New Commando Electric Start Conversion

In my latest copy of Roadholder (the UK NOC magazine) there is a letter and a couple of photos from Hervé Hamon who says he is currently developing a new electric start conversion for the Commando that consists of a new inner primary cover, starter and alternator.
Hervé Hamon's brother Paul makes the Alton dynamo replacement AC generators for British bikes, so presumably the electric starter conversions will be sold under the Alton brand name? http://www.alton-france.com/en/index.php

How many E-Start conversions do we need? With Fred's that makes at least two I know of.

swooshdave said:

How many E-Start conversions do we need? With Fred's that makes at least two I know of.

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The Old Britts starter conversion is rather expensive at $3,000 to $4,000, yes it does also include a belt drive, apparently a certain amount of machining is necessary to fit it. This new Hamon kit can be installed in about 2 hours, includes the starter and alternator and leaves the outer case and presumably all other parts unmodified? No idea on the price of so far though.

swooshdave, do those two include Kenny Dreer's VR880 / Spyke setup, or is there another one?

Also, is Fred selling his yet, or is it still in development?

grandpaul said:

swooshdave, do those two include Kenny Dreer's VR880 / Spyke setup, or is there another one?

Also, is Fred selling his yet, or is it still in development?

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Kenny's aren't for sale, so I'm not including them.

Fred says his are based on Kenny's.

This starter is a modified version of Bob Oswald's (Quiet Power Drive) that he has developed and sold for a number of years. This is the starter system that Kenny Dreer used on his VR-880 Commandos.

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http://www.oldbritts.com/starter.html

Sooo... I'm counting two.

Well, just for argument's sake; Bob designed Kenny's system, and Fred says his is based on that design?

Sounds like we are back down to just one that is actually for sale at this moment.

...or what am I missing?

grandpaul said:

Well, just for argument's sake; Bob designed Kenny's system, and Fred says his is based on that design?

Sounds like we are back down to just one that is actually for sale at this moment.

...or what am I missing?

Click to expand...

Having not read the article originally mentioned we are experiencing what is known on the internet as "grand speculation".

But the post does say that Hervé Hamon is developing the system, not Bob.

I'm sticking with 2 unless something like facts start rearing their ugly heads.

"is developing".... and "is offering for sale" are two different things.

...those darned pesky facts!

I guess you'd have to really love your Norton to spend three Gs on an electric start. I was thinking of trying to find a factory one before I got mine starting reasonably.
Perhaps with folks who have more income than I do these days that isn't such a big number. I spent a fair bit for new carbs, $140 for the kickstart, coils, and the Tri Spark, but nowhere near three grand. The carbs pretty much needed work anyway, but the Tri Spark is the jewel. (Thanks for the advice guys).

To be sure, several thousand dollars to add e-start is a proposition that only the select can afford.

However, the crowd I just termed "select" regulary gets new members who all of a sudden (or over time) find they can no longer kickstart thier beloved bikes, be it for medical reasons, or just plain old age and relative frailty.

In these cases, spending a couple thousand dollars to extend your riding for several more years is money well spent; I'm pretty sure the majority of us agree on that!

I'm blessed in that I have my Mark III Interstate & Triumph TSS both with good working factory e-start, besides my custom that currently has the MkIII primary/e-start and will eventually have the Dreer/Spyke setup. By the time I have to give up kickstarting, I'll be getting rid of all my e-start Japanese and other bikes before these choice few old Brits.

I'm thinking at that point perhaps I should consider selling my Norton and buying a Commando with e start. Everything else I own has an electric leg, I admit to watching Ebay for all the electric components.

I feel just the opposite. I love kickstart. When I first bought the Norton a couple years ago, a long time after my last kickstart bike (1978 Suzuki GS 750!), I literally had dreams about kickstarting a few times!

I'm weird, I know....!

If it is part of the old time fun have at it. I have friends who love mechanical advance ignition as it gives them move of an antique feel. These bikes are all about fun anyway.