Yeah that’s what a lot of people are failing to remember. Of course he isn’t going to know. If you brought these same people a car from the 60s they wouldn’t even know how to start it either. This bike is no different
I worked for two different Harley dealers over 10 years and only ever kickstarted one Harley. Most Harley’s with a kick start are older than most Harley mechanics at this point.
None of the Harley dealerships in the Bay Area would touch my bike (1972 FX). I have a guy for machine work/fabrication and a shop to mount my tires. Everything else is on me.
@@mjwbulich that’s the best way to deal with it. If you own an old bike get to know it inside and out. You never know when you might need some of that knowledge at the side of the road
@jimmywall7325 all you should run nothing less than 100 LL in those bikes. Just mixing it 1 to 1 will be better for the engines internals in the long run. They don't make gas like they used to.
As a Harley rider and owner of both classics and moderns this bike is probably light years from anything he’s sat on. My 50 Panhead takes about 5 minutes to start. Prime the carb, close the choke, kick three times, reprime the carb, turn on ignition, kick it like it slept with my daughter, and hopefully enjoy. Before anyone says you don’t have to prime the carb mine has an SU carb. My 92 lowrider is pull the chock twist throttle twice and hit the switch. My 07 ultra is hit the switch and turn on the tunes.
@@robertreed2824 eh... Consider the alternative at the time: had to give it fuel twice a day, even if it was parked. And sometimes if you took it more than 40 miles in a day, it would just drop dead.
@@Detrudal aint no apprenticeships nowadays. you think bosses are willing to pay someone to teach? nah thats why we have bridges collapsing and planes crashing
@@jg7038 Trades are devalued because of the constant massive immigration numbers forcing you to chase the lowest bid and paycheck. Ive literally seen companies ran out of business because they were citizens doing everything lawfully, which is expensive, vs the competition who operate like its the wild west.
When my wife and I bought her car a few years ago she offered to pull it down for him since the salesman couldn't drive it. He quietly went and got a mechanic lol
Very true. I’ve been a car salesman for three years and I can count on one hand how many people I’ve worked with that could drive manual besides myself. Think about that.
@@BolverkAtlasia yea i dont blame them its just the evolution of the industry. ill always drive manual unless i physically cannot. its just how my brain works.
@@cpkay33 I’m the same way. Entire reason I ended up with a newer car was because it was a manual, which I had a very hard time tracking down for quite a while.
Back in the early 2000s i worked for a Harley dealership. They ACTUALLY got mad at me for spending time helping an older gentleman with a Panhead. I parted ways with them shortly after. My last bike was a 1945 FL that i restored myself...
@@case2238 Yeah, but the viewer doesn't know whether someone is aware how to do it, until the person actually does it. And choosing for this challenge someone young, who doesn't actually work on the bikes themselves, but behind a counter, feels disingenuous since he obviously has the lowest chance of knowing that. And author even offered him a prize for a challenge, which changes a lot
Naturally, he's in a field where he *could* know but a part of a time in which they typically wouldn't. It's not a game if it isn't fair. And as a 21 y/o, I have met many a young person at my age or you get who know random things from before their time. Fair gamble
2 kicks to prime and 1 to start with WL. Gas turned on, ignition off, throttle full, two slow kicks, advance on dizzy set to about 1/2, back the throttle off, choke on, ignition on, should start first kick.
I'd still give the guy an 'A' for effort, he didn't shy away from the offer. Old kickstart processes are tricky to learn, but there will still be plenty of youths ready to take it up from their elders.
Same thing with these new techs coming to the hvac trade, seeing mechanical switches and old parts is what I love to find. There’s a big difference between mechanics and parts changers. Be observant of those words “you should” and “I think” confidence and attitude are important keys to find the true experienced minds. Knowledge is power; wealth within self.
Growing up my grandma's neighbor had an old kick start Harley & I remember hearing him kicking and cussing for hours every morning trying to get it started. I never knew why his bike was so damn ornery to start but after 2-3 hours, it would fire right up like nothing was wrong and run all day
@@roberthutchins3435 The feel. Harley is the only bike on the market to use a shared crankpin barring a couple of honda's that copied it that i know of. Mechanically it has drawbacks, but the mechanical downsides actually are what makes the riding feel as smooth as it does going down the road. It vibrates when stationary, but when your moving it smooths out into hands down one of the smoothest rides offered on a bike and i can see why it drew a cult following. Unfortunately it draw such a strong cult like following that these days now a motorcycle counter culture exists and it very well might result in the end of cruisers in the next few decades. Even Harley is starting to try new things as their cult following is getting old and is dying off.
The cheaper bikes aren't "better". Everyone wants to compare a 40 or 50 year old Harley to a brand new Japanese Cruiser, but that's just stupid. The Harley Low Rider ST is $23k brand new. The Kawasaki Vulcan 1700 is 19k. What's the difference you get for 4k? Better Chrome. Better fit and finish. A bike with a motor that has cylinder walls thick enough to rebuild and bore over when you reach enough miles that it starts to burn oil. It's the things the younger generation will never know, because you buy a motorcycle, ride it 5000 miles and get scared of it and then you leave it sitting up until the fuel system is all gunked up. Harley has kept up with modern systems just like every other manufacturer. They're all fuel injected and computer controlled now too. Cope all you want, Harley is still the top dog in cruisers and Harley is the reason Japan started copying their bikes. Get on a 40 year old Japanese bike sometime and then tell me how great it is. That's what I always had when I was young and they aren't as great as you pretend. Btw, my buddy had a Shadow 1100 a few years back and that was the most uncomfortable thing I've ever ridden.
I think the way he said “you really know how to do it” was very genuine and curious, he was impressed by and respected the other guy’s knowledge and sounded like he wanted to learn himself, it’s such a blessing to have a humble, open mind.
@@dallisspicer6825 mine is delegated solely to the hair on my chin….otherwise it would be an extremely patchy bit of knowledge…. It’s not always about the size of the area of growth fellas, it’s about what’s inside that truly matters….its about what’s inside that truly matters….its about what’s inside that truly matters…. *inhale* *_exhale_* it’s about what’s inside that truly matters.
I know a guy who's been working at Harley Davidson since 1972. And he's a supreme gearhead for anything Harley Davidson. He's built many a bike, wrenched and by looking at him you'd never know or guess. That's the guy to give your bet to. Love the channel ❤
The local HD dealer doesn't work on bikes older than 10 years because none of their service techs or mechanics have done the training packages on them. Wild.
could just be a planned obsolesce thing. like "just buy a new bike if you want official service from the dealer" cuz any competent mechanic should be able to figure it out right?
I swear I had the hardest to start kick start! It was a 1977 Suzuki Gs 400XB for the time it was a very popular and reliable bike. He could try to push start it if everything is in the on OR the operate position.
He wasn’t even close to putting enough OOOMPFFFF into it, The key is to lightly kick it over a few times until you build good compression, you will feel it in the pedal. Once you’re at the top of the compression stroke, you can follow thru one hard kick and get it every time…
Yeah he didn't kick all the way through to the bottom of the stroke. He basically did 1/4 of the priming process, but if the owner rode it there it shouldn't even need priming. Literally just needed to make sure it's in neutral, open choke, turn on electrical system, kick through to the bottom of the stroke, and it should fire right up.
@@jerms6642 i mean, since dude rode it there, it's really just turning on the run stop/electrical, closing the choke, twisting the throttle, and kicking all the way through in one solid kick. It was pretty easy to do back in the day, and more reliable (in my opinion) but if you've never started an older bike it's kind of like some kind of wizardry to people who only ride newer bikes. It's definitely a process, but it's not like the war rig in Fury Road lol
If I’m not mistaken, that particular model use the kick and you do a partial kick 23 times until you get to cylinder one spark plug you rev up throttle pull the choke kick it really hard on the first and you’ll have to do a consecutive one kick two kick three kick immediately after and it will fire
I bet u couldn't even take that in for service at a Harley dealership , wheel s thru time are probably the only ones that would mess with it , but it would make a cool video trying to take it to a regular dealer
Yep, first off only the left side tank is fuel on those old WL 45 inch Flathead's, the right side tank is oil, to truly appreciate the design Goggle "Harley WL fuel and oil tanks" and you can find repops for sale and get a good look at their unique design, despite looking like they have the same volume the designers used a clever "kidney" design to make the fuel tank have about twice the volume as the oil tank, it really is pretty trick the way they did it and too hard to explain in a post. As for the fuel shut off valve although I can't see it, which might be because it's painted but everyone I've ever seen was chrome, in front of the left tanks cap was a knob that you had to spin in one direction to turn on the fuel, for reserve you'd pull it up and spin it to lock it in place and then start looking for a gas station because you had about 15 to 20 miles to find one.
I worked at an old-school gunshop for several years. Then later in life I worked a gun counter at a big sporting goods store. I had to teach everyone else who worked there how to disassemble and reassemble 1911s, Ruger MK2s, and several other models throughout the few years I was there. Sales guys know specs, how to do up the paperwork, run the computer, but have little to no practical experience.
I had someone try this with me at a motorbike restoration garage i worked at, we specialize in old bikes and i was sat in the office one day when some old guy came in and asked if anyone could take a look at his bike i was like yehh sure i can and the guy laughed at me and said "i dont want some kid who thinks he knows, i want the guy who does know" i just glared at him nd went out to his bike and asked what issues he was having(in a very short tone as i was kinda annoyed by him being the way he was) he told me he wasnt getting any fuel coming through, i rolled it off into the shop and told him id message him when it was done. An hour or so later i had it fixed, the guy came in and iv never seen someone look more embarrassed and shocked as he did when i rode his bike out of the shop and round our yard to show him it was all fixed and good to go
@@nathanramos1131 hoses where knackered from the ends bearly being on the tips to little holes in the hoses, i dont think it had been properly serviced since it left the factory and was probably having issues for months leading up to his noticable lack on power. We got him back in about a month later to go over the whole bike for some tlc nd found that the filters was clogged, cleaned and regreased and oiled it and fixed some other minor issues
I've never owned or rode a harely but I know engines fairly well older ones are simple they're basically just battery, fuel & combustion. Pull your choke out, twist your throttle, kick it over 3 times, drop your choke, kick it over, work the throttle & it should start.
I’m a Honda nerd (driver not mechanic) and again and again salesmen at my local dealership say “you’d know more about that than I would” it’s the biggest bummer. If you work for an iconic brand, you should be all in
They hire for sales experience and select against knowledge cause knowledgeable people are less likely to peddle their sales B.S., and more likely to get the customer what they want instead of what the dealer wants sold.
@ThomJohnson-cl9it it's always funny when people say this sort of thing because the only thing I know for sure about your type is I've got at least a decade on you.
DUDE! Prime the choke, tickle the carburetor a bit, twist the throttle a couple of times, then push it downhill in 2nd gear, and pop that clutch! That's easier than Kickstarting it, especially if it hasn't run in a while, and the battery might be low
If it's the stock carburetor, twisting the throttle a couple of times when it's not running won't do anything to help it start. No accelerator pump on those old Linkerts
@@wilburross9709 I would think it would open the fuel lines and help prime the carburetor without assistance from a pump. I've done that before on old carburetor bike, cars, lawnmowers, etc.
Hard to know which way the choke goes unless it's marked. My WL Solo had a magneto. When it was cold, you had to choke it, stroke it through three or four times with choke on, then open choke halfway, turn on the mag, crack throtlle and start kicking. On a cold morning it seemed to take eleven kicks with no response, then it would start great on twelve kick. After that it woukd start on first or second kick. The kicks were really kicks. More like hard pushes on the kickstarter. Also, rear brake pedal position is still the same from the WL Solo up to the new ones.
You would be better off putting it in 3rd gear since in first gear it's just like having the brakes applied it just slides instead of turning over the engine
If its cold engage your choke,roll it over a couple times w key off turn key on bring the kick start up to where you feel compression on t d c and come down stiff legged aggresive on kickstart.
Like just like that but a little customized down in Havana Cuba pre-Revolution Harley! I also found a 1920 Harley engine in Havana at a coffee shop on display. The owner of the shop is part of a Havana MC.
Need to have a zone/basket for home runs to shoot for so it’s not just singles like blitzball. Imho I like this more than blitzball already. So much more room to make great defensive plays
My harley starts on the 2nd kick 90% of the time. Start by twisting throttle fully once...choke to full and kick once with key off. Twist throttle again and place choke at half and turn on key... kick and hear the rumble...
Probably true for any vehicle made before the 60's. No auto choke, starter switch on the floor etc. And motorcycles still have a manual clutch at least.
I was starting a 53 pan head in Highschool. My teacher brought it in from his neighbor to rebuild it and tune it. I love kick start bikes and would have died had I been offered this. lol. Sad that more people don’t know the old ways. FYI that was ten years ago.
This is Appalachian H-D, in Mechanicsburg Pa. Head tech guy in service dept tried to spin my bikes issues verbally when I just wanted them to fix the fuel leak. 5 service visits and they still couldn't fix it
Never started a kickstart motorcycle before, but having dealt with plenty of carburetor engines on lawnmowers and such, I’d imagine you just open the choke and kick it, then close the choke once it’s running. Just a wild guess tho what do I know
It's a bit of a bummer that modern motorcycles don't have the kickstart, even the less sportier, more retro looking ones. I'm so glad I got mine beforw the kickstart disappeared.
I met a guy at home depot had a nice very used version of this bike. There was so much to do to start it plus adjustments when moving. Top speed? 55mph. He said it wasn’t a motorcycle it was a machine.
