Convert to kickstart only

tonup · New Member Joined: Dec 10, 2008 Posts: 5

Hi All...my first post! woohoo

Just bought myself a '78 project bike and going to start pulling it apart over Xmas.

I'm really keen to get the electrics as basic as possible so I'm looking at ripping off the electric starter and going old skool with just a kickstarter. Has anyone got any advice for me on this? anything I will need to replace/rewire? etc etc.

I have very basic knowledge of motorcycle mechanics/electrics so this is going to be a huge learning curve for me. I'm going to build a brat/cafe racer style bike.

nj1639 · Posted: December 17, 2008, 8:33 am Post subject: Re: Convert to kickstart only

Hey T, welcome aboard.
Personally, I left mine in and got it working. I don't use it often, love to kick it 'specially when I'm starting out along with some other electric start only riders ( who's the man here, Yo!) but I have needed it on a few occasions.

TXTracker · Posted: December 17, 2008, 10:40 am Post subject: Re: Convert to kickstart only

Simple wiring diagram for you.. Cool

yamalama · Full Member Joined: Nov 14, 2008 Posts: 26

Tonup, First You Will Need A Starter Block Off Kit And A New Starter Gear Acsess Cover Gasket, Mikesxs Sells Them. You Can Make a Block Off Out Of The Starter, But You have To Tear It Up To Do It, You Might Want To Reinstall It At A Later Time. First Disconect The Battery, You Will Notice The Possitive Side Goes Down And Connects With The Starter Solonoid, The Round Looking Thing Attached To The Battery Box. You Will Also Notice There Is A Little Wire Running Off This Going Into The Wireing Harness, This Small Wire Is The Power Wire That Runs The Motorcycle. Remove The Starter Solonoid And The Large Wire, It Is The Small Wire You Will Be Hooking Back Up To The Possitive Side Of The Battery. You'll Have To Install An Electrical Connecter ect. To Do This. The Solonoid And The Large Wires Are Just For The Starter. Next, The Oil Has To Be Drained Before You Begin. Next, Remove The Four Bolts Holding Starter In, Pull Starter Out. Next, On Oposite Side Of Starter There Is An Acsess Cover. Remove This Cover To remove Starter Gears. All Of It Comes Out Except The Upper Left Gear. Go To 650 Motorcycles.com. Click On Repairs. Its # 42 I Think, To See A Picture Of This. Next Install Starter Block Off Kit And Replace Cover. Fill With Oil, Check For Leaks.

yamalama · Full Member Joined: Nov 14, 2008 Posts: 26

Tonup, I Wanted To Add That It's The Small Wire That Is Attacthed To The Large Wire You Want To Connect To The Pos Side Of Battery, It Should Be Solid Red. The Blue&White, Red&White, Coming Off The Solonoid, Go To The Starter Button.

tonup · New Member Joined: Dec 10, 2008 Posts: 5

Thanks yamalama for your directions. Sounds relatively straight forward. I will let you know how I go.

And thanks for the wiring diagram TXTracker. I almost spat my coffee over my monitor when I saw it this morning...lookss like an extract from MAD magazine!

oldskoolcool · Full Member Joined: Sep 08, 2007 Posts: 372

i just left mine on, but never did any wiring or solenoid when i re-wired for the chop. If something ever happens to that kicker i can always jump it quickly instead of push starting. but kicking is awesome...especially when i have stalled in traffic. Laughing

ado63 · Full Member Joined: Nov 17, 2007 Posts: 28

Good God man. You dont need to capitalize every single word in your post. It makes it very hard to read.

nj1639 · Posted: December 18, 2008, 12:24 am Post subject: Re: Convert to kickstart only

ado63 wrote:

Good God man. You dont need to capitalize every single word in your post. It makes it very hard to read.

y eyes, after trying.... Shocked

ado63 · Full Member Joined: Nov 17, 2007 Posts: 28

nj1639 wrote:

ado63 wrote:

Good God man. You dont need to capitalize every single word in your post. It makes it very hard to read.

y eyes, after trying.... Shocked

Must have taken a half hour to type that-well for me anyway. Rolling Eyes

jimmythetrucker · Full Member Joined: Mar 12, 2008 Posts: 1283

tonup wrote:

Hi All...my first post! woohoo

Just bought myself a '78 project bike and going to start pulling it apart over Xmas.

I'm really keen to get the electrics as basic as possible so I'm looking at ripping off the electric starter and going old skool with just a kickstarter. Has anyone got any advice for me on this?

Before you rip that starter out and throw it away, try running a compression test on the engine -- by yourself -- using only the kickstarter. You might decide to keep the electric starter after doing that.

oldskoolcool · Full Member Joined: Sep 08, 2007 Posts: 372

compression tests are useless anyways (and it's not that hard on these motors without the starter). Leak down tests tell you what you need to know.

metalredneck · Full Member Joined: Aug 04, 2008 Posts: 308

On my '84, I ripped the starter & wiring out, as it wouldn't turn the Wiseco 752 engine over anyway. Then I used a tiny gel-cell battery from a scooter. Nice & neat.

On what planet is a compression test useless?
And besides, electric start is for babies. Exclamation

jayel · Posted: December 18, 2008, 5:48 pm Post subject: Re: Convert to kickstart only

metalredneck wrote:

On what planet is a compression test useless?
Exclamation

an airless one, need a atmosphere to have anything to compress.....lol

xsjohn · Posted: December 18, 2008, 5:58 pm Post subject: Re: Convert to kickstart only

Kick starts are for cavemen...... Very Happy

Venus.....97% carbon dioxide

ars......Mostly carbon dioxide.....The surface pressure on Mars is only about 0.7% of the average surface pressure at sea level on Earth......should kick easier there.....won't start though............forget the moon.....

xsjohn

drifter · Posted: December 18, 2008, 7:10 pm Post subject: Re: Convert to kickstart only

I have my button starter on my bike and it works, but I still kick it. I have always liked kickstaters, even on old Harleys that would take 10 minutes of kicking to start. These days a kickstarter is a unique and marvelous thing. People ask what the lever is on the side of the motor and when you kick start it they go "How'd you do that!?"
Question: Why did Yamaha think it was necessary to emboss "kiskstarter" into the engine case above the kick lever? Was it that much of a mystery to people? These bikes came out when kickers were not only common but normal on bikes.

Dave

oldskoolcool · Full Member Joined: Sep 08, 2007 Posts: 372

Quote::

On what planet is a compression test useless?

it tells you that you have low compression and thats it, could be form anything. so leakdown ftw.

kingwj · Posted: December 18, 2008, 9:49 pm Post subject: Re: Convert to kickstart only

Compression tests useless????

Bwaaahhhhhhhhhhhh

ROFLMFAO

hehehe

hahaha

oldskoolcool · Full Member Joined: Sep 08, 2007 Posts: 372

okay, shouldn't say useless i guess... Rolling Eyes

but the leakdown gets used 99% of the time.

jimmythetrucker · Full Member Joined: Mar 12, 2008 Posts: 1283

On my 79 I used the kicker for everything except tune-ups, when I used the electric starter to spin the engine for compression tests. Just because you've got an electric starter on the bike doesn't mean you can't kick it whenever you want to.

If simplifying the wiring is the goal, having an electric starter on the bike doesn't complicate things all that much. What makes the wiring on these things complex is all the goddam safety switches and the turn signals and the so-called 'reserve' lighting system. Get rid of all the safeties and the reserve lighting system. Wire it by hand you've got a starter circuit, an ignition circuit, a charging circuit and a lighting circuit. You can even eliminate ONE of the brake-lite switches. But if you look at the starter circuit by itself, you see it's quite simple and doesn't complicate anything else.

xsjohn · Posted: December 19, 2008, 8:59 am Post subject: Re: Convert to kickstart only

Correct me if I am wrong ……the reserve lighting device makes for a better start when the tuning is right and it starts with only one button touch keeping the headlight off for the first hit….and what is going to happen if the starter button is hit accidentally when the engine is running……never had a thought of removing my RLD……and having both kick and electric is what makes these great…..did add a headlight cutoff and a headlight current limiter for daytime high beam for my 80…..useful finishing touches……….

xsjohn

tacoswild · Posted: December 19, 2008, 12:24 pm Post subject: Re: Convert to kickstart only

If it doesn't start on the first or second kick then something is wrong that no electric starter is going to fix. As in the caveman piloting the bike forgot to turn on the gas, forgot to turn off the light last night, forgot to put that spark plug lead back on etc. If you find this little bike hard to kick start I think you might need a bigger bike. Both for the electric starter it will have and the extra horses to haul your out of shape butt around Very Happy

metalredneck · Full Member Joined: Aug 04, 2008 Posts: 308

I use the kicker ONLY, even on my XS 750/3, and decided two years ago not to have a bike without one. Call me what you will.

kingwj · Posted: December 19, 2008, 4:32 pm Post subject: Re: Convert to kickstart only

Triple is easier than the twin to kick.

What Happened to 650rider.com?

Yamaha xs650