kick start vs. electric starter

[chris73cb175]

i'm looking into just having my bike kick start only. but wanted to know how do you guys feel about this? do you perfer kick start over electric? also what does it take to only go kick start. i couldn't really find anything in the forums with the search engine.

 

[chris73cb175]

It's OK until you stall in traffic.
Then you'll wish you still had electic 'foot'

PJ

haha very true

 

[Rocan]

i went back and forth in my mind and eventually just kept it off..

Its just one more thing that can go wrong. A bike in good condition will kick over in just a few kicks so its not that much of a help.

All it does is make you require a bigger battery that needs to be recharged more often.

alltogether it can cut off 10 pounds off your bike...


just put a freeze plug in place of the hole.

 

[DrJ]

I've run kick only for years. No use for the starter. I dig the ritual of kickstarting my bike, especially in a parking lot full of non-vintage riders. Blows their minds.

 

[Roiber]

Kick start for sure dude! it makes you feel like a real man!

i think its all about originality...if you want to have a MOTORCYCLE and not a spaceship(modern bikes) then you have to kick start!

 

[chris73cb175]

Kick start for sure dude! it makes you feel like a real man!

i think its all about originality...if you want to have a MOTORCYCLE and not a spaceship(modern bikes) then you have to kick start!

hahaha thats how i am with cars i like old shit and its a lot of work no lie but shit it feels better. things are losing style now a days and i just feel lot more with things from the past.

 

[chris73cb175]

kick start only is the way to go. i was leaning that way anways. this will make things a lot easier. if i stall fuck cars they can go around. hahaha so anyone know the procedure of going kick start only.

 

[dcmspikes]

just take the starter off and plug the hole. ill be making a plug for my 175 sometime. shouldnt be too much trouble to make two.

 

[chris73cb175]

just take the starter off and plug the hole. ill be making a plug for my 175 sometime. shouldnt be too much trouble to make two.

if your saying you will make one for me hahaha but yeah i'm going to get a lot of work done this weekend. chop things off the frame and clean a bunch of parts. i'm going down to harbor freight also so it should be a busy weekend. we should link up sometime i'll let you know how this weekend goes with the bike.

 

[chris73cb175]

dcmspikes i'm trying to punk my landlord to let me get a damn garage. i think its so dumb to pay rent for a place and the offer the garage to other people to rent that shit out. so hopefully i'm able to swindle my way in there. i'll let you know whats up and we could grab a drink sometime and work on our bikes.

 

[RichPugh]

crazypj is right... when you stall or die or anything that causes you to cut off in traffic, it sucks to have to get back to neutral and re-kick it... but I also only start my bike with the kickstart. It preserves a ton of battery life. If you've got another bike for commuting or everyday riding, sure, get rid of the electric starter and big battery, etc. otherwise, be ready for inconvenience now and again LOL.

 

[muskrat]

crazypj is right... when you stall or die or anything that causes you to cut off in traffic, it sucks to have to get back to neutral and re-kick it... but I also only start my bike with the kickstart. It preserves a ton of battery life. If you've got another bike for commuting or everyday riding, sure, get rid of the electric starter and big battery, etc. otherwise, be ready for inconvenience now and again LOL.

be prepared for inconvenience is the key.
thats just part of riding a vintage bike.
i've had alotta bikes and only a few of them had an electric foot, which never got used if i had kick as well, and i've only cursed at one of the kick only bikes a few times due to the lack of an electric starter.
of coarse that was on a 60 year old harley that took everything you had to kick over ;D
if the bike runs, run it with the electric starter but don't use it. if you decide you don't need it, yank it and shave about 12 lbs off your bike. but if you decide you want it for those days when it stalls, it's cold out or your knee's giving you trouble, then you keep it and you don't have to replace everything and get back that bigger battery you gave to your buddy cause you didn't need it anymore, and you also don't have to do anything at all right now except ride it.

 

[JayC]

I left my key in the ignition in ON position in my garage overnight last week and now the battery doesn't have enough juice to use the electric starter so I have to kickstart. I've stalled a few times in traffic (me being a newbie rider) I have to use the kickstarter for now. I don't have a battery charger, and the alternator is taking forever to charge the battery.

 

[chris73cb175]

im still up in the air about this. to me i want to get rid of everything and get to the most simplest bike but at the same time i dont want to deal with little things like stalling and what not but oh well if anything i'll leave the way it is right now and if i want to chang i always can down the line. but i might just flip a coin either way it doesn't bother me because i know what i'm getting into with old things anyways hahaha

 

[magnang]

I left my key in the ignition in ON position in my garage overnight last week and now the battery doesn't have enough juice to use the electric starter so I have to kickstart. I've stalled a few times in traffic (me being a newbie rider) I have to use the kickstarter for now. I don't have a battery charger, and the alternator is taking forever to charge the battery.

The alternator on theses old bikes isn't strong enough to charge a dead battery, it will only top up a fully charged one for a period. Ideally you should still put it on the charge every couple of weeks and keep an eye on the electrolyte level. If you want, you can try the cheap tender in the 50$ mod thread (it won't cost anywhere near 50$).