Motorcycle Repair: kickstart failure, harley evo, cam chains

Question
Hello Christopher,
I'll get right to it.  I took my 1991 custom  Harley, evo engine, outta the garage today to introduce it to the new riding season.  It's kickstart with open primary.  I tried kicking it several times, putting all my weight (175)pounds on the kicker, but it wouldn't start.  No problem I thought.  What else to expect if it hasn't been ridden all winter.  So I take a 20 second break, then try again.  But now when I jump on the kicker, it turns needing only 20% of the force that usually is required to kickstart the sucker.  So I figured that somehow, I was not able to get any compression.  I looked at the primary and it would turn just fine with every kick, but there was no compression going on.  I could pump the kickstart with my arm and turn the crank. That's not normal.  How did this all of a sudden happen.  I figure the problem is a valve.  Could of the timimg chain somehow slipped?  Could it be a gasket?  Please help if you can. Could it be anything other than a compression issue?  I kicked the sucker over probably 100 times.  No combustion whatsoever.

Answer
Hi Remi.

Wow; That is a new one.  But let's see if we can't sort it out.

 There are a few possibilities as to what it could be.

1) Loss of compression due to; a) blown seal, b) blown gasket, c) valve timing, broken valve spring(s), loose spark plug or d) broken cam chain.

2) Loss of connection to pistons from loosened connection bolts or broken rods (extremely unlikely).

3) Unknown deep internal engine part issue.

 Let's look at each possibility one at a time.

1) The only true test of compression is to use a compression testor.
 See if you have any compression at all with that.
 Make sure that the spark plugs are both tight and not crossthreaded in place.
 If you have no compression, or if it is insufficient, then pull the valve covers and check the cam chains, valves, valvesprings and valve seals.
 With the valve covers off, Turn the crank a little so that you can visually check that all parts are moving as they should be.
 Visually check the valve seats and springs.  Look for carbon scoring and damage, cracks, etc. that demonstrate any damage.
 A broken cam chain will be very obvious.  If no problem there, then check the valve gap and timing.

2) That one will be very obvious by visually checking, with a small flashlight, when you turn the crank and look into the cylinder.  You should be able to see the piston moving up and down.

3) The last one is hard to know what it could be without tearing the engine completely apart.  This is a last resort if ALL other options have been completely exhausted.  If you have reached this point, then get it to a shop and have a mechanic look at it in person.

Start with that and see what you find.
Good luck and ride safe.
FALCON