young and need help i have just bought a 67 sportster..its reversed kick start. im young and need as much advice in trying to figure out how to get this bike to start faster while kickstarting it...and how to learn to shift on th eother side. 25yr olds needs help

 

Not sure what you mean by "reversed" kick start. Sporty kicker, as on most bikes, has always been on the right side.

Learning to right-side shift is simply a matter of practice, practice, practice.

Learning how to start a Sporty kicker begins with having the bike properly tuned - plugs correct type & gapped properly; points set to correct gap; if magneto then it must be in good shape to provide enough juice to get a good spark; pushrods adjusted correctly; carb jetted and adjusted correctly. Next step is trial & error to learn this particular bike's quirks. Both my XLCH & Shovel FLH had the same starting procedure when cold - ignition off, 2 easy kicks through to clear engine, choke on, 2 full turns of throttle to prime, return throttle to 1/4 position, ignition on, kick smartly and make sure not to move throttle, start easing choke off, and allow a bit to warm, the complete easing choke off.

 

If you have a magneto have someone who knows what they are doing check it out. You may need to get it remagnetized (at your local airport). Also, that XLCH has been kicked approximately 3.456.324.765 times in the last 42 years. check (or get someone to check) the kicker gears. They mate over a ridiculously narrow plane and are the cause of many, many hyper-extended knees. Kickstart Sportsters were the "great crippler of young adults" long before MS stole the slogan.

Once you figure out how to get it running easily you will enjoy it much more. But beware, one kick Sporties are the exception and not the rule.

 

I always did it as pococj stated except I cranked the throttle three times and then pulled out the choke. I also slowly pushed down on the kick start until I felt it catch up high and then kicked through (follow through all the way to the bottom). Dang, I miss those good times.

 

defintely make sure a piston is up top (you can feel the resistance) before putting your weight on the kickstarter.

 

I woke up this morning thinking about this and think my earlier post was incorrect. Old age memory failure I guess. Now if my memory serves me right, I would prime the engine, if cold or the first start of the day, by pulling the choke and with the ignition turned off I would kick through twice and then turn on the ignition and kick through to start. Some people kick started from the side but I always straddled the bike and sort of stepped up on the crank lever and pushed all the way through. Worked well for me. However, I may be remembering this wrong also.

 

you don't want that old thing... give it to me. ;-)

 

There were, at one time, "reversed" kick starts out there, but I don't recall a Sportster having one. My old 65cc Leggero was like that. The kick lever was on the left side of the bike, and forward of the shift lever and rotated forward and down to start the bike. Easiest way to kick start it was to stand next to the bike, facing the rear of it, then use the left leg to kick start the bike. Of course the bike needed to be on the kickstand for this.

But again, I never saw that on a Sporty.

Each bike I had all took slightly different procedures to get them to fire up. Once you knew which one to use, you could get them to fire right off.

One, you had to pull the choke all the way out, crank the throttle three times, push the choke halfway in, then kick start it. All my other bikes had some variation of this procedure. Sometimes you'd have to hold the throttle at 1/4 or 1/2, some of them you didn't. Some you had to leave the choke all the way out until it started, some you didn't. Once you find the right combination, try to never forget it.

 

You know he might be thinking it's reversed because there were a number of dirt bikes we used to have that kicked forward. It's when the darn thing kicks "back" that you've got to be careful. Don't let your foot slide off the pedal...kick through.

 

You're not going to get it much plainer than this, least ways, not on this FORUM. But as posted by both, get all your 'mechanicals' SPOT ON. Cause if you have to 'grind' on the starter everytime to compensate, you dun gonna git oldt, FAST!

BUT being 25, may need a bit of 'translation' or comparison.

Think of 'em, like those li'l dollies at the waterin' hole. FINE to look at, even FINER to ride.
They are ALL gonna give you a ride, IF you know the "starting procedure", BUT each one, is gonna require jus' a slightly different 'approach'. Once you get it down, the one you have, will "fire up" and "purr" right along. Wanna get another one, NEW procedure.
Make sense, now???

WARNING - pay heed to the kicker gear WARNING. The term for decades, ACTUALLY forever, is "Sportster Knee". Do not confuse it with tennis elbow. That stuff is for 'woosy boys'. MEN go for the major joints!!!!

I was a 'straddler' kicker for decades. 2 years ago, right leg was giving me fits, 'lernt' how to use left leg, in case right 'failed'. It didn't, but now I am a 'stand alongside' kicker.
Wed, I'll be 2 1/4 times as old as you. Still kickin', BOTH of mine, Thank You.

Getting used to the right side shifter, is just, as posted, a matter of doing it, until it becomes habit.
NOTE - as you know, habits can be VERY hard to break. Ride this one for a while, then crawl on a newer one, or a Big twin, the "OLD" way(left side) is gonna be real con-fussing.
FYI (in case you don't know) - right side shift is a 'hold out' from the tracking(race) days. (Think roundy-round, left turn, left turn, left turn, etc, etc)


WOOPS, forgot one thing, and it hasn't been mentioned yet. Kickers draw people. For some reason, peeps find it mystical, and magical. What you will discover REAL FAST:
A) NO ONE will volunteer to help.
B) The # of kicks required to start the scoot, WILL BE directly proportional, to the # of eyes watching you. Read that: The More =The More. The Less = The Less (Think of that li'l blonde dolly with the bazms, at the end of the bar. Lots o' peeps in the bar, li'l mo' work, than if'n you b the only one. )


WELKUM Aboard !!!!!!