Suzuki GT550 kicker as a substitute for the no longer available RGM made T-160 style.

Baz, That bike sounds really interesting. I have a thing for modified bikes that look as though they are factory like yours. I have a 1st generation Ducati Multistrada with a 749 steel tank and custom bodywork and many other mods. That is my favorite bike to ride fast. My other bike is a ‘79 R100/7 with “toaster tank” bodywork, solo seat, wire wheels and a double disc front end off an r80. The thing I like about the BMW is how quiet and relaxed it is …….and the rare period saddlebags with chrome wraparound guard. My “cruiser”.
Thanks everyone for the information on the kickstart options. I finally got a message back from RGM and they say they currently have a batch at the platers so they will be available again. When that is and what the price will be in the states are other questions that I can not answer so I am going to have a go at my own modified kicker. Solving problems on these old bikes is half the fun of owning them.
 
tinkertoy said:
Baz, That bike sounds really interesting. I have a thing for modified bikes that look as though they are factory like yours. I have a 1st generation Ducati Multistrada with a 749 steel tank and custom bodywork and many other mods. That is my favorite bike to ride fast. My other bike is a ‘79 R100/7 with “toaster tank” bodywork, solo seat, wire wheels and a double disc front end off an r80. The thing I like about the BMW is how quiet and relaxed it is …….and the rare period saddlebags with chrome wraparound guard. My “cruiser”.
Thanks everyone for the information on the kickstart options. I finally got a message back from RGM and they say they currently have a batch at the platers so they will be available again. When that is and what the price will be in the states are other questions that I can not answer so I am going to have a go at my own modified kicker. Solving problems on these old bikes is half the fun of owning them.
Click to expand...

tinkertoy said:
Baz, That bike sounds really interesting. I have a thing for modified bikes that look as though they are factory like yours. I have a 1st generation Ducati Multistrada with a 749 steel tank and custom bodywork and many other mods. That is my favorite bike to ride fast. My other bike is a ‘79 R100/7 with “toaster tank” bodywork, solo seat, wire wheels and a double disc front end off an r80. The thing I like about the BMW is how quiet and relaxed it is …….and the rare period saddlebags with chrome wraparound guard. My “cruiser”.
Thanks everyone for the information on the kickstart options. I finally got a message back from RGM and they say they currently have a batch at the platers so they will be available again. When that is and what the price will be in the states are other questions that I can not answer so I am going to have a go at my own modified kicker. Solving problems on these old bikes is half the fun of owning them.
Click to expand...
Hi, I made a kick starter for my old matchless when it had a knackered spline, but it had a hole I used, for the boss and a 1/4 bolt, I used 5/8 304 stainless rod and I just bent some kinks in it, on my 37 ton homemade wood splitter and tiged it all together, I realise yours needs all the pivot hinge and detent, but it can be all fabbed up. Cheers.
 
Last edited:
tinkertoy said:
Baz, That bike sounds really interesting. I have a thing for modified bikes that look as though they are factory like yours. I have a 1st generation Ducati Multistrada with a 749 steel tank and custom bodywork and many other mods. That is my favorite bike to ride fast. My other bike is a ‘79 R100/7 with “toaster tank” bodywork, solo seat, wire wheels and a double disc front end off an r80. The thing I like about the BMW is how quiet and relaxed it is …….and the rare period saddlebags with chrome wraparound guard. My “cruiser”.
Thanks everyone for the information on the kickstart options. I finally got a message back from RGM and they say they currently have a batch at the platers so they will be available again. When that is and what the price will be in the states are other questions that I can not answer so I am going to have a go at my own modified kicker. Solving problems on these old bikes is half the fun of owning them.
Click to expand...
I have a BMW r100 rs
 

Attachments

  • Suzuki GT550 kicker as a substitute for the no longer available RGM made T-160 style.
    IMG_20200418_170510921.jpg
    448 KB · Views: 46
tinkertoy said:
Baz, That bike sounds really interesting. I have a thing for modified bikes that look as though they are factory like yours. I have a 1st generation Ducati Multistrada with a 749 steel tank and custom bodywork and many other mods. That is my favorite bike to ride fast. My other bike is a ‘79 R100/7 with “toaster tank” bodywork, solo seat, wire wheels and a double disc front end off an r80. The thing I like about the BMW is how quiet and relaxed it is …….and the rare period saddlebags with chrome wraparound guard. My “cruiser”.
Thanks everyone for the information on the kickstart options. I finally got a message back from RGM and they say they currently have a batch at the platers so they will be available again. When that is and what the price will be in the states are other questions that I can not answer so I am going to have a go at my own modified kicker. Solving problems on these old bikes is half the fun of owning them.
Click to expand...
A couple years ago I built a unit BSA gold star
 

Attachments

  • Suzuki GT550 kicker as a substitute for the no longer available RGM made T-160 style.
    image.jpg
    504.4 KB · Views: 49
  • Suzuki GT550 kicker as a substitute for the no longer available RGM made T-160 style.
    IMG_20220814_150137773~2.jpg
    536.3 KB · Views: 49
o0norton0o said:
No, I had an old kicker who's splines were "shot" that I had replaced with a new kicker (both the banana shaped because I have dunstall exhausts and they need the extra clearance of the banana shape ones) I cut the new one and cut the old one in a different spot, so the welding would give me a longer kicker with a good splined knuckle.. Honestly, It's not a process for the faint of heart for a lot of reasons, and I don't think for somewhere less than 20% more leverage it makes all that much difference. It also requires a leap of faith of cutting 2 kickers to make 1 🤞

Here's what it looks like. You can see it's a little rough from grinding...

View attachment 130966


That's why I also retarded the timing and I think that the retarding of the timing did more to make it easier to kick over than the longer kicker... When your timing is advanced, the spark creates the expansion pressure before you can get the piston to TDC. By retarding it a little bit, your kick isn't fighting the early combustion pressure as much when you kick it... at least that's my theory...

You can't really tell that it's longer to look at the bike

View attachment 130967
Click to expand...


Years ago i had a proddy racer kickstarter pedal, it was about 3" longer than standard- worked well
 
mdt-son said:
Out of curiosity, what does it take to fit a triple engine in an OIF made for a twin?
Sorry for offtopic question.

- Knut
Click to expand...
If you want to use the original bottom engine mount then you need to remove a small part of the crankcase casting on the gearbox
Then you need new front and rear engine plates
 
My brain was thinking "This won't work - the kicker is on the LEFT!"

Then I remembered, it's not a T-500 (kicker on the left), it's a GT-550 (kicker on the right)...

In the inimitable words of Gilda Radner as 'Emily Latella'- "...never mind"
 
grandpaul said:
My brain was thinking "This won't work - the kicker is on the LEFT!"

Then I remembered, it's not a T-500 (kicker on the left), it's a GT-550 (kicker on the right)...

In the inimitable words of Gilda Radner as 'Emily Latella'- "...never mind"
Click to expand...
It depends which way you sit on the bike surely!!!
🤣🤣🤣🤣
I hated the left kickstart on my t500 cafe racer as I had clip ons midway between the top and bottom yoke
Just didn't seem natural kicking with my left and reaching down to the throttle
 
grandpaul said:
My brain was thinking "This won't work - the kicker is on the LEFT!"

Then I remembered, it's not a T-500 (kicker on the left), it's a GT-550 (kicker on the right)...

In the inimitable words of Gilda Radner as 'Emily Latella'- "...never mind"
Click to expand...

Glad you mentioned Gilda, have not thought about her in quite some time. I thought she was hilarious. She did this bit once about Studio 54 nightclub and all the “beuitifull” people there …..and how sweaty and disgusting, especially when they took off their Italian shoes to expose their ragged weeping blisters.
I have never had to shift on the opposite side in the opposite shift pattern so hope I don’t do what the previous owner warned me about……….upshifting on corner entry when you thinking that you are going to get some rear brake.
 
tinkertoy said:
I have never had to shift on the opposite side in the opposite shift pattern so hope I don’t do what the previous owner warned me about……….upshifting on corner entry when you thinking that you are going to get some rear brake.
Click to expand...
It’s a good way of learning that you can actually take corners faster than you previously realised !
 
baz said:
I have a BMW r100 rs
Click to expand...
tinkertoy said:
Glad you mentioned Gilda, have not thought about her in quite some time. I thought she was hilarious. She did this bit once about Studio 54 nightclub and all the “beuitifull” people there …..and how sweaty and disgusting, especially when they took off their Italian shoes to expose their ragged weeping blisters.
I have never had to shift on the opposite side in the opposite shift pattern so hope I don’t do what the previous owner warned me about……….upshifting on corner entry when you thinking that you are going to get some rear brake.o
Click to expand...

tinkertoy said:
Grandpaul, Guess what, you were right! I don’t think this is going to work to try to weld the suzuki “knuckle to the Norton spline. The Norton spline is split vertically and the suzuki is split horizontally What this means is the head of the Norton pitch bolt is righ where you would want to weld the Suzuki knuckle. Also the Norton arm offsets to the rear of the shaft while the suzuki hinged knuckle offsets to the front. The only possible approach I can see is to rotate the Suzuki knuckle counter clockwise ( like 50 degrees) enough to miss the Norton pinch bolt. I will have to have the bike assembled to see where that makes the arm end up. That poster that mentioned this as a solution must have been halucinating or remembering what someone else claims to have done. In any event the job would require lots of carefull cutting and grinding to get things in their proper position. That RGM part is looking pretty good about now.
Click to expand...
 
baz said:
It's a b50 engine
I re made the rear engine mount for the wide lug engine
I wanted to make what BSA could have made if the gold star had continued and became unit construction like the A10 to A65 etc
Plus I couldn't afford a gold star! 🤣🤣🤣
Click to expand...
Well you did a great job of it. The B50 engines are capable of delivering as much punch as a pre-unit Goldie, possibly more, being longer stroke. People say the rods are weak and it may be true, but I thrashed mine mercilessly for 19000 miles, blissfully unaware of this, and as far as I know the engine is still fine, 38 years after I sold the bike.
 

Similar threads

M
No longer available.
Replies
0
Views
299
Mark Savage
M
S
Avon Tires No Longer Available?
2 3
Replies
55
Views
8,663
Flatspot
Flatspot
Back
Top