[jdmboyd]

Hey folks,

Tried to load this a minute ago; sorry if it comes up twice.

I'm going to add a kick starter to my '80 80 FLH as backup insurance for the electric starter, plus I think it'll look cool, too. Any specific brand recommendations and gotchas to avoid would be appreciated.

Pic below; hope it'll warm up enough later this week to try out the new 5-stud clutch I put in. It seemed to like the oil change and new plugs last weekend, fired right up.

Thanks.

John

 

[WideOne]

Nice lookin' cone/shovel. Did you check w/ Drag Specialties?

 

[WideOne]

I'm correcting myself. 'V-Twin' MFG makes more parts for old Shovelheads.

 

[pb68slab]

I'm correcting myself. 'V-Twin' MFG makes more parts for old Shovelheads.

V-Twin Mfg makes NOTHING! Most of Taiwan Tedd's stuff comes from TAIWAN , probably China now.

Most of the aftermarket kits are made overseas. I've broke a half-dozen import kicker covers myself.

Sputhe , S&S and Bakers offer top quality US made stuff to do it. Paughco makes a really thick , heavy duty kicker cover. I have one on my '68 Shovel for 20yrs and ain't broke it yet.


And if ya know what to look for , and what your looking at , you can still find original HD stuff new~old stock as well as used stuff in good condition.


If you have an AMCA swap meet near you , it's well worth looking there.

 

[rjwheaton]

V-Twin Mfg makes NOTHING! Most of Taiwan Tedd's stuff comes from TAIWAN , probably China now.

Most of the aftermarket kits are made overseas. I've broke a half-dozen import kicker covers myself.

Sputhe , S&S and Bakers offer top quality US made stuff to do it. Paughco makes a really thick , heavy duty kicker cover. I have one on my '68 Shovel for 20yrs and ain't broke it yet.


And if ya know what to look for , and what your looking at , you can still find original HD stuff new~old stock as well as used stuff in good condition.


If you have an AMCA swap meet near you , it's well worth looking there.

I've been using Baker's kicker covers and have NEVER had an issue. Also installed the combination kicker cover and hydraulic clutch cover on my 84 FXWG shovelhead, and it was great. Have to use the right size master cylinder, but a problem free installation.

 

[pb68slab]

Yeah , Baker's makes good stuff. Ain't cheap , but quality cost$.

The cheap import kit are more for show than go. Cheap thin-wall , die-cast , pot-metal cover with chrome that will flake-off in a few years. And if ya do kick the bike , it won't last long before it cracks & shatters. Especially if ya have a hot rod motor with bigger cubes or higher compression.

 

[tall terry]

these guys are absolutely correct... and sometimes the bronze bushing backs out locking the kicker in the engaged position,, now you need a tow,, lol,,, and get a good steel kick arm,, with a good pedal,, these break frequently if maid in the chiwanese area.. it will hurt so badly you may get all sweaty and have to sit down after your knee hyper extends,,, the go to the ER..you may need to change the pipes also since the kick arm requires clearance...

 

[jdmboyd]

Hey folks,

Wound up going with the Baker unit, no complaints, though $1,000 is $1,000.

Funny, when I installed it earlier this summer the bronze pedal was back-ordered, so I went with the bicycle pedal from J&P; worked fine. Then when the bronze pedal I took it to a local powder coater to match the B&W thing I've got going here. The coated pedal looks fine, but guess what: it's slippery. If I'm not real careful kicking down straight, it's easy for my foot to slide out and off.

Now I just need to work on my technique. I'd like to figure out how to mount an LED on my tank spacer that lights up when you're right at the front cylinder bottom compression stroke; as most know here if you don't kick it right at that point, it isn't starting.

John

 

[Brian 1340]

I’m wanting to install a kick starter on my 85 FXRS but am confused about how it works with the existing electric starter. Does the kick starter delete the auto starter?

 

[jdmboyd]

Brian,

Not at all; the kicker serves as a parallel way of starting your bike, pick either one. I installed the kicker as backup insurance on the off chance that the electric starter isn't working, for whatever reason. There are several different makes of kicker kits you can choose from. The most convincing argument that led me to go with the Baker is the gears are supposedly extra strong and don't fail as frequently as cheaper units do. The install was easy, too, kit's got everything you need (except tranny fluid). Good luck.

John

 

[Jake707SBFMC]

Can you put a kick starter on a fxr? I guess you can but exhaust might get in the way depending on what pipe you have.

 

[casement]

I did for the heck of it but it was an utter waste of time. I didn't keep the kit when I upgraded to a later transmission (which was very much worth it for the more powerful Denso starter and splined shaft). The kit cleared the stock exhaust but stuck out annoyingly and I run mids so that wasn't cool. I wouldn't install another on an FXR if it was free.