Anyone miss the old kickstart?

got one on my beta

Electric starts were an uncommon luxury when I started riding. I lent my mate Ginge my last 350 Powervalve for a quick spin about 6 years ago, he couldnt suss how to start it because all the bikes he'd ridden had electric start only. He spent ages looking for the start button and had to be shown how to use a kickstart.

Still got one! my avatar bike is still a resident in ma shed. I occasionally go out to fire it up just for the feeling of satisfaction you get when you kick start a bike as well

I've only been riding since 1994, so every bike that I've owned has been electric start. Would have quite liked a kick start, especially when batteries have been flat.

Originally Posted by Vickster

yeah I do. I especially liked the music oh and when the St John's ambulance guys fell down into the hole !

http://uk.youtube.com/watch?v=sFlmEznsr2w

Awwwww -great call.

I used to LOVE kickstart on the telly. Probably a subliminal driver for getting a bike- only 25 years in between!

[Jayneflakes]

Originally Posted by the_lone_wolf

until all you get is click..buuzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz

then you look like a reet twonk cause you can't kick it

The day I collected my SV from the shop it went click. Flat battery, despite claims it had been through a PDI. So shop guy boost started it and it farted and switched off. Rapidly followed by attempts to bump start it.

Would a Kick start have helped? Still, I will never forget that first ride, 120 up the road, holding on to her and feeling that now loved vibration of seven and a half thousand revs...

[the_lone_wolf]

Originally Posted by Jayneflakes

Would a Kick start have helped?

kickstart only serves to start the engine spinning, same as the starter motor, so if it started with the motor and then stopped (even when jumped from another battery) a kick wouldn't have kept it running

it would have made it possible to start it without the battery though if it had been happy to run once it was spinning

[yorkie_chris]

Zombie thread. But I can now state I hate kickstarts more than ever.
RD400 fine, nice and easy.
Scorpa 250, fine.

Montesa cota 349 ... absolute TW4T! Need to get a decompressor kit for it.

Originally Posted by the_lone_wolf

does it have a manual decompression lever?

No, SRX has an automatic decompressor working on a cam and cable.

Whenever I say to my dad "i'd love a big trailie for the winter, with a kickstart because then i'll get it running even if the battery is flat from the cold", he goes all misty-eyed and recalls one of his stories. The one about how he came out of boots with baby formula in a back pack in brighton, and walked through a bunch of well suited poeple to get to his big yamaha trailie. He then winces, as he reminds himself of when he kickstarted his big single into life...only for the big single to try its damned hardest to break his leg. He rode off, round the corner, then stopped and tried his hardest from crying. Apparently, its bloody painfull to have kick-back...

Anyway, i'd still like something with a kickstart. My scooter has a kickstart, which i used a few times when the battery was dead.

[yorkie_chris]

Kickstarting your scooter is a totally different world to starting something with a big motor.