Kickstart Motorcycles

[GSXKING]

I've never owned a kickstart road going motorcycle 🤨
I had 3 HD's all electric start 😎
However I had many cantankerous dirt bikes that required it 😢😢
Maico 400 two stroke was worst culprit 🤯🤯 damned thing kicked ME over the handlebars a few times.
My right ankle started throbbing just seeing this picture 🧐🧐😢

[Hooli]

My Bonnie used to do that, I managed to end up stood on the seat once when it happened. It was yet another reason I threw the Boyer ignition away and fitted points to improve the bike.

[Nic]

Started out with 3 Nortons, never got kicked like that but know plenty about kickin them.

[Hooli]

Mine did it as older versions of Boyer ignition default to max advance on low voltage. Guess what happens if you believe Boyer than you can use them in a betteryless system ..

[VladTepes]

Sweet panhead!

Speaking of which

[Speedy1959]

I watch his channel myself..

[BlueDragon]

I remember when I was working at my brother's motorcycle shop in the 80's.  The Honda XR500 had a decompression lever under the clutch lever you had to use it to kick start the bike.  Even so.  several times I had my right knee slammed into the handle bar when the bike kicked back..

my first road bike on learner's permit was a kick start Honda CB250RS..  single cylinder.

[GSXKING]

https://youtube.com/shorts/h1eHDdLOi3o?feature=share

[steve porter]

Stuffed my knee trying to start a Ducati after leaving shell fuel in the bike longer than I thought that had turned to jelly in the float bowl, have had stacks of kickstart only bikes, don't want another

[grog]

Never had a non kick bike until first GT750. Norton Combat rates as bad, Ducati not good with LH kick. 450 were bad. Worst by far, very scary, broke mates ankle, reason he sold to me, i pushed the bastard 5ks on sand track as couldnt start, hot day. Honda CR250 Elsinore. Just nearly impossible, so fast back then i loved it, after pushing it, threw it in corner of shed, never touched again until sold.

[Mick_J]

I have had a few kickstart bikes and liked every one of them, I do miss the kick start.  Never had a bike kick me back but did have a few that refused to start for the fist 20 kicks or so but always fired up eventually.  Character ehh.

[froudy]

My KTM DukeII Supermoto 625 single had the kicker on the left side and it was a barsteward to kick over even with the decompression lever.

Luckily it also had electric start so only had to kick start it once when the battery failed

Still regret selling it. It was a hooligan bike to ride.

[VladTepes]

kickback video

Yep and gee how to make a factory Harley shovelhead look uglier eh....


I remember reading OzBiker back in the day where there were plenty getting around on kick start bikes, and those on electraglides were seen as somehow 'lesser' fat forward a few years and there were bugger all lick-starters to be seen. Evos everywhere