| Author |
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Ducbsa
| | Posted on Thursday, August 14, 2008 - 07:49 pm: | 
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Indians had electric start in 1911 or so.
The setup in that pic link above has the external sector gear a lot like an Indian.
One big challenge would be compression releases built into the gear cover, but Erik and the boys could figure it out. |
Roadrash1
| | Posted on Thursday, August 14, 2008 - 09:57 pm: |
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Ever see that bike builder episode where the guy builds a kick-start only bike?
He's kicking it forever, and during a break says given the choice, he'd built this exact bike again, but with electric start!
He finally got the damn thing fired-up and got to take it home.
I was really into dirt bikes. I had a '96 CCM C25. It was the first year they imported CCM's back into the States after a long lay-off. I got the bike as kick only. Anyone who's tried to kick-start a 604 Rotax Single (left-side kick) will know how happy I was to have the electric start installed later.
I have no desire to ever kick a four-stroke
again! Two-strokes are different.  -roadrash1 |
Skinstains
| | Posted on Thursday, August 14, 2008 - 10:31 pm: |
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I know I'm opening myself up for a lot of "comments" but, I really thought that ALL motorcycles should have a drive chain and a kicker. Once I got my first XB I immediatly started making my own chain conversion wich works great but I had to face the fact that it would just be too much work to put a kicker on it. I have other bikes with kickers but I don't think I'll ever get one on my XB, so sad. |
Djkaplan
| | Posted on Saturday, August 16, 2008 - 03:09 pm: |
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"I was really into dirt bikes."
Me too, but from a different era.
I remember in 1979 laying by an XR500 in a creek, grabbing my right knee and writhing in pain during a hare scrambles. I had stalled the bike in the creek crossing and when I hurridly tried to kick it over again... it shot my right knee into the handlebars with such force, I thought for sure my knee-cap had shattered right through the knee-pads on my leathers. A few spectators saw me and got the bike back up, but I was almost too injured to carry on.
Then, of course, the bike wouldn't start for the next hour. It was my my 4th DNF in an offroad race, but the other three times it was the bike that couldn't continue... I DNF'd that 4th time just because I couldn't start the bike. I couldn't even push start it because I was in the damn creek.
That was the last time I tried to race a big 4-stroke single offroad. |
Mad_doctor
| | Posted on Saturday, August 16, 2008 - 08:19 pm: |
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I had a couple of big inch Sportsters, Kick only (XLCH). Never had a problem starting them. Just takes a technique. besides, everyone should have a bad case of sportster knee. and even more, you should never be ashamed to lay on the ground crying holding your knee in front of all your bad a$$ buddies. It'll give them something to talk about. |
Djkaplan
| | Posted on Sunday, August 17, 2008 - 01:59 pm: |
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Heh... I know a guy who had a 1977 XLCH. I think that may have been the last year for a kickstart only Harley. He has some pretty good stories about how finicky it was to hot start... if you got it wrong, you were gonna be there awhile.
I once had a kick only 350 Honda that sheared it's kickstart lever. I push started it everywhere I went for months before I got another kickstart lever... classy! |
Starter
| | Posted on Sunday, August 17, 2008 - 06:40 pm: |
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Anyone who has ever had a big bore 4 stroke kick them back will laugh their arse off when they hear someone planning to put a kickstart on any bike already with the luxury of E-start. The number of old guys I ride dirt bikes with that have gummy knees from the days of kickstarts is unbelievable. |
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