Dare I remove the kickstart?

I was glad I retained my kickstart last week. I was doing short stops and repeated starts around town so the battery got a bit discharged until Alton wouldn't turn over engine and the nylon dowels in the anti backfire device stripped. Kickstart came to the rescue and we got home ok.
 
Tonight I had my first ride sans kicker and the extra space available for my right boot was wonderful. It was great to now be able to put all of the ball of my foot on the footrest with nothing getting in the way.
What was especially pleasing was when I parked up, and when I was taking off my crash helmet 2 guys approached and started to talk about their Commandos. One had a mk3 and remarked that when it was new it had stickers in it saying it was an ‘assisted’ start. I showed them mine without the kicker and said I had full confidence in the CNW starter. They remarked how good the bike sounded on peashooters, I have to agree, it really roars when opened up.
 
These days, cars do not have crank handles. I was coming back from Tasmania and my wife had the radio on while waiting in the queue for the ferry. When it came time to move, the car would not start. The guy with the battery trolley ran up and started my car in about two seconds flat. The next morning when we arrived in Melbourne, I was in the car deck. I told the guy in the car behind me i might have a problem. But the car started OK.
With a bike, the battery has to be as dead as a maggot, if you could not start it, with a bump.
 
Landspeedracer said:
Tonight I had my first ride sans kicker and the extra space available for my right boot was wonderful. It was great to now be able to put all of the ball of my foot on the footrest with nothing getting in the way.
What was especially pleasing was when I parked up, and when I was taking off my crash helmet 2 guys approached and started to talk about their Commandos. One had a mk3 and remarked that when it was new it had stickers in it saying it was an ‘assisted’ start. I showed them mine without the kicker and said I had full confidence in the CNW starter. They remarked how good the bike sounded on peashooters, I have to agree, it really roars when opened up.
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Nice one!

And a big +1 from me re peashooters, Norton’s just sound so ‘right’ with them. Kinda, you know, like a Norton !
 
gortnipper said:
With Mike's pipe it sounds like a Norton, too. A race Norton.
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It does. But on the road I just found mine too ‘raspy’. Maybe mine is worse because of the Maney race cam? Or maybe I’m just getting old, I’m currently fitting a quieter silencer to my CCM cos I don’t like the noise with the loud can. Maybe I need to see a doctor…
 
Fast Eddie said:
It does. But on the road I just found mine too ‘raspy’. Maybe mine is worse because of the Maney race cam? Or maybe I’m just getting old, I’m currently fitting a quieter silencer to my CCM cos I don’t like the noise with the loud can. Maybe I need to see a doctor…
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Dude. What did u say?





Dare I remove the kickstart?
 
When I ride my bikes it’s always hearing aids out and earplugs in. Even then I can hear the pipes as loud. It does sound like a proper old British bike should sound, especially as the engine is in itself quiet unlike so many of my Triumphs were (a good rattle and it’s a fast motor we used to say)
 
ashman said:
Back in 79 a low life stole my seat and kicker off my Norton and in them days getting parts from OS was a nightmare and took over 4 months to get a new replacement kicker, but being young and my Norton was the only transport I had I got good at bump starting my Norton and being skinny built I found very quickly that bump starting in 4th was the most easier to fire up with just a short push and once the clutch was released it fired up but you had to be quick on the clutch lever.
I like my push button starts on my modern Triumphs as well my dirt bike but there is something about a old bike with a kicker, and the people who still have to kick to light the motor up, how well the bike is tuned, one kick to start, then there are the ones who know how to kick their bike to life without much effort, we are a dying breed the ones who still kick and the best thing about being able to kick start your bike is if parked anywhere you draw a crowd just to watch you fire it up or listening to the light whispers of "wonder how many kicks will it take" and the surprised look on their faces when it fires up on the first kick and with my Norton that's every time and after 46 years of kick starting my Norton I think I got it down pat.
As I have said us kickers are a dying breed.

Ashley
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Everyone seems to like the kicker :), and the younger crowd sometimes is totally confused hey what's he doing never seen that before
ha ha
 
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I failed to add more to this thread, a short while after I’d removed the kickstart I had a fuse failure to the starter motor - my fault in no way anything to do with the excellent CNW kit - and so I splashed out on an RGM folding kickstarter ‘just in case’ and it is not in the way at all when folded

It hasn’t been used yet either.
 
Yamaha xs1100 came with an emergency kickstart under the seat
 
The kickstarter on my bike is still in place, the Alton starter works fine, but since I read of several people who have issues with the Alton, I won't take chances.
Bump starting will not be an option for me, and since I live in a place that is as flat as a pancake, the only other option is to carry a inflatable hill.
 
concours said:
1979 had a shaft protruding with a rubber cover.
1980 the shaft was gone.
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Yep it had a D shape with an abutment type bolt from what I remember
Did you have to remove the footrest or did I imagine that?
I know it was very easy to kick over being a 4
 
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