How many remember the old kick start on the bikes of yesteryear?

 

Still have a slight limp due to a 69 sportster with a magneto.

 

Remember them??? They're all the rage again!

 

Yesterday?

 

...........................

 

My 1970 Honda CB350 had a back up kick starter but always started easily with the electric start. I used the kick start occasionally for fun. It started easily even with the kick start. Only took one or two tries.

 

Why bother?

 

A riding buddy of mine offered to let me ride his Shovel if I could kick start it. (I was riding a Yamaha at the time) I watched him do it, stuck my foot on the pedal, threw all 280lbs of my big a$$ into the air and brought it all down on that pedal and landed on my a$$ while he and his wife rolled on the ground laughing at me!

I got the last laugh though,.... We were 10 miles from his house and he broke a primary belt. He decided the best way to get home was to "peg" the bike. Of course, I didn't have a friggin clue what he was talking about so he explained it as the guy on the running bike would hold his leg out straight, against the rear foot peg of the non-running bike and push it to get it home. We switched bikes at his insistance, and he hopped onto my Yammie, fired it up and hit the shifter. It died. He shifted to neutral, fired it up and shifted to first. It died. Happened three times.... Seems Harleys don't have a kill switch on the kickstand and he hadn't bothered to put it up before trying to ride......

 

My dad had a shop in the 70s he could tune a harley and start it with his hand

 

my shovel has kick only. you have to get it on the right stroke, then it's a 1 kick bike. 2 or 3 kicks if it has sat for a month or so.