When the Harley Davidson evo was had a four speed kickstart did they have the same ignition as the later 5 speed evo?Will a 5 speed kickstart conversion kit on a 1997 evo work with the stock ignition?If not what is the difference with the ignitions?

 

the ignitions that are around today are High Performance types, the original you have will be fine for starting a stock compression EVO even if it has a cam and carb mods

the aftermarket ignitions will allow the starter to turn the engine over twice before turning it on, it allows more than stock compression to still start with some ease

what we did back in the day IF you had a starter was to kick it around to a compression stroke - with the key on - choke out and press the starter button at the same time you kick it - its the way most will start a stroker today - johnjzjz

 

http://www.wildwestcycle.com/f_voes.html

Go to this web site. It should answer your question.

 

The Stock one may work, BUT my Ultima nosecone system (ie a rebadged Dyna 2kp) has settings in it for a kickstart engine. Its to do with the number of crank rotations before the ignition fires for the first time.

The bottom of page 4 of the pdf in this link explains it:

www.dynaonline.com/skins/downloads/instruct/D2Ki-1P.pdf

Cheers

 

Back in 1955 when I was 14 I had a 1942 "45" flat head. Those had the spark advance on the left hand grip. My cable was broken so I use to reach down and retard the spark for starting by twisting the distributor and then twisting it back after starting. It was always easy to start as long as I did not forget to retard it. I cranked that thing up on many a cold morning before school without problems. I learned to prime it just right depending on temperature and humidity and when I turned on the ignition it would generally fire up on the first kick. It was also probably a lot lower compression than an EVO. At one time I had 14" stub pipes on it like the board track racers, and it sure sounded good on those cold mornings.

 

They are not the same part number, that I know. I have an 84 fxst, it calls for a different module than the newer bikes. I currently have a screamin eagle ignition on it. It will start by kicking it, but it is not consistent. Some of the newer modules have a revolution delay to make it easier on the starter. That is what the problem is. I would not want to run the newer ignition without a starter. I have a number of other kickstart bikes, and they will all start with one kick when hot, the Fxst will start on one kick about 20% of the time (hot). I would go to a stock ignition, but I have yet to find the correct part number in my 3 year search.

Your best bet is an aftermarket, but I'd try the one you have first.

 

Thank you for great feedback to my question. Have a Merry Christmas

 

and you can always try a low cost low tech alternative

retrofit points, they fit straight in using either genuine or aftermarket parts

 

True....I'm sure that Noah and the Ark had some points stored away somewhere that could be dug up....