problem I will look into it

I have read the past wet sump forum comments particularly Ian Wrights explanation. It make sence to me now why the oil in the tank was low just sitting in the garage and the large amount of oil that has leaked out of the bike, I thought the oil was coming from the back of the gear box but it must have been leaking out of the breather pipe.

Hi Bryce

Have been round to mine today, with the colder air temperatures dependant on oil also, it will be more difficult to kick over and if wet sumping has taken place it can be a pig of a job to get started

If mine has not been started for a while (4 weeks or more), some things I do
Ensure no stale or old fuel is in the carb
Drain some fuel from the bottom of tank - bound to be some water if not used for a while (if you have stabiliser you should be ok)
Remove the plug - ground the ht lead and kick the motor over - this will help return oil to the tank
Free your clutch up
Replace plug, fuel line, tickle the fuel supply and start normally

That's my procedure but I know every other situation is different but adopting above, I eliminate the exhaustion of kicking the bike and myself to standstill !!

Spring time & summer, the above is not really required due to more frequent riding, but once it cools down and riding is less frequent, it might be required

I do hope the new armature I got during this week will help to eliminate this - I'll know within the next 2 weeks when I rebuild the magneto

Best regards

John

email (option): Jonnyob1@googlemail.com

Hi Bryce..If your bike has dropped most of its oil into the engine it may have leaked through the main bearings on the drive side into the primary chaincase. So, it would be a good idea to drain and refill the chaincase to the correct level, to ensure it does not contain too much oil. Oil coming from the back of the chaincase behind the clutch might have given you the impression of a gearbox leak....Ian

email (option): ian@wright52.plus.com

I discovered recently my fuel tap had an internal leak that filled my crankcase with the wetsumping as well! Disconnect your fuel line and check the tap hasn't a slow leak.