i have a 1972 xlh,and i have 2 questions.first how hard would it be to install a kickstart and do away with the electric start.i know by reading lots of people posts that having a kickstart on a ironhead could be a pain and cause me to have a limp(lol).second is it possible to install a magneto on the bike also,i seen joe morris has the kit but is there another way to do it cheaper and diffrent?

 

i dont know about the mag, but it should have a kickstart on it. i didnt think they got rid of the kick until 80. Even if it is a XLH it should have both.

 

XLH came with electric-only in '72. It isn't that difficult to add a kicker to it. You will need to drill the cover to accept the bushing for the kicker shaft. My Dad used to do the drilling with a electric hand drill and wood bit. That's all he had, so it worked for him. Other than that, it's a straight-forward assemble-the-parts-and-install, right out of the service manual.

The "Sportster knee" came from several things - poor tuning, and worn kicker parts. Keep it tuned and it works fine, once you find the bike's magic combo.

The magneto: Hmm, who's Joe Morris? Heard of Joe Hunt. Heard of Morris magnetos. Have they joined forces? Does the kit replace the entire cam cover, or does it use the speedo drive gear and hole?

Magnetos are wonderful devices. But you'd better keep the motor in great tune 'cause at the low rpm kicking speeds the magneto output is also low. That means a weaker than normal spark.

 

The kick start kit can be purchased from J&P Cycles. Installation is not to difficult, but the drawback is the cost of the kit is around $285 as I recall. I posted a display of all the different parts this requires below.

On a 1972 there is only one way to mount a magneto to my knowledge(providing you do not want to get into the engine), and that has a major drawback.
You can remove the generator and mount the magneto where the generator sat. You will need an adapter to do this. Years ago the flathead KR dirt track and road race Harleys used the set up to mount the Fairbank-Morse mags which were the same as used on the early Sportsters, and an adapter could be bought from your dealer, or ordered. These adapters have not be available in 25 years (mags are also scarce) and today you would have to make your own. No big deal to that, but the drawback is you will have no generator....thus no lights. So it is very impractical.

If instead you wanted to buy your self a 1969 or earlier timing cover with the mag mounting in the vertical position, this would make more sense. Here is the bugger with that.....
The timing cover uses bronze bushings in the cover to hold the outboard camshaft ends, idle gear shaft etc. The timing cover has had the bushings installed in the cover, the cover bolted on to the cases and then you have to go into the area from inside the crankcase through each cam bearing hole in the case with a reamer to line ream those bushings so that everything is in line and the bushing are reamed to the correct diameter.
Yep, the engine has to be taken apart completely to do this. It is not worth all the trouble, believe me....even if you are doing all of the work yourself.

If you want a kick start CH with a mag you would do better to start looking for an original and buy it. This will be a 1969 or earlier. Then you could rebuild the engine as needed, repaint, etc, etc. Again, not cheap to do, believe me, but I think it is the most desirable way to do it........pg


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IMHO putting the mag on the later Sportster is a waste of time, unless you're really in love with the look, already have the cases split, and have the older cam chest cover lying around. Good mags start at $300 and go up from there. You can find a nice cover on ebay for $100. So you're already into the conversion at least $400 bucks before you start and the money could be better spent.

My mag bike is the easiest starter of my four Sportsters, but apparently this is not the usual experience.

I like the kick conversion, though, and it's very doable. I'm still debating on my 68, which is electric only. Bronson's bike was a 68 with the conversion, by the way.

 

Here's the link to Joe Hunt's site that offers a magneto conversion for a Sporty:

http://www.huntmagnetos.com/motorstore.php

It mounts onto/into the points area, rather than the old generator location.

Here's the link to the Morris site:

http://www.rute66.dk/05/05%20GB%202004%20001-010.pdf

The Morris magneto mounts into the tach drive hole.

Either of these kits allows you to retain your generator. If you're kick-start only, you can even dump the battery by installing a so-called battery eliminator set-up.

 

thanx for all the great info you guys.