electric start 1941 ulh

[scooter57]

hello members. got some broken-back downtime. was wondering if a 65-69 electric start primary will work with a 80" 1941 ulh? or if their is a way to run electric start with a ulh in a swingarm frame?

[Rubone]

With enough time and money anything is possible. You would need a '65-'69 transmission case and mainshaft, a few modifications to your engine cases, and an offset engine sprocket to align the tapered shaft UL to the '65-'69 chain line. Entirely doable. If the frame is early you will need to deal with oil tank clearance and other issues, if it is a later e-start frame it is much easier.

[Steve Slocombe]

You'd need 12 volt electrics as well. The Big Twin flatheads are usually easy and reliable starters, and the 41ULH is a desirable model, so I'd practice on something else first.

[RichO]

I have a '40 EL my friend Ricky has a '54 FLH and we both used Tech Cycle setups we modified to look like stock bikes. I still use a foot clutch and tank shift. I disguised the 65A generator with a 32E cap same on the post '65 timer with earlier cap and electronic relay with FXE battery in horseshoe oil bag. You've got to look twice. Also run tin primary with stock transmission.

[Sargehere]

Just run Russ Peterson's Right Side Electric Start >http://www.4speedelectricstart.com/product.html<


I have two, soon three, on thirties and forties Big Twins. Bolts on any 4-speed 1936-79 in place of the entire kicker cover, uses a common
Sportster starter motor, & the bike's stock transmission and drive. NO modifications to the metal, at all. It's a great thing for my broken-down old body, that grew tired of my left-leg kicking and said, "No more." after 45 years.
The electric starter turns the stock kickstarter gears, and is smooth, well-developed & reliable. About $1600 for the whole kit. Includes a trick full-cap oil tank that hides the whole rig underneath and carries a Softail battery. You pick an aftermarket starter. I love mine. And, it's completely removable for restoration later. Also uses a BDL Kickstart-bike 1185 primary belt, for smooth, clean and amazingly quiet motoring. I'm quite sold on "RSES."

[RichO]

That's o.k. if you don't want it to look stock and keep the kicker too.

[scooter57]

With enough time and money anything is possible. You would need a '65-'69 transmission case and mainshaft, a few modifications to your engine cases, and an offset engine sprocket to align the tapered shaft UL to the '65-'69 chain line. Entirely doable. If the frame is early you will need to deal with oil tank clearance and other issues, if it is a later e-start frame it is much easier.

thanks rubone. got a 73 fx frame, an aftermarket pan/shovel inner primary and a 68 tranny some were. i'm 62 and it occurred to me in the hospital that my totaled-out bagger was 1 of 3 bikes out of my 14, with electric start. allways wanted a flatty thought i'd go with form follows function. just gotta come to grips with modifying the left case. will probably substitute an aftermarket left case. for $500 i can avoid the guilt, and still have the original for value. high compression (squish) heads and old legs might be a problem in the future.

[scooter57]

battery-yes

You'd need 12 volt electrics as well. The Big Twin flatheads are usually easy and reliable starters, and the 41ULH is a desirable model, so I'd practice on something else first.

this ones #14 i'm done practicing...just figured i'd put something together with parts sitting around. at 62...i'm building for the future on this one. i've never kicked a 80" high compression ulh. i'm guessing it kicks back, compared to a 74- "u" with low-med compression heads. outof respect, i'm building the engine stock.

[kitabel]

The sprocket offset is the same as the extra length of the transmission mainshaft: about 1/4".
I haven't done this, but I'd examine the pieces to see if it's do-able. I would try to use the UL left case's 3 existing inner primary holes (with studs instead of bolts) to mount an intermediate plate (6061 flat stock, eBay) bolted to the aluminum inner primary to minimize engine mods. Perhaps a fabricated through stud to replace the existing at about 4 o'clock, and others if they fall inside the electric primary outline or are non-obtrusive.
The UL's low compression ratio and heavy flywheels should make this work very well, but if needed a compression release can be installed in the front head (more room than the rear?) to speed up cranking. It can be almost anywhere because IIRC it doesn't intrude into the chamber itself if the thread depth is watched carefully. Can be cable operated for a 2-stroke, solenoid-operated may be available.
If you have (and wish to retain) the original manual spark control it will probably crank faster and less likely to "bite" the starter if retarded when cranking.

[scooter57]

i've considered one of these.....but still want the option to kick, until i can kick

Just run Russ Peterson's Right Side Electric Start >http://www.4speedelectricstart.com/product.html<


I have two, soon three, on thirties and forties Big Twins. Bolts on any 4-speed 1936-79 in place of the entire kicker cover, uses a common
Sportster starter motor, & the bike's stock transmission and drive. NO modifications to the metal, at all. It's a great thing for my broken-down old body, that grew tired of my left-leg kicking and said, "No more." after 45 years.
The electric starter turns the stock kickstarter gears, and is smooth, well-developed & reliable. About $1600 for the whole kit. Includes a trick full-cap oil tank that hides the whole rig underneath and carries a Softail battery. You pick an aftermarket starter. I love mine. And, it's completely removable for restoration later. Also uses a BDL Kickstart-bike 1185 primary belt, for smooth, clean and amazingly quiet motoring. I'm quite sold on "RSES."

cool set up.....if you can't start em....you can't ride em. the future for me is extending my riding days till i tire of it which i'm hopeing is the day i die.

[scooter57]

thanks kitabel. great info. got compression releases on my 93"pan. they make for good crankin. no dead battery ever. i will check offset and alignment. and try to modify a primary setup. if the project gets to deep, i'l loose the high comp heads, and go with a tin primary with a 58 pan trany. being a mutt bike, i thought electric start would be nice.

[kitabel]

I don't think the extra static ratio of the ULH will be a problem.
Take pictures, we all want to see this in progress!

[Sargehere]

i've considered one of these.....but still want the option to kick, until i can kick

I hear you sayin' "Until I can't kick," Scooter. Izzenat what chew mean? and yeah, that's egg-zackley what RSES is for! When you give up bein' the He Man and showin' you can still kick your Harley for one reason or anotherrrr, but still want to ride, ain't nothin' else like it. And it bolts on, bolts off any Harley in the Four Speed Era, 1936-79.

cool set up.....if you can't start em....you can't ride em. the future for me is extending my riding days till i tire of it which i'm hopeing is the day i die.

[Steve Slocombe]

The compression ratio of a 41ULH with the high compression (8.2) heads is the same as a 36VLH at 5.8 to one, so not so scary. The flatheads don't kick back on starting like the overhead valve models so I'd give it a try before spending big money on an electric starter.

[RCamp]

scooter57,
The easiest and least expensive thing I would try first is replacing the 16t main shaft starter gear with the 14t (#33430-59) used on all 4speeds '59 and up.
This will make a significant difference in the amount of effort it takes to turn the motor over. I've used these for customers with leg problems with good results.
The motor will turn over slower, but shouldn't be a problem assuming it's in a good state of tune.