Watched a dude on black bike bump start blue Gixxer on the Gard Expressway - cool | Page 2 | GTAMotorcycle.com

Watched a dude on black bike bump start blue Gixxer on the Gard Expressway - cool

big twin harleys were also kick only up to 64

Yep, first bike that ever tried to separate my leg from my body was a late 60's Suzuki. I was a kid, I used to lean it up against the shed so that I could stand on the kickstart and then heave down on it, but one day it nearly put me on the roof of the shed.

Here's a good video showing why a big Vtwin is a ***** to start with a kickstart.

[video=youtube;WuYzDuHq2vI]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WuYzDuHq2vI[/video]
 
Never done anything dumb and killed your own battery? A dead battery often has nothing to do with lack of maintenance, it has to do with a mistake. In my case, it was me leaving my radio (and satellite radio) on overnight by accident - had been parked at a motel overnight, had used the sat radio for background music, turned it down at one point, and then went to bed without turning everything off.



I do lots of dumb stuff, wire a radio or satellite so it doesnt switch through the ignition, thats dumb
 
I do lots of dumb stuff, wire a radio or satellite so it doesnt switch through the ignition, thats dumb

Previous owner did that, but thanks.

And I kind of like it since at point B I can enjoy some tunes without needing to leave the ignition switch on and kill the battery even faster with all the lights turned on.
 
Wut? How old is your Honda? I'd love to have a kickstarter, but they fazed them out around the early '80s. Maybe a dirt bike?

It's an '83 CM250c. It's machined from the factory for a kick but they didn't sell them that year so I installed one. The kick from a Twinstar slides right in. Just had the case cover drilled for the shaft and the seal. Works a charm and everyone asks "where can I get a bike like that?" LOL.

CM250cKickstarter_zpsle0jwbmc.jpg
 
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Yep, first bike that ever tried to separate my leg from my body was a late 60's Suzuki. I was a kid, I used to lean it up against the shed so that I could stand on the kickstart and then heave down on it, but one day it nearly put me on the roof of the shed.

Here's a good video showing why a big Vtwin is a ***** to start with a kickstart.

If the bike is properly maintained and the operator knows what he's doing there won't be a problem. But yeah, it's true that a stiff backfire can do damage, usually happens to someone like the girl in that video.
 
The blue Gixxer was stranded on a painted Island at the top of the on-ramp - not impeding traffic fortunately and car traffic was crawling along when the dude from the black bike PUSH or bump started the Gixxer while off his bike

Ps it is always best to start a m/c or car in 2nd gear


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I had a can am motocross bike with a broken kick starter. Rode it for two seasons that way. 2nd gear start is best, but first will work.

then I had the clutch cable break, no problem to start up; neutral, on a grade, push bike to walking speed, jump on seat and shifter simultaneously while you snicker into first as you land on seat-time it right baby. want to stop? find neutral and park on grade for your next start up.....

starting from a stop without a clutch...easy, push with your toe to get moving about walking speed or slightly less, click in to first gear without any throttle-you are now idling along in first gear.
had two friends flip the bike backwards bump starting it...too much throttle when it fired, was a tricky little beast. yee hah look ma no hands lol
 
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Saw a girl stall during the M1X evaluation while waiting in line.

She nonchalantly sat in the seat, kick-started the bike, and was ready to go.

Talk about your "COOL UNDER PRESSURE".
 
this should be with you on every ride .....for you others...

I have a fellow rider who carries one of those in his Spyder all season. Not sure if he's ever needed it for himself or someone else, but I agree it's potentially handy. My only concern is that it's just "one more thing" that you need to maintain - self discharge realities mean that unless you remove it from the bike and charge it back up again every month or so, it might not actually have enough power left to be of any use when you do need it one day.

Anyhow, I got to thinking....I'm left wondering exactly how DID Gixxer guy end up stopped, with a dead battery, on the Gardiner? Did he maybe stall the bike so many times in traffic that eventually the repeated starting did the battery in? Newbie? It just seems odd to me - even a dying battery, once the bike is running, will usually start the bike again once or twice based on it's surface charge alone.
 
They discharge very slowly - lithiums hold their charge for months and it's so useful it gets used all the time. Phones, camera's, very bright flashlight, peace of mind. Plug into a wall socket for a few hours and it's topped up entirely.
Best farkle for any rider.
 
They discharge very slowly - lithiums hold their charge for months and it's so useful it gets used all the time. Phones, camera's, very bright flashlight, peace of mind. Plug into a wall socket for a few hours and it's topped up entirely.
Best farkle for any rider.

Hmm. I'm admittedly way more familiar with the self discharge rates for lead acid/AGM and more traditional batteries but I went and looked for curiosity, and yeah, I guess it's really not a big deal - 5% in the first 24 hours, then 1-2% per month. So, I guess if you charged it in April at the beginning of the season and then simply stowed it on the bike and never used it, it would theoretically still have lost as little as 11% to a maximum of 17% by the rough end of the riding season in October. Agreed, not bad, and yeah, probably not a big concern.

I'd have to come up with a good way of stowing it somewhere on my bike. Right now I tend to just toss everything into my saddlebags (as I don't really have many other alternatives) and over thousands and thousands of Kilometers I've found they have a way of bashing the bejesus of our anything loose left in there. My brake disk-lock for example which was brand new at the beginning of last season now (20,000KM later) looks like it's spent a day sitting in an active lane of the 401. ;)

In related news, the 5% self discharge in the first 24 hours thing for Lithium batteries is interesting. I guess that's why I can come out in the morning after the Volt finished charging the evening before, unplug and plug in again, and it'll start charging again for about a 5 minute top-up.
 
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It's really small...jacket pocket

xp5-1-1.jpg
and if you have any rechargeables ate all then it's always there for phones etc.
It'll start your car too.
The jumper leads you can put under the seat with the tool kit...the main battery keep handy....and it's a forever flashlight that is realllllly bright.
 
+1 for the AntiGravity.

Our bikes were held up in customs for over a month after being shipped from South America to Europe - the batteries were flat. The AntiGrav started both bikes up no problem. The cargo guys at the warehouse were oohing and aahing like cavemen seeing fire for the first time.

Plus we use it to charge all our USB devices, communicators, phones, cameras, Kindles, etc. Great device!
 
can you bump start a modern bike when it's battery is dead?

Depends on the definition of "dead".

Unable to crank the engine over successfully may not mean completely dead, just not enough oomph left in it to roll the engine over. Typically however, while not under load, there's enough voltage left to fire off essential electronics so that bump starting is possible.

Of course us oldschool carb guys don't need to worry about that. ;)
 
Depends on the definition of "dead".

Unable to crank the engine over successfully may not mean completely dead, just not enough oomph left in it to roll the engine over. Typically however, while not under load, there's enough voltage left to fire off essential electronics so that bump starting is possible.

Of course us oldschool carb guys don't need to worry about that. ;)

+1. If it shows no signs of life at all (eg lights left on), it needs a few minutes of charging somehow to get enough juice to spin the fuel pump/wake up the computers. I have tried an extended bump start (basically get up to running speed, let clutch out to spin motor until you stop and repeat to get the vehicle to generate enough power to wake up) with no luck.
 
+1 for the Micro-Start. I bought the SPORT model about a month ago from GPBikes. Already boosted one car and one bike that I have in storage. Small enough to store under the seat of my CB350 Four.
f859f8261022c9f544feec340623a50f.jpg



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I have a fellow rider who carries one of those in his Spyder all season. Not sure if he's ever needed it for himself or someone else, but I agree it's potentially handy. My only concern is that it's just "one more thing" that you need to maintain - self discharge realities mean that unless you remove it from the bike and charge it back up again every month or so, it might not actually have enough power left to be of any use when you do need it one day.

Anyhow, I got to thinking....I'm left wondering exactly how DID Gixxer guy end up stopped, with a dead battery, on the Gardiner? Did he maybe stall the bike so many times in traffic that eventually the repeated starting did the battery in? Newbie? It just seems odd to me - even a dying battery, once the bike is running, will usually start the bike again once or twice based on it's surface charge alone.

I have a friend with a intermittent battery issue on a Gixxer and discovered it that when the kill switch pushed the battery drains that there is not enough power to turn the motor over but is able to jumpstart with cables or bump start or push start and the battery recharges itself after riding bit


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