How Many People...

[Jeff Higgins]

...would even know how to do this anymore? Starting a 1947 Knucklehead chopper. There's a little more to it than simply thumbing a starter button...

Charming old bike, and what has to be one of the mellowest bikers I've ever seen:

[Zeke]

I would break my leg.

[wswartzwel]

One of my customers had one of those that i worked on occasionally. I hated starting it, and when i was able to fire it up I was always slow to turn it off. So glad he sold it

[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.

[Bill Douglas]

I enjoyed that. Great guy doing the talking. He reminds me of Hickok45.

[DaveE]

Originally Posted by Jeff Higgins

...would even know how to do this anymore? Starting a 1947 Knucklehead chopper. There's a little more to it than simply thumbing a starter button...

Charming old bike, and what has to be one of the mellowest bikers I've ever seen:

I’ve been watching this guy’s evo rebuild videos. Because I have to rebuilt my evo.

[wdfifteen]

Fun video.
I had a BMW R-50 back in the day. The Bing carbs had a little "tickler" valve that flooded the carb. On a cold day I had to push the ticklers until gas ran out of the carbs. Then it would fire right up.

Who cares how many people can run an old bike (or car)? The less they know about how to run it the less likely they'll be able to steal it.
If you don't know enough to pull the "C" knob on the dash you'll never start my Dodge truck.

[masraum]

I'm not a motorcycle guy, but that's super cool.

[icemann427]

Thanks Jeff, I really enjoyed that!

[doug_porsche]

I had a hero once, who I never met, who I saw come out of a bar, reach over and flip the kick,starter pedal out and then proceeded to start his HD using his arm on the kick starter.

I though How cool is that! Mental note: don't get anywhere near that guy.

[Captain Ahab Jr]

Originally Posted by masraum

I'm not a motorcycle guy, but that's super cool.

Me too!

[Jeff Higgins]

Originally Posted by Zeke

I would break my leg.

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.

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.

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.

[Pazuzu]

Originally Posted by doug_porsche

I had a hero once, who I never met, who I saw come out of a bar, reach over and flip the kick,starter pedal out and then proceeded to start his HD using his arm on the kick starter.

I though How cool is that! Mental note: don't get anywhere near that guy.

That was like the first time I saw someone shifting their chopper by reaching WAYYY down and hand shifting the transmission with a lever on the tranny, which was only about 8 inches long. I guess they're called jockey shifters? One way or the other, that dude was a badass for driving in traffic like that.

[javadog]

Interesting guy.

[flatbutt]

Anybody else here ever been catapulted over the handlebars by an AMF Sportster? Man I was (am) so light that I had to kneel on the seat with my left knee and drop my body weight on that kicker. Sold that thing pretty quickly.

I remember the mixed feelings I had when the electric leg became standard. By then I had become very proficient at starting a stalled bike before the cagers started going around me cursing and honking all the way.

[Porsche-O-Phile]

Very cool - and love the color. Saddlebag looks odd but overall a nice looking bike.

[herr_oberst]

Nice guy. It'd probably be fun to hang out with someone like this who builds choppers, as opposed to the Billy Lanes and Paul Teutels who got all the money and glory back in the day.....

Love the easygoing way he tells the people who don't like the color to f themselves!
That is a skill I wish I had.

[Wetwork]

Many of our pickups, motorcycles and tractors we had to park, and leave parked, at the top of the hill...

I hated the motorcycles the most, you always felt if you pushed it or rolled it just a bit more it would take...

A few months ago some guy asked me to jump start his Miata. I didn't have the jumper cables, so I offered to push him. He had no idea what I was talking about. So I explained it and started pushing, I had to yell at him to keep his foot off the brake. Anyway I did it and the guy couldn't believe it worked. He especially couldn't believe I could push his car all by myself. I weigh exactly 135lbs soaking wet. Pretty proud of that feat if I don't say so myself.-WW

[Jeff Higgins]

Originally Posted by flatbutt

Anybody else here ever been catapulted over the handlebars by an AMF Sportster? Man I was (am) so light that I had to kneel on the seat with my left knee and drop my body weight on that kicker. Sold that thing pretty quickly.

I remember the mixed feelings I had when the electric leg became standard. By then I had become very proficient at starting a stalled bike before the cagers started going around me cursing and honking all the way.

Heh heh heh... yup, this one has been trying to break my leg since 1980, and two more prior to that. This one is by far the worst of the lot, but it's my own damn fault. You see, I felt compelled to install a set of 10:1 compression Wiseco pistons along with a set of Andrews cams, in their "R5" grind. They have so much lift you have to shorten the tops of the guides so the keepers don't hit them... So yeah, no way to retard ignition, no compression release, high compression, big nasty cams - not a lot of guys can even get this thing running. I stand next to it and jump with both legs, right foot on the kicker and left dangling behind it. No straddling the seat, no knee on the seat. And you better show some commitment - it senses fear...

Originally Posted by herr_oberst

Nice guy. It'd probably be fun to hang out with someone like this who builds choppers, as opposed to the Billy Lanes and Paul Teutels who got all the money and glory back in the day.....

Love the easygoing way he tells the people who don't like the color to f themselves!
That is a skill I wish I had.

Yeah, no kidding. This guy is the real "real deal". Just a quiet, unassuming, very knowledgable enthusiast. There are plenty of them in the "biker" world, in spite of the reality TV bullschitt. Same with the hot rod car culture, or any of that kind of stuff. The real engine that drives it are guys like this.

[Chocaholic]

Hard to call a Ural modern technology, but I kickstart her every time I ride. This pic was from a couple hours ago. Kick starter is the horizontal bar located about a foot below the seat. It pivots out so you can stand facing the bike as you jump on the kicker. Full disclosure...she has electric start too, but anyone can choke carbs and press a button.

Good fun and much easier than Jeff!s Sporty. But it’s only 750cc’s and a whopping 40 hp...so it doesn’t sound as good as Jeff’s Sporty and wont win many races. Or as Uralistas like to say, it sounds like a sewing machine but it sure is slow!