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Kickstart procedures please!

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Old Nov 13, 2018 | 07:37 AM
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Default Kickstart procedures please!

Can I please get some advice or at least some valuable experiences from evo owners as my knee won’t take any more trips to A&E

i have a 1340 custom chop, S&S Super E, Dynatech reprogrammed for kickstart

from cold choke on, two twists of throttle, two primer kicks, ignition on and starts first kick

this is where I could do with some help

if the bike is Luke warm it just won’t start , choke off primer kicks and throttle twists, tried em all

help very much appreciated
 
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Old Nov 13, 2018 | 08:36 AM
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if you're twisting the throttle when warm you might be flooding it. after a few kicks try it with throttle wide open to get more air in there. oh, and when warm, no primer kicks either.
 
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Old Nov 13, 2018 | 10:40 AM
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Hello old chap, from a couple of counties away. I bought a new shovel back in the 1970s. Harleys were more rare than hen's teeth over here at the time. That was much the same when attempting to start from warm, not helped by passers by being unable to resist the temptation of twisting the twist-grip. I couldn't predict what condition the bike was in when returning to it, so routinely swung the starter over a couple of times, throttle wide open. That was the only way I could be confident of a dependable starting procedure when warm, which saw me through several years of ownership.

You can always retrofit a starter......
 

Last edited by grbrown; Nov 13, 2018 at 10:45 AM.
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Old Nov 13, 2018 | 11:19 AM
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Kick start bikes varies of course, and the number of kicks depends on the number of people watching. :-)

If your bike starts cold with only two twists, then I think a luke warm start, you don't need to twist the throttle at all. All done with choke off. a) I would not twist throttle, 1 kick prime, and 1 kick start. b) If that doesn't work, twist throttle once, hold throttle wide open, and kick prime twice to clear cylinder, then kick start. c) if that didn't work, hold throttle wide open and prime kick twice to clear, then slight open of the throttle and kick through.

If all else fails, use use your kick start thumb. LOL
 
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Old Nov 13, 2018 | 12:02 PM
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Step 1: Always remember to park at the top of a hill.

Step 2 is easy.

Before I built my project bike, my only experience kicking bikes was with easy-starting two strokes. Nothing to those things.

My Sporty can be temperamental, and warm (not hot) starts are the hardest. Nothing improved my success rate more than spending some time slowly advancing the motor with the kick lever and feeling the different spots on the motor. It goes easy, then offers some resistance, but there is one spot where it offers more resistance than the others. That's the one. Once I learned the feel of that one spot, life got a lot better.

On mine, it's easy to get the bike too rich on a warm start. No choke, and I don't twist the throttle first either. Also, instead of putting my right hand on the grip, I hold on up by the base of the brake lever. I was finding that I was involuntarily giving it some throttle when I was kicking it.

The way I look at things, every kick is a learning exercise. The bike should start, right? If it doesn't, why not? Eventually, with enough time and practice, you'll train yourself to be more reliable.
 
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Old Nov 13, 2018 | 12:06 PM
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Default kicksta

I’ll try that thank you
Originally Posted by daven9113
Kick start bikes varies of course, and the number of kicks depends on the number of people watching. :-)

If your bike starts cold with only two twists, then I think a luke warm start, you don't need to twist the throttle at all. All done with choke off. a) I would not twist throttle, 1 kick prime, and 1 kick start. b) If that doesn't work, twist throttle once, hold throttle wide open, and kick prime twice to clear cylinder, then kick start. c) if that didn't work, hold throttle wide open and prime kick twice to clear, then slight open of the throttle and kick through.

If all else fails, use use your kick start thumb. LOL
 
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Old Nov 13, 2018 | 12:29 PM
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Default Kicker

[QUOTE=Stevo1340;17823130]
Can I please get some advice or at least some valuable experiences from evo owners as my knee won’t take any more trips to A&E

i have a 1340 custom chop, S&S Super E, Dynatech reprogrammed for kickstart

from cold choke on, two twists of throttle, two primer kicks, ignition on and starts first kick

this is where I could do with some help

if the bike is Luke warm it just won’t start , choke off primer kicks and throttle twists, tried em all

help very much appreciated
 
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Old Nov 13, 2018 | 12:31 PM
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​​​​​​​so if I get it wrong or it doesn’t start, if I kick it with throttle open it’s like a default setting?
 
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Old Nov 13, 2018 | 12:43 PM
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Originally Posted by Stevo1340
so if I get it wrong or it doesn’t start, if I kick it with throttle open it’s like a default setting?
Yes, so when the bike is "flooded," that's how you clear it out. Key off, throttle wide open, and then several kicks to clear the fuel/air mixture out of combustion chamber.
 
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Old Nov 13, 2018 | 01:19 PM
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Luke warm I would give mine two priming kick. Ignition on and kick again. She would start.
 
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