is it possible to put a kick start

I also stand corrected it was electronic ignition, not electric start.

 

Not funny nor is this too far off. Last summer I had taken my two favorite girls out in my boat, equiped with a 85HP outboard. The starter was binding bad due to a misalignment(didn't know at the time) and I noted the cutouts on the top of the flywheel. After puttering for around 20 minutes while we floated in the Chesepeake Bay, the girls were begining to get nervous so I took a section of rope, wrapped around 4-5 wraps and told my daughter to hit the starter button at the same time I pulled, for that little bit of help.....the first pull it popped...the 2nd it started....we went STRAIGHT to the dock after we got it running.The engine is a triple cylinder 2 stroke, around 900cc.....and it was not fun pulling it with a rope wrapped around your hand but it did work.

And to whoever mentioned going back to breaker points....after owning 2 1972 H1's, each with 3 set of points, NOTHANK YOU!!

The whole kickstart mechanism for one of my triples consists of a shaft, the return spring wrapped around that shaft, a groove for the end of the spring to sit it and an actuator gear that turns 1st gear....very simple. Not sure if it could work on a XJ but this is an interseting discussion.

I also had a GS750 suzuki inline 4 cylinder that had both electric and kick....and it was easier to start than almost ANY thumper. Not quite as easy as a 2 stroke but not very much more difficult then my 350 Honda twin either.

Fitz....I was laughing before I even finished reading about your Victor experience.....<LOL>.....guys, he's not exagerating a bit.....guys would actually be launched if they didn't A use the release and B kick it only on the compression stroke!
jeff

P.S. this pic is as the cases are reassembled so you are looking at the top of the case laying upsidedown. IE: the kick shaft extends out on the right side of the engine when it is installed.

 

May sound stupid but why not just install a fake one with an electric switch on the down stroke of the kickstart? If it's just for looks (apart from everyone on here knowing it was fake of course!) ???

 

The idea was to install a functional one. It wasn't about looks, it was about not wanting to keep on top of <<ahem er> rely on>>the alternator and battery.

 

Just learned (since I bought 2 XT500's) that the kick-to-crank ratio happens to be 9:1 on that particular bike. Which is close to my previous guess of the gear-up necessary. You would still need to kick the hell out of it IMHO.

A tuned-up XJ bump starts with little effort, for those who really (REALLY) want to eliminate the starter and big battery. A Lithium Ion pak weighs 3 LBS.

 

Haha just my view on so many people into the whole "ol school" bobber/chopper look going around at the mo (me included!) and just going for a look rather than functionality. My view is to get the right bike in the first place, but I admire the way you guys on this site try and solve things, good work!

 

I know I'm raising an old thread here, but I'm wondering why an XJ is so easy to push start, if it requires two engine cycles before the TCI will give spark? As long as its not super cold out, or it hasn't been ridden recently, mine will start pretty much immediately with just a bit of push.

 

Until recently all my bikes were kickers;DT250, RD350, & SR500. My XS850 has a kick starter and I use it often ...it's a satisfying feeling. I wish my XJ's had one.

 

This would be stupid funny. I want it.

 

Possibly stupid question.
If its kick start, what does that implicate as to the battery requirements?

 

Pull start. That's how they start snow mobiles, right? At least the ones I've ridden. I have often wished I had a kick start, my old CB 750 had both, electric and kick. I thought they stopped putting them on bikes because electric start became more reliable, but this thread makes me think other advances such as getting rid of points and whatever have made a kick start more trouble than it's worth.

Kind of a tangent, I was looking at the old Nissan Patrol (which in an early SUV that you don't see much of in the states, but popular overseas) and it still had a crank start. This had to have been like a 60's or 70's rig. Imagine hand cranking your 2012 Honda Accord because you left your lights on and the battery was dead. That's about how anachronistic kick starters will probably look to people in about twenty years.

 

Being able to crank start my car after I've left the lights on for too long would be a luxury. :roll: A crank or kick start is less perverted than one of those shake light flashlights in the dark. lol

 

That was back in the day when if you ran out of gas going up the hill they'd turn the car around and go up backward.

Grandma still has fun telling me about that........she's 95 and still on her own.

Dave f