Hello,
Yes, the Sprint is a different kind of bike . . . all kick start and no electric start. No electric start until about 1974. So it can be a little tedious to get this 1971 bike running sometimes. It started on the first kick a few times this past weekend but tonight it took maybe 6-7 kicks. I'm still getting the hang of the technique and I only have about 160 miles on this bike since it was brought back from the dead maybe two months ago.
And please remember back to the 70's . . . no Harley rider back in those days wore tennis shoes - they all wore boots with a hard sole. Now I know why. If the engine spark timing is just a little too advanced, you can get a vicious, brutal back kick in the kick starter that'll really hurt. It also puts a lot of stress on the kick starter shaft and splines. For now, I'm running with as minimal amount of static base spark advance that I can get away with consistent with good engine operation, temperature and road acceleration.
As in life, timing is everything.
Rick
