kick start help
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sean
kick start help
i have a 1973 r60-5 that i have never been able to kick start. is there any one who can tell me how to step by step kick start this bike properly? thank you.
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Allan Atherton
Re: kick start help
In the /5 series the kick starter became a backup to the electric starter, in case the battery became too weak to turn
the engine over. Compared to the /2, the kick starter mechanism became less robust and less able to turn the larger journal-bearing /5 engines over. Also the using the kick starter requred that the engine be in a good state of tune, because you are not able to make many revolutions by kicking compared to the power of a good battery.
So I would avoid using the kick starter, and preserve it as an emergency method of starting. I did occasionally use my kick starter, to prove how well the engine was tuned and to preserve my skill.
To kick start, you need to prepare the engine as you would for electric starting, with the difference that if prepare poorly, you cannot just keep holding the starter button until it starts.
Open thepetcocks to fill the float bowls, open the throttle about 1/4 turn and give 3 priming kicks to pull gas into the cylinders, then tickle the floats for a count of 3 to raise the floats to a rich mixture, turn on the ignition, open the throttle just a tiny bit, and kick hard. Kick again hard if needed.
The strength of the first kick is important, as further kicking leads to flooding, which must be cleared by opening the throttle wide for a few kicks and then almost closing it for more kicks. Once the engine is flooded, it may be very tiring to start it with the kick starter.
the engine over. Compared to the /2, the kick starter mechanism became less robust and less able to turn the larger journal-bearing /5 engines over. Also the using the kick starter requred that the engine be in a good state of tune, because you are not able to make many revolutions by kicking compared to the power of a good battery.
So I would avoid using the kick starter, and preserve it as an emergency method of starting. I did occasionally use my kick starter, to prove how well the engine was tuned and to preserve my skill.
To kick start, you need to prepare the engine as you would for electric starting, with the difference that if prepare poorly, you cannot just keep holding the starter button until it starts.
Open thepetcocks to fill the float bowls, open the throttle about 1/4 turn and give 3 priming kicks to pull gas into the cylinders, then tickle the floats for a count of 3 to raise the floats to a rich mixture, turn on the ignition, open the throttle just a tiny bit, and kick hard. Kick again hard if needed.
The strength of the first kick is important, as further kicking leads to flooding, which must be cleared by opening the throttle wide for a few kicks and then almost closing it for more kicks. Once the engine is flooded, it may be very tiring to start it with the kick starter.