Topic: How many kicks start your SOHC in the morning?

[Rich W]

  1-2 kicks .   Dead on reliable.

[mystic_1]

So I should ask, what should I be looking for when moving the kick slowly through rotation?  Just so I have an idea of what to recognize.

Visualize it this way, as you push the kick starter the crank rotates and the pistons move up and down.  When a piston is on the way up with both valves closed (compression stroke) you'll feel the compression resistance in the kicker.  You want to position the motor so that you're at the max compression resistance for one of the cylinders, then give it a good kick (see below).


A common mistake I see people make is to try to use the muscle power in their right leg to kick the kickstarter.  Instead, raise your body weight upwards, straighten your knee, and let your whole body weight move the kickstarter.   Note that this is where it gets tricky with older harleys, especially magneto driven ones, because since your knee is straight, if the motor kicks back through the kickstarter it can toss you over the bars or injure your knee.

mystic_1

[bucky katt]

yep, and i actually rode the high compression (9.5:1) with no compression releases for the first couple of months i had it.

[mgbgt89]

The 650 doesn't have a kick. Starts with a quick bump of the starter button after 1 prime of the throttle.

The 350 will fire up on the first kick at half choke most mornings. Colder mornings need full choke. If it sits for a week or so it will take 3-4 kicks before it goes. I usually just use the starter if it sits for a while.

It did take me a few weeks till i discovered the trick to the kick starter after watching a dirtbike get started.

[Spanner 1]

'Real men' bump-start their bikes by running along side on a slight downhill and jumping on
'sidesaddle' while dropping the clutch in 2nd. gear and then swinging their right leg over to normal riding position!! No kick, no e-start.

[mystic_1]

'Real men' bump-start their bikes by running along side on a slight downhill and jumping on
'sidesaddle' while dropping the clutch in 2nd. gear and then swinging their right leg over to normal riding position!! No kick, no e-start.

Try that with a chopper, then we can talk

mystic_1

[Spanner 1]

 Did I say I'm a button presser ? Yessir, always hope for start on the first push !

[Deltarider]

When started within 3 days after my last ride: one kick.
When started more than 3 days later after last ride: several*.

*Don't know why this is. It's not battery related. Checked that.
In the old days it was: one kick, always.
Maybe quality gaz has changed.