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If you own a vintage bike, it is easy to assume that the new generation knows something about them. For some reason, "old reliable" didn't want to start after taking first place (Pre-Evo) in our local HOG Rodeo bike show. I kicked and kicked...being a smoker...to a breathless conclusion. So, I made a hand written note and stuck it up on the windshield...."Experience the real Harley Days! Kick start a REAL vintage Harley! $1.00 a kick!"I got 11 "kids" to try their luck (under my supervision) at a buck each before it started! That's +$11.00! How many times does a person MAKE money at a show other than vendors! By the way, it starts fine now...it just loves to tease me. If the Duo was a cat, it would crap in my shoe every once in a while just because it is MY cat.
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LMAO! Great idea. Years ago I had a kick only sportster. If I stopped for a few beers it made sure I'd have to kick it until the effects from the alcohol wore off. One night it sobered up half the bar. -
halarious-- your giving me ideas.
What is also strange is that many guys wives or significant others have never kick started an engine. Just ask around - it's strange. What's with that. We have to change that.Comment
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It's not uncommon to have someone ask me where the "other" pedal is for my bike......Comment
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Wasn't that the whole idea of having bikes kick start in the first place? Too drunk to start is too drunk to ride.Comment
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Until technology condensed the electric start, there wasn't much room to place anything but kick start. The larger battery needed was a problem too. I like em both incorporated. Nothin like a kick start when all is sound on a perfectly tuned engine though. Adjust timing, Prime, choke, compression stroke, ignition on, kick once, presto !! Varoommmmmmmmmmm !!
Paps
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Reminds me of when I had a 1926 Model T.
I picked that up when I was in college over in Indiana in the early '70's.
I'd drive that thing to work in the summer, and the girls at work would want a ride. So I'd tell them the only way they could have a ride would be if they cranked it for me. So I'd get in, and they'd start cranking, or should I say. try to crank. After a few cranks, I'd put my heel down on the starter switch (Optional in 1926) and the old T would fire right up. I don't think any of the girls had a hint of what was going on. I still get a chuckle thinking about that.Comment
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Great stories.
I remember Pete telling me that the IND elect start 1914 failed due to the battery tech of the time. The battery plates would bounce around and/or crack or something due to vibration. The system itself worked fine. Failed to catch on due to road conditions and battery tech I guess.
I guess people were very used to mags at the time.Comment
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I have found that kick starting a vintage bike is directly related to how many people are watching. I have started my 38EL countless times on the first kick at home with no one around. I once made the mistake of riding to a Hooters "bike night". Close to a hundred people watching - yada yada- had to call the wife and trailer it home where (of course) it started right up.
You just won the trophy and a big crowd. No way is your baby going to start.
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That problem drives me nuts. Which usually initiates a complete fault finding mission to specifically find the problem. So that it never happens again - or if it does you can quickly resolve specifically why it's happening and fix it. Loose wire, dirty points, low battery-slow leak, whatever. Very fustrating.
The more guys you honestly talk to in the club will help you learn that your not alone and some point someone else has had simular problems. Sometimes very simple solutions.
I agree - it's so embarrassing when it happens and you can't resolve it for lack of tools or time.Comment
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I have found that the longer I own a bike the fewer problems I have with it. Starting is the biggest hurdle because a million things can make a bike hard, if not impossible to start. My Panhead starts every time and is as predictable as a watch, but I can assure you, it wasn't always that reliable. When I first put it together I bounced on it like a monkey until I would nearly pass out. The problem turned out to be a loose intake nipple in the rear head and high blood pressure. Even after those things were addressed it was still unpredictable. I always carried extra plugs and a wrench due to fouling. Eventually I found the carb settings the bike and I liked and that ended the fouling. A lingering problem was not knowing what the engine wanted when it was cold or hot, and then throw in Florida humidity on a clammy August night with 12 Miller High Lifes. Judgment becomes a big issue. Over the years you develope a bond with your motorcycle after countless problems and discoveries that gives you an instinctual feel for what it wants.
I can also tell you what doens't work. Lucky charms, like a rabbit's foot, dice shifter ball, or penny loafers with dimes. Threats don't work because motorycles do not like profanity, and the final option for the desperate broke down, dirty biker with a hard starting Harley. . . . Prayer. Prayer doesn't work because God does not want his children riding motorcycles.Comment
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Yup - that pretty much sums it up. I'm always blown away when a guy sells a bike giving up on some mechanical gremlin.
That last statement is a little over the top. Try to leave religion, politics, etc. out of it.Comment
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More Suspense
I'm laughing at all of your observations....so true! But one more element to make giving it a try exciting. You MUST throw in the story of being thrown over the windshield by a compression back kick! It adds to the "machismo," IF you are the one who starts it. The guy who started it did circles in self-admiration as I snatched the buck from his hand! - azpaul50Comment
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didnt ***** ride a camel ?wonder if it had 1 hump or 2?..................Comment
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*****= hesus .......kindaComment
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