Start the week topic 16th March

[guest7]

Kickstarts are great aren't they? Some bikes don't have them (so I'm told), but this seems wrong. Can you see any reason not to fit a kicker to a big single?

Also, does anyone else enjoy kicking over their bike when in the company of sportsbikers just to reinforce the point that you are riding an enthusiast's machine (or is that just me?)

GC

[guest27]

A bike without a kickstart is like a - well is just WRONG!!!!!!

Why would you want a lekky starter and all the big battery etc when even a big bore high comp Triumph twin starts well with a Boyer in place.

Mind when there is a problem having a lekky starter to spin the engine over whilst you fiddle is a boon.

R

[Jez F]

Wish Gilera had put one on the Nordwest and Suzuki had done the same with the DR750. Both bikes have over-complex ignition systems and occasional charging problems.
 Jez

[Andy M]

Wish Triumph had looked at the Kawa W650 and fitted one.

Andy

[guest18]

Likewise, I wish the Mastiff had one 

[robG]

Always used to give me a laugh .My first Xs had a detachable kickstart which lived at the rear of the crankcases. Unscrew a wingnut , pull kick start out of its holder , attach to the shaft and proceed to kick . Dead handy when the battery wasn't charging due to dodgy earth strap .The looks on sporty bike riders faces was a picture !

Rob .

[Steffan]

as the spring went on the black beast's kicker the other day and  as I am managing to make a three act opera out of changing it I would have to say I love buttons but then again when you kick her in company and she starts, everyone stops with noise which drowns out their bikes, so yes I agree GC. 3/4 of my bikes have kickers

steffan

[guest526]

I got to hate kick starts,my 1st bike,a knackered cg125,required so many kicks to coax into life,I eventually snapped the lever clean off .Soon after, I acquired a rather hansom 1947 BSA A7,which if you got the starting ritual right, was an impressive starter,get it wrong and you'd be limping for a week .

With this in mind I bought my XBR instead of a SR(X) so I could have the electric foot.

Sometime during last year my battery started to weaken,so I was forced to use the kick start for the first time,and thats the way it stayed for the rest of the year.It's just so easy and unfussy on the XBR,I'm seriously considering removing the electric starter and all the gubbings on my XBR caff. 

[Steve Lake]

Well....when in the company of plastic missile owners.....I maintain that its just girly bikes that have electric start.....a MANS bike has a kick start.......i then start to pray that the old SRX starts 1st or 2nd kick (usually does thank goodness)

[robG]

Saw many DonR's limping away from a victorious Armstrong !

Saying that my Xt bit me with such venom I was off work for a week with a destroyed ankle . Ho hum .

Rob .

[niblue]

I'm used to kick-starts on 2-stroke bikes but the XBR is the first 4-stroke I've had with a kick-start since my beloved CB125TB back in the mid-80's. Kick starting the XBR seems to suit it, but a kick-starter would seem pretty out of place on something like my CBR with it's fuel-injection and the likes.

[guest27]

Sometimes wondered about the kickstart on the RD500, it was so easy to start you could usually get away with just a gentle push forwards in second - no need to get off.  If I stalled it (mmmmm???) ofen I waould either paddle it a couple of paces and ring-ding-ding etc, or crank the kickstart by hand - quicker than rearranging position to boot it.  My guess is most modern fourstrokes, fuel inj etc would be the same.

R

[squirrelciv]

I'd love a kicker on a bike, but not my workhorse one. Really like pressing a button and riding off on the day-to-day commute. That said, if I ever get a chance to enjoy some leisure only riding I think ther's nowt better than swinging your leg over the saddle, switching on ignition, prodding the kicker and the beast roaring into life first go.