11-21-2016, 01:09 AM
(11-21-2016, 01:01 AM)johnf514_imp Wrote: My kingdom for some terrain. FL offers a scant whiff of vertical delta towards the state's rural middle section, but this story gets me Jonesin' for some Dragon Tail.I don't think the brand is mentioned in the story but my guess is, British undoubtedly. Those things were very sketchy at times, easy to flood. So former or current kick-starters will recognize the drill. If you get the sparkplug(s) wet you often need to remove them and dry them out before trying again, or turn off the gas and kick and kick until it dries out a bit. They don't have a proper choke (hardly anyone knows what that is either I am sure), it's usually some kind of a "tickler" or enrichener circuit and it's hard to get it just right. Actually it is surprising the guy got it started in just a few kicks and I do question his smoking a cigar in a barn full of hay, but then again I grew up on a farm and the grownups I worked around did that kind of stuff all the time so it's not far-fetched in the least. This guy in the story is obviously pretty headstrong and determined and will do as he pleases.
Help a thirty-something understand the uncertainty of a cold bike and a kick start. I've only known the electric push-button slide (and the occasional bump start when I've neglected the acid reservoir) and imagine some mornings kicked back.
Getting one of those started back in the day was something to be proud of and was always a fun spectacle to watch at the roadhouse. I have had a lot of kick start bikes, at least a half-dozen and rode them all over; I rode an XL600 from Ketchikan, Alaska to Los Angeles once through British Columbia, rained all the way to Portland. I would not own one now, though, too old for that stuff.