I have a 79 FXE ant a hell of a time to cranking the Bike.
I don’t have an electric starter.
Sometimes it takes 3 cranks to start ant then 100 times
I have a Crane Hi 4 ignition have sparks ant if it runes it runes good
Any ideas

 

Oh brother, can I relate.

I weigh 160 lbs, soaking wet. My starter system crapped about two weeks ago - and its been "kick only" ever since. My left leg feels like it has been run over by a semi.

Sometimes I have to kick her (The Black Cherry) 100 times, others on a few (2-40). There seems to be no rhyme or reason. I fear flooding, but that never seems to happen. And when she kicks back, it's a carnival ride.

I also have an electronic (DynaS) ignition.

Kickin' it,

JicJac

 

L/h leg??? Some of these bikes have their own personalities when it comes to kicking over.One way that works when cold may not work when hot.Of course a good tune is a plus.

 

Haha, my bad. Yep, it's my right leg. In fact, I'm drinking gin and tonic at the moment cos I read quinine is good for leg cramps. My right foot is black and blue and my leg (calf and front) gets wicked cramps - from kicking my *** off. I'm trying the G&T trick, eating a banana a day, drinking a glass of orange juice each day and putting a cake of soap between my sheets at night (old wife’s tale). Once I've had my fill of G&T, I'll go back to my regular (Jim Beam and beer chaser, etc.).

I actually wrote left instead of right leg cos I've learned to kick it with my left leg. I put my right foot on either the timing cover or the exhaust pipe (when the bike is not hot) and "climb" onto the kicker peddle with my left foot on the bottom and my right foot on top of my left. Then with all the gusto I can gather, I throw my mousey weight into each kick. It is pure-t hell when she kicks back. Whata ride!

So far, I have refused any assistance in kicking to git er' started. I figure if I can't start it, I shouldn't be riding it. However, the fact that I have had a cardiac arrest, two or three heart attacks and that I'm stubborn as a mule, scares my wife when I get to cranking and huffin' n' puffin.

I'm dropping "Black Cherry" off at my indy this coming Tuesday for a starter fix.

Kickin' it,

JicJac

 

try this the next time you go to start it cold.......... flood it on purpose. choke on, squirt it if you have a carb with an accel pump, flood it real good with 1-2 kicks, ign off. then turn the ign on and open the throttle slowly all the way, should start by the 2nd or 3rd kick with the ign on.

if that fails, re time the ign, and check to make sure the crane HI-4 is set to kickstart, not elec start.

 

An added trick that works on my kick only EVO. After going thru the standard procedure outlined by jmetro, if it doesn't start, open the throttle 1/4and kick twice more, no start? open throttle a little more and kick again twice. Still no start, repeatfrom beginning. I have a throttle lock and use it to hold throttle open like that. Will work if you have really flooded it before. Have never had the EVO kick back on me with the centrifugal advance, beats hell out of old Pan and Knuckle distributors. Have Dyna S ignition. Good Luck