Other Stuff > Misc / Open

Can someone explain a kickstarter to me?

(1/5) > >>

alexdecker:
Hey all

So, people always tell me that I can use the kickstarter to start my bike if the battery is flat. I can't figure this out, as I can definitely NOT kickstart my bike into submission when the battery is flat. Which made me wonder - I have taken my motor apart now, and can see that the kickstarter engages directly with the gearbox of my CB550.

Can someone explain to me (as you would explain to a 5th grader) how a kickstarter works? Can I use it when the battery is flat?

Johnwebley:
You can use it if the battery is low,

Not enough power for the starter to spin the engine,
As long as you have around 9v,it should give a spark,

But with a completely flat battery,

I don't think so,

Sent from my SM-A750FN using Tapatalk

Rozabikes Tim:
Real men always use the Kickstart  ;D

McCabe-Thiele (Ted):

--- Quote from: Rozabikes Tim on May 12, 2022, 01:10:25 PM ---Real men always use the Kickstart  ;D

--- End quote ---

Sure they do - they also hand crank the car every morning - only pussies have starter motors.

MrDavo:
Kickstarts are a legacy thing from an earlier time, like phone boxes and ashtrays.

I've only ever used the ones on my Honda and Kawasaki in the garage, setting points and tappets etc. My Harley 1200 doesn't have one, like using the non existent centre stand, it would probably give me a heart attack if I tried to kick it over.

If everything is set up perfect, they are satisfying if the bike starts first kick, ambulance inducing if it won't start at all. I used to say that the number of kicks needed to start my 750 Triumph was proportional to the number of people watching. If there was noone about, first kick, if there was a crowd no chance, but handy to blag a push start from them once they'd stopped laughing.

Navigation

[0] Message Index

[#] Next page