Hello fellas, new guy here. I've just added a 72 ironhead bobber to my corral. It is a kick start only. It usually will start around the 3rd or 4th kick, but man is it work. It sure isn't fun whenit kicks back at you and the shock goes into your ankle. Is there anything I can do to make kick starting this machine easier?
I've also considered adding an electric starter. What isneeded in this modification and what kind of cost am I looking at?

 

You will figure it out! Remember to keep the kicker down at the bottom of the stroke untill the engine stops, or she fires. If you start to let up on the kicker, and the engine is turning backwards it will nail you.
If I remember, on a 72, you will need a clutch basket, starter drive housing and reduction gears, solenoid, and arm, starter, relay. also you will need to replace the timing cover, and final drive gear cover.or cut it out if you like.It can be done, it would be best if you could find the parts used.
I used to walk around with a big bruise on the back of my leg from the top shock mount, it hurts just thinking about it.

 

To add to what crampfan said you will need:
A larger battery
Another (sidemount) oil tank....because the big battery sits where a center mount oil tank now sits.
A drilled and tapped hole in the top of the transmission case. This is for the bolt holding the clamp around the end of the starter motor.
The timing cover you will need has a notch for clearance around the end of the starter. If you have to replace this cover....you then must line ream the bushings in the new cover with the bushings in the engine crankcase. This requires the complete dismantle of the engine.

So, the short answer is to become friends with your kick starter. A kick back is a bowl of ice cream compared with the other thing that happens with a kick starter,
That other thing is something that the Sportster is infamous for. You get up on the start lever and come down with a nice strong kick. The gears have failed to mesh at the clutch gear and the starter gear, but this is unknown to you at the moment. You soon find out as your leg and body come down and meet no resistance. You cannot stop the event and the lever comes to the bottom as your knee is straightned out as far as it can go.
Well, that lever can go just a bit further and it does. Result is 3 months on crutches with a hyper extended knee. I have done it a couple of times myself, and it is not fun.
So, be careful when you kick, especially in cold weather. The oil gets cold and the gears can easily fail to mesh. There is no cure for this, just something you need to be aware of. The old stories relating to a Sportster (or Ironhead) knee from the bike kicking back are rather the result of what I just described, not it kicking back.......pg

 

My first Harley was a 1974 XLCH and it truly "kicked back" only once and it was soft and easy. However, it did what piniongear describes once in awhile and it truly sucks. Because of it, I got good at kicking with either leg. When using your right leg to kick, place your left knee on the seat. When using the left leg to kick, you can just stand beside the bike and get good leverage. It may sound awkward, but it actually became my favorite method.

Your best friend with that Ironhead is keeping it tuned so it starts as easy as possible. You will get a feel for it. I almost always got mine started with one kick and seldom more than 2.

 

The ironheads have a cam that engages the kickstarter when you move the pedal about thirty degrees from the top. They also have a cam that disengages the pedal when it reaches the bottom of the stroke. This is to protect you from kickback, and it does work. If the ratchet gears are not worn or slipping, just use the proper technique with that pedal and you won't have any problems.

Push the engine through to a compression stroke--where you get a lot of resistance on the pedal and then let the pedal go back to the top of the stroke. Push the pedal down to re-engage it and then put your weight--everything you got--into the kick. Hold the pedal to the bottom of the stroke after the kick.

If you can consistently get it to fire on the third or forth kick when the engine is cold, you are doing pretty good. When the engine is warmed up, one or two kicks should be all that is needed.

I still live with the dual spark ignition and Bendix carb, both which make kick starting a chore. Single spark ignition and an S&S carb will help a lot.

 

Hey if she's starting consistantly with 3 or 4 kicks you ain't doing bad.

 

Thank you everybody for your input. I'm getting the hang of it now.The electric starter conversion is a little morework than i got time for.