CNW starter kit

zefer · Sep 12, 2019

No excuses here,if it makes my norton experience more enjoyable for me and If it extends my riding time then.....hell fkn yes I love mine,in my family and circle of motorcycle buddies....the rule of thumb is not if I can’t start it I shouldn’t ride it.....it’s if I drop it (g-d forbid) and can’t pick it up then I need to put it in the den and just look at it....man there’s so much good stuff folks like Matt ,Jim and Jim,Kenny and the rest of our brethren taking time to develop parts,pieces and otherwise nice additions to a already nice bike...I say ...,here’s my CC info and send it next day air.....that’s my 3 cents worth

cyclegeezer · Sep 12, 2019

For me it just means I don't really need my "appliance", the 2008 Bonneville. With 2 vintage bikes with electric start, it's a given (jinx) that one of them will start.

Steves · Sep 12, 2019

T

cyclegeezer said:
Is the shotgun an augment to the starter motor? To my old eyes, it appears the engine starts turning before the blast.

The cartridge fires, spins the starter then exhausts out. The blast you are seeing is the exhaust from the cartridge after it has done its job and spun up the motor.

Craig · Sep 12, 2019

Hey , I like making my Commando better too ! ..... was just sayin if bike tuned right ,it really not that hard to kick into life .... what I’m not sayin is I just a hard scrabble fellow who could never afford such an extravagance , as long as I can kick it to life that what I intend to do ...

Fullauto · Sep 12, 2019

Craig said:
Hey , I like making my Commando better too ! ..... was just sayin if bike tuned right ,it really not that hard to kick into life .... what I’m not sayin is I just a hard scrabble fellow who could never afford such an extravagance , as long as I can kick it to life that what I intend to do ...

Mine generally starts easily too. BUT, when you've gone through to the head of the queue at traffic lights and goes onto reserve, the fancy footwork doesn't cut it anymore. It then becomes a safety feature as you don't have to get neutral, you just clutch and hit the button.

1up3down · Sep 12, 2019

Well, after four spine surgeries and now with a titanium rod and screws in there I can no longer kick start my 850.
And so when Alton first came out with their Estart I bought and installed it pretty much right away and it is dead solid perfect.
But if Matt at CNW had come out with his first I would also have been all over it, owning many of Matt's products now.

oldmikew · Sep 12, 2019

Fullauto said:
Mine generally starts easily too. BUT, when you've gone through to the head of the queue at traffic lights and goes onto reserve, the fancy footwork doesn't cut it anymore. It then becomes a safety feature as you don't have to get neutral, you just clutch and hit the button.

exactly.

C317414 · Sep 14, 2019

BritTwit said:
The Commando cries out for something unique, like the old Coffman shotgun cartridge starter.
Way cooler than the plain Jane E-Starter.

Picture yourself leaving the restaurant, inserting a cartridge in the Commando primary, turning on the key, and pulling a lanyard on the starter trigger.
Bang, a puff a cloud of smoke and your loud Commando comes to life.
Super cool!!!!

A similar system is still in use.

Most jet engines use air-driven turbines to start the engines. The air is normally supplied by an on-board auxiliary power unit (APU) or a ground based air cart. Military airplanes often have an alternative way of providing air to the start turbine, so they can operate independently or start more quickly.

B-52s for example, can use start cartridges. They are about the size of a coffee can, with an electrical squib at one end and are full of rapid-burning propellant. Some modern fighters have a compressed air accumulator that has enough capacity for a couple of starts before it needs to be recharged.

Here's a B-52 during a cartridge start. The inset shows the crew chief attaching the start cartridge holder onto the turbine starter case:

C317414 · Sep 14, 2019

Craig said:
Hey , I like making my Commando better too ! ..... was just sayin if bike tuned right ,it really not that hard to kick into life .... what I’m not sayin is I just a hard scrabble fellow who could never afford such an extravagance , as long as I can kick it to life that what I intend to do ...

I have reached the point of not being able to kick start my Commando easily. In 1982 I severely injured my right foot and ankle. Since then I've always kick started larger displacement bikes by putting them on the centerstand, standing next to them, and kick starting with my left foot. As a result of my injury I've been favoring my left leg. Now my left leg is giving me problems and it can be painful to kick start a bike with it.

I've owned my 74 Commando for 40 years and would not consider getting a MkIII to replace it. I bought and installed a CNW kit on my bike. I'm really happy with it.

BritTwit · Sep 14, 2019

C317414 said:
A similar system is still in use.

Most jet engines use air-driven turbines to start the engines. The air is normally supplied by an on-board auxiliary power unit (APU) or a ground based air cart. Military airplanes often have an alternative way of providing air to the start turbine, so they can operate independently or start more quickly.

B-52s for example, can use start cartridges. They are about the size of a coffee can, with an electrical squib at one end and are full of rapid-burning propellant. Some modern fighters have a compressed air accumulator that has enough capacity for a couple of starts before it needs to be recharged.

Here's a B-52 during a cartridge start. The inset shows the crew chief attaching the start cartridge holder onto the turbine starter case:

It'd be cool to watch this in person, with earplugs.
I'd hate to see a ground crew member try to kickstart a Pratt & Whitney TF33 turbofan engine.

BritTwit · Sep 14, 2019

C317414 said:
I have reached the point of not being able to kick start my Commando easily. In 1982 I severely injured my right foot and ankle. Since then I've always kick started larger displacement bikes by putting them on the centerstand, standing next to them, and kick starting with my left foot. As a result of my injury I've been favoring my left leg. Now my left leg is giving me problems and it can be painful to kick start a bike with it.

I've owned my 74 Commando for 40 years and would not consider getting a MkIII to replace it. I bought and installed a CNW kit on my bike. I'm really happy with it.

I'm happy that Matt's E-Starter is a success.
He has promised to look into the weaknesses in the MK3's system, and perhaps design a better/longer lived sprag mechanism.
I'm looking forward to that.

C317414 · Sep 14, 2019

BritTwit said:
It'd be cool to watch this in person, with earplugs....

I did it a few times when I was a B-52 crew chief. It was fun to watch.

The worst part was if a cartridge failed to go off. You had to wait a few minutes to make sure it would not go off on its own, put on some heavy duty kitchen mitts, and remove the cartridge.

BritTwit · Sep 14, 2019

Damn,
With a coffee can full of explosives, don't think I'd wanna remove one.
Now that's a good job for a robot.

Steves · Sep 14, 2019

C317414 said:
A similar system is still in use.

Most jet engines use air-driven turbines to start the engines. The air is normally supplied by an on-board auxiliary power unit (APU) or a ground based air cart. Military airplanes often have an alternative way of providing air to the start turbine, so they can operate independently or start more quickly.

B-52s for example, can use start cartridges. They are about the size of a coffee can, with an electrical squib at one end and are full of rapid-burning propellant. Some modern fighters have a compressed air accumulator that has enough capacity for a couple of starts before it needs to be recharged.

Here's a B-52 during a cartridge start. The inset shows the crew chief attaching the start cartridge holder onto the turbine starter case:

It's amazing to think that when those aircraft finally retire they will have seen around 100 years of service!!

grandpaul · Sep 15, 2019

C317414 said:
A similar system is still in use.

Most jet engines use air-driven turbines to start the engines. The air is normally supplied by an on-board auxiliary power unit (APU) or a ground based air cart. Military airplanes often have an alternative way of providing air to the start turbine, so they can operate independently or start more quickly.

B-52s for example, can use start cartridges. They are about the size of a coffee can, with an electrical squib at one end and are full of rapid-burning propellant. Some modern fighters have a compressed air accumulator that has enough capacity for a couple of starts before it needs to be recharged.

Here's a B-52 during a cartridge start. The inset shows the crew chief attaching the start cartridge holder onto the turbine starter case:

I was a huffer (ground based jet engine-driven air compressor) mechanic in the Navy in the late 70s, got trained at NAS Jacksonville. I love 'em.

grandpaul · Sep 15, 2019

BritTwit said:
He (Matt at CNW) has promised to look into the weaknesses in the MK3's system, and perhaps design a better/longer lived sprag mechanism. I'm looking forward to that.

I'll bet he'd sell a hundred of them on week 1, once the word got out... (I'd be in line for one)

CNW starter kit

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