kick start

[Desmond]

I've just got back from having my Aprilia RS250 MOT'd still with a grin on my face, in part from the silliness of the two-stroke and in part from a comedy moment during the test.

Our local MOT centre employed this young Polish lad about six or seven years ago. He's a lovely, friendly bloke who had limited English when he first arrived but now speaks broad Yorkshire and gives as good as he gets. He loves his sports bikes and there is generally some banter during the test, though being young (mid-20s?) if it's not a post-2000 bike he can be a little lost. My RS is a 95 plate from the Max Biaggi era...

So he's fiddling and twiddling about in a way that I think is a bit odd, seemingly testing my headlight beams way too much. I'm getting a bit perplexed as to what could possibly be so wrong with them that he want to check them out this much. He looks up worried. "Your bike is not starting," he claims. At this point I am even more confused. "But you haven't tried yet," I reply. "The starter is not working," he says. I start laughing and pull out the kick start. "Try this," I suggest. "Only this?" eyes wide as he gasps in surprise.

And the 'problem' with the lights - the only button that looked like a 'start' switch was the 'pass light' one.

Now I'm feeling really old, knowing that there are grown ups out there who don't know that kick starts were the only way to start a bike. On the plus side, one of his work mates (more my age and also a biker) walked in to see what all the hilarity was about and almost wet himself laughing when he found out; I suspect he'll be dining out on that for a while!

[Zak]

Very funny!

But are kick starts really from an era gone by to someone in their 20's? Makes me feel old, although not as old as the fact that not only do the majority of guys that work for me have no idea who Rod and Emu are (don't ask how they came up), but one of the girls that works for me was born in 1994?!?!? I've been in full time employment longer than that!!!!! Youth, wasted on the young!

[FRASER24]

Unfortunately I can beat that, I guy at work who is 32 years old and rides a VTR did not know who Barry Sheene was, speechless does not describe it !!

[Desmo xxx]

Kick start wow! That reminds me of my RGV 250 white/blue smoke
Smell of two stroke oil lovely:spin:

Kick start wasn't that a program from the 80s? :moto:

[Nickj]

Unfortunately I can beat that, I guy at work who is 32 years old and rides a VTR did not know who Barry Sheene was, speechless does not describe it !!

^i^ Ahh Barry Scott and Barry Sheene, masters of the household cleaning products :biggrin:

[spacemonkey]

Kick start wow! That reminds me of my RGV 250 white/blue smoke
Smell of two stroke oil lovely:spin:

Kick start wasn't that a program from the 80s? :moto:

And an equally dodgy game on the Spectrum..... :biggrin:

[utopia]

Kickstart was also the name of a tv indoor trials programme.

And the name of Ogri's dog.

[manwithredbike]

lol. i remember a time riding two different triumphs with kick starts and gear shifts on different sides. i'd often jump on one and look for a kick start lever on the wrong side as well as slam on the brakes when trying to shift down. funny days......... not

[Desmond]

Kick start wow! That reminds me of my RGV 250 white/blue smoke
Smell of two stroke oil lovely:spin:

Kick start wasn't that a program from the 80s? :moto:

I learned on a RG 125 Gamma. Am sure it wasn't 100% legal, even back then. Absolute scream of a ride. Wouldn't go anywhere unless you had at least 9k on the rev clock, and when you hit the 12k power band it flew... or so I thought at the time :) Used to turn up at work stinking of two-stroke. Happy days!

[bluestoesonnose]

Aprilia RS, I gave up two smokes in the late 80's with a 350 YPVS

[Scott1]

I learned on a RG 125 Gamma. Am sure it wasn't 100% legal, even back then. Absolute scream of a ride. Wouldn't go anywhere unless you had at least 9k on the rev clock, and when you hit the 12k power band it flew... or so I thought at the time :) Used to turn up at work stinking of two-stroke. Happy days!

I also had an RG 125 Gamma, I deristricted it then had it Bob Farnham stage two tuned, I used to scream round the Isle of Wight on it, best fun I ever had on a bike but same as above, it either did 11 mph or 111, it used to melt pistons quite regularly as well.

Equally embarrasing, I can't even work out how to switch the lights off on my GT1000.

[gary tompkins]

The GT1000 may have the lights wired to be on all the time

Recent bikes don't have an on/off switch

[Desmond]

The GT1000 may have the lights wired to be on all the time

Recent bikes don't have an on/off switch

That's something else I still can't quite get used to. Each time I start up and am ready to set off, I sit on my 796 and think that something is wrong, that I've forgotten to do something... then it dawns on me that I haven't switched on my lights but I don't need to because they come on automatically. Even after two years it still doesn't feel right.

As for having no reserve fuel tap, this is my second bike without one and I still not trusting of that fuel light. On each fill up I still calculate my milage to the next fill up. That said, you can't forget to switch the tap back off and still think you have reserve when you haven't! Maybe it is progress :)

[Scott1]

The GT1000 may have the lights wired to be on all the time

Recent bikes don't have an on/off switch

Thanks, that solves that then, it also has an automatic choke which I like, something Monsters don't seem to ever have had.

[Nottsbiker]

I can beat that, went to Ducati Museum with my know it all dad who'd done nothing but spout on about every part of the tour up until his point and didnt recognise Mike Hailwoods bike when the tour guide said to him "of course you'll know who's bike this is being from England" and he said "Havent got a clue"

Oh the shame!

[PedroII]

HA ha, well I'm 26 and kick starts are no mystery. Remember in my teens mates of mine having DT50's and ancient Zundapps and Sachs (one of the rich kids had a CR80) all with kick starts.
Reminded me how I must get a 2 stroke myself!

[Starter Sprag]

My lads CR250 is a kickstart only, just had the motor out for overhaul !

My Royal Enfields 500 Trials is a kickstart & electric start, just fitted new trial tyres to it today !

My 900 Monster is getting its winter service - All bikes ready for 2013

Kickstart was my favourite character in BIKE

[FLATTOP]

How about this one then chaps my first bikes kickstart doubled up as the gear lever as well gears were one up rest down and it was an absolute shocker of a bike a CZ125 i paid £15 for it, it was a choice of that or a Cossack 175 i opted for the CZ because i thought spares would be easier than the cossack, crazy memories of my mate picking me up in his ice cream van shoving the bike in the back as it was always breaking down lol.

[Desmond]

... gears were one up rest down...

a race gearbox?!

[utopia]

One up and the rest down used to be the std gearchange pattern.
All Brit bikes prior to about 1975 had that...and on the righthand side too.
Made things a little confusing if you also owned a jap bike with the now familiar one down, the rest up gearchange pattern, on the left side.
Even worse if you were a learner with a sidecar outfit (legal at the time, no matter what engine size) as an intended downshift could apply the brakes instead, causing the weird sidecar steering characteristics to kick in and make the bike turn sharply to the right...not the ideal thing on the approach to a left hander.

[gary tompkins]

The gearchange was already on the right on my 350 morini. I reversed the linkage to convert it to 1 up 5 down, which made it easier to use the rear brake (also on the right side) and change down at the same time.

[FLATTOP]

a race gearbox?!

As Utopia explained it a lot better than myself it was no race box or bike lol, back in the day there was all kinds of gear box situations one i have fond memories of was my mates Laverda Jota bright orange it was with a right hand gear box i rode it a few times took some getting used to a real beast of a bike i loved it the ground used to shake as it was ticking over.