Electric vs Kick

Just curious what everyone's running and why!

  • Electric Start Only

    Votes: 5 12.5%

  • Electric Start & Kick Start

    Votes: 13 32.5%

  • Kick Start Only

    Votes: 22 55.0%
  • Total voters
    40
timeconsuming

timeconsuming

Foolish until proven intelligent.
Hey guys

On my bike (75 cb400f) I have both an electric start and a kick start. And I do use both, though mainly because I'm new and still learning. The electric start saved my ass a few times when I was stalling a lot on the streets. /shame

However part of me wants to strip things down and go kick only, tiny battery, streamlined, etc.

What do you guys run and why?
 
I miss kick starts on today's bikes. My K1000, and CB750 have both kick and electric starters. I will be eliminating the electric starts. I even eliminated the old 750 Kawi 2-stroke kick-start in order to reduce as much weight as possible, made it tough if I stalled on a hill during busy traffic. I do like the refinement of new bikes but my true loves are Cafe Racer's and I like them to be tough and rough.
 
I have a bad knee that doesn't really care much for kickstarting motorcycles. I appreciate electric start. OTOH, I wish that my electric start only bikes had a kick starter for when the battery is low.
 
I have a 1971 sl350 k1 its a kick start only. I can get it over first try most days with little effort. Stalls at stop lights sometimes, but only takes a few seconds to put it in neutral and kick it over again. long story short, I like the kick start only, but then again I have no choice on my bike!
 
Looks like we're leaning towards kickers (not surprising)!

Of those who voted kick and electric, which do you use more?
 
I have both, I usually use electric start unless I have low battery like I do now, or if I want to show off/look cool to friends haha. Electric start is nice if I stall in traffic or something like that happens though, also nice I don't have to rely on one or the other
 
when the good lord gave us the vmax he neglected to put a kickstarter on it........the bloody things heavy enough anyway

on a related subject, when i had my 750/4 'onda rewired i had most of the elecs put in one of them boxes under the coils that were so popular back in the 70s on choppers, it had the elec start button on the side of it so i could get rid of most of the switches on the bars. i thought this was way cool until the first time it stalled in traffic, because the button was on the left hand side i had to take my hand off the clutch so it had to go back into neutral, then find the button, start the engine, get back to the clutch, put it in gear and hope it doesn't stall again..........won't be doing that little modification again
 
kick only. i run a very small 2amp 12v battery just to keep the fieldcoil up during start. i plugged the startermotor hole and happy with it on my '76 550f
 
What about for that first start of the year, after the bike's been laid up all winter? Having the electric start is nice to get the fuel flowing...

Either that, or always park facing downhill. I had a car I did that with - got away with not replacing the battery after it died for a month...
 
Back in the 60's, the electric start is what separated the Japanese bikes from the masses. Most bikes were kick start and the Japanese provided electric start at an economical price too.

I like the kick start, but I also like being able to thunb the starter switch if I stall in traffic, and don't want to linger in the middle of the street, trying to start.
 
You guys are making me feel a little better about stalling out in traffic!

Since I'm in San Diego I don't have to lay the bike up for the winter 8) so the idea of going kick only sounds pretty awesome.
 
I have electric only on an FZR, kick only on an RZ and bump start on race bikes.

On the street I'd take electric only because when I stall it, and it does happen sometimes, the button is far faster to get moving again. There is no real advantage to kick only, if the bike comes with an electric foot as standard.
 
I kept my electric start until I had all my carb issues sorted. I am glad I did as the bike would die randomly at about 2 out of every five stoplights and not start easily. My advice is if you can't get your bike to start within the first 3 kicks from cold don't get rid of the electric start.
 
I've never owned a bike with an electric start... It seems so posh! Lol
My triple is like butter to start with a half a kick but the old XT500 thumper I used to own was a killer! You needed to use the decompression just to have power to kick it over... Also, you had to brace yourself in case it kicked back... It had the power To break your leg if you dodnt!
Probably would have needed a car starter to turn that ole girl over! Lol
 
> I kept my electric start until I had all my carb issues sorted. I am glad I did as the bike would die randomly at about 2 out of every five stoplights and not start easily. My advice is if you can't get your bike to start within the first 3 kicks from cold don't get rid of the electric start.

Hear hear. I wish I'd kept the electric start on my 450 until I had all the kinks worked out.
 
Walms said:
I've never owned a bike with an electric start... It seems so posh! Lol
My triple is like butter to start with a half a kick but the old XT500 thumper I used to own was a killer! You needed to use the decompression just to have power to kick it over... Also, you had to brace yourself in case it kicked back... It had the power To break your leg if you dodnt!
Probably would have needed a car starter to turn that ole girl over! Lol
Click to expand...

My brother has an '86 SRX600 that sounds like your XT. It's kick only as well, but that kicker has a built in decomp valve. He never changed the dead battery that came with it, because why bother? ;D
 
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