Quote:
Originally Posted by Zeke
I would break my leg.
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The kicking part is actually pretty easy on the "big twins" - the old Flatheads, Knucklheads, Panheads, and Shovelheads. They are big, lazy, low compression motors with mild cams. The knowledge of just what to do before kicking it is the hard part.
The other family of Harleys, the Sportster family, are another thing altogether. They have a lot more compression and much more aggressive cams so not only are they harder to kick, they are prone to kick back. Especially the later ones that dispensed with the external ignition housing, since once the points were moved inside the right timing case, there was no way to retard the ignition. I've been riding those things since 1976. I've been bitten more times than I can remember, sometimes quite painfully.
Quote:
Originally Posted by Evans, Marv
Cool old bike! My old '59 AJS was an easy old bike to start. Turn on the fuel valve, crack the throttle a quarter inch, and kick it. Mine had a magneto. I wonder if that bike had one.
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Harley was actually somewhat of a motorcycle engineering frontrunner at one time, believe it or not. One of their contributions was battery coil ignition to replace the magneto, the first to employ it on a motorcycle. That little housing he retards to start the bike holds the points - it's not a magneto.
Speaking of pioneering technologies, they also produced the first unit construction engine/primary/transmission assembly, wherein they share the same cases. They introduced it on the "K" model in the early 1950's, the predecessor to the Sportster.