Roller starter, paddock starter, etc -- full plans

[chuckthebeatertruck]

If you look across a lot of forums you will find all sorts of "talk" from folks about building roller starters, but little actual information.

Well, we decided to address this lack of info . . .


Scroll to post 155 and you'll find a description and photos of an effective starter system I built a month ago to help start my 78" magneto fired, stroker sportster.


If it can start that beast . . . most bikes won't pose a problem.


I find the system very easy to operate by myself and have had no issues in several dozen starts on the big mag fired bike. I did buy the extended warranty on the Grinder motor I used -- it was dirt cheap and I figured, why not.


Keep in mind this is only one way of building roller starters. There are multiple designs and ideas out there. But, I can say for sure this one works on one of the hardest to start bikes I've met in a long association with many makes and models of motorbike.



I hope this helps some of you with sore knees/hips be able to continue riding and enjoying your bike(s).


https://forum.antiquemotorcycle.org/...249#post193249

[Chris Haynes]

I plan to buy one of the Doc Z Roller Starters. I have seen them in use and liked what I saw. They even make one that mounts to your bike lift. http://www.solodynasystems.biz/solo_..._starter_.html

[T. Cotten]

I plan to buy one of the Doc Z Roller Starters. I have seen them in use and liked what I saw. They even make one that mounts to your bike lift. http://www.solodynasystems.biz/solo_..._starter_.html

Wow Chris!

You could carry it in the sidecar!

....Cotten

[chuckthebeatertruck]

You could carry it in the sidecar!

....Cotten

Mrs. Chuck, being the practical half, asked me what happens if I stall and I couldn't kick it? I smiled and said, "honey, unless my carb screws up, that ain't happening."

I then went out for a ride, sank a float, fouled out the plugs, and had to call Mrs. Chuck.

Can't always win for living ;-)

[chuckthebeatertruck]

I agree, the doc z starters are the nicest professional system.

There are several other professional units that are less, but still around $1000.

I'm too frugal to drop that kinda coin on roller starters when I can make my own on a rainy afternoon.

[T. Cotten]

Mrs. Chuck, being the practical half, asked me what happens if I stall...

Or stop for gas, Chuck?

Leave it running at the pump?

....Cotten

[BoschZEV]

My DocZ rollers are an indispensable "tool" when working on bikes. I sometimes cheat and use it to start bikes I could start without it, but it more than earns its keep with bikes as I sort out the timing and carburetion. As chuckthebeater truck wrote, if only used at home (where mine is used 95% of the time) rollers that use 120V would avoid the maintenance headache of a battery. But, I already have enough batteries that require regular maintenance that the DocZ's battery is only an incremental headache.

For what it's worth, I have a battery box mounted on the front of my trailer sized for the DocZ battery, which then also serves as the breakaway battery for the electric brakes. The battery's real purpose on the trailer, based on my experience riding the 2018 Cannonball, is to power two LED light panels so I can work at night, if necessary. However, the leads on the DocZ reach to the battery so I can take the rollers along as well.

[chuckthebeatertruck]

Or stop for gas, Chuck?

Leave it running at the pump?

....Cotten

I rarely shut bikes off at the pump. I know that freaks out some people . . .and I support their fear of fire.

My reason is real simple; I've always lived in high crime urban areas where gas stations attract every type of human junk you don't want to deal with. 30 years ago, my bikes didn't stand out so much cause they were just old used bikes. Today they are "collectibles" and those looking to make a quick buck think all old Harleys are worth ferrari money . . . and at a southside gas station, it can get "challenging" -- and oddly, it's even more challenging at some of the semi-rural Chicago stations around Kankakee where opiate and amphetamine abuse seem to be the normal for the 6am hang out at the gas station crowd.


Others I know wouldn't dream of filling a bike without stopping the bike; taking pictures; BS'ing with any one that wants to BS about the bike; etc.


Different strokes; different folks.

[T. Cotten]

I rarely shut bikes off at the pump. I know that freaks out some people . . .and I support their fear of fire. ..
My reason is real simple; I've always lived in high crime urban areas where gas stations attract every type of human junk you don't want to deal with. 30 years ago, my bikes didn't stand out so much cause they were just old used bikes. Today they are "collectibles" and those looking to make a quick buck think all old Harleys are worth ferrari money . . . and at a southside gas station, it can get "challenging" -- and oddly, it's even more challenging at some of the semi-rural Chicago stations around Kankakee where opiate and amphetamine abuse seem to be the normal for the 6am hang out at the gas station crowd....

Whew!

Yer a braver man than I, Chuck!

Downstate Illinois isn't a third-world country,.... ... .. yet.

....Cotten
PS: Back to topic if possible, anybody see somebody start their bike by pushing it off a rear stand and 'bumping' it?
I have.
But then I also heard that a fellow could prime his bike, and turn it through to where he could start it by opening the points with a screwdriver.
I got mine to make a pop. I had better luck just wiggling the ignition switch.

[BoschZEV]

I rarely shut bikes off at the pump.

The only time I considered not turning off a bike at the pump was after I left the lights on overnight on a modern bike 500 miles from home and ran the battery down. Because of where the battery was hidden under the fairing it took a lot of effort, and the help of another motorcyclist with the tools and jumper cable, to get access to the terminals and get it running (fuel injection + electric fuel pump means it couldn't be push started). I then rode around for 30 min. to charge the battery, until the fuel was low. I pulled into a station and thought about not turning it off, until I remembered the ignition key also operated the locking gas cap, so I had no choice. Luckily, the battery had enough life in it to start the bike again after the tank was full.

Having seen photos and a video of a couple of bikes that went up in flames at the Cannonball, and how quickly I saw flames develop after a backfire when someone started an old bike, filling a shaking old bike while sparks are happening very nearby every tenth of a second seems more than a little risky.

[T. Cotten]

... quickly I saw flames develop after a backfire when someone started an old bike....

That was just a manifold leak.

....Cotten

[BoschZEV]

That was just a manifold leak.

Other than that, how did you like the play Mrs. Lincoln?

[T. Cotten]

Other than that, how did you like the play Mrs. Lincoln?

I saw a sequel with a much better ending at http://virtualindian.org/8eventpontiac.htm, BoschZEV!

They tried to start Gus's VL, which coughed and flamed up instantly.

Shook up my bock and put it out for him.

That's all the drama I can take.

....Cotten
PS: I've watched two bikes burn, one at Bowling Green in '78, and a neighbor's about '80.
Both were ugly, so I have crusaded against the evil manifold leak ever since.

PPS: Once the front tire is burning, its all over.

[chuckthebeatertruck]

Like I said, everyone has a different comfort level.


I don't disagree with anything written here and DO NOT ADVOCATE for filling up with a running motor.


I agree you should always shut down for refueling.

I also understand why many guys with more ornery bikes, bad knees, or shot hips/backs don't do this and why guys who live in more sketchy areas won't even dream of it.


The main thing is; let's not overstate the risk of refueling with the motor on and scare the bejesus out of people. Yes, it can and does cause fire. But it doesn't happen very often.


Americans make somewhere in the neighborhood of 7 BILLION trips to the fuel station each year. We use about 140 billion gallons of petrol each year. That's a lot of pumping.


According to insurance stats, there are less than 5000 fuel station fires per year. 5,000 out of 7,000,000,000 fill ups. BUT, only about 3000 of those fires involve vehicles, the others are the station or the tanks igniting!


Keep in mind this is the total number of motor vehicles of all sorts: motorbikes, autos, and light trucks and contains all mitigating factors -- not just motors being left on. Considering auto/truck drivers out pace motorbike riders by a large percentage . . . the actual number of bikes being filled up is way, way smaller than everything else. But, let's keep this really high level and just use the 3000 fires of all sorts number.


When you do the math, you realize you have a 1 in 2.3 MILLION chance of experiencing a refueling fire in any given year. WE are just assuming that all these involve the motor running -- but we honestly don't know. This risk resets constantly, but it basically means that you'd have to do a lot of driving to really be in a statisic curve. Most of us fill up 7-8 times per month in the US or less than 100 times per year. So, to simplify let's just say that each time I fill up in a given year, I'm pushing a 1 in 2.3M chance of burning up from the motor running.


Let's put in the two darlings of conventional wisdom "risk" - lightning and lottos.


In any given year you also have a 1 in 500,000 chance of being struck by lightning and a 1 in 292 MILLION chance of winning the lottery.


If we were book makers, this means our chance of losing a bike to a refueling fire is somewhere between getting hit by lightning and winning the lotto.


Conversely, I have the following odds in Chicago proper:
1 in 283 chance of robbery
1 in 208 chance of aggravated assault
1 in 4,347 chance of homicide


1 in 4,347 or 1 in 2,300,000 . . . I know which I worry about.

[T. Cotten]

Hey Chuck!

Ever see sparkplug wires arc to ground, or each other?

I have, and the motors still ran.

What are the odds then?...

.....Cotten