[Arizoni]

Yah, I know.  This has been covered before but I'm seeing new faces joining the ranks of Royal Enfield so I thought I'd mention my experiences with kickstarting my G5.

The first time I went to kickstart my G5 I figured that with the automatic decompression device in there all I had to do was just stomp down on the lever.  Right?

Of course there were other people watching and that always puts the Whammy on doing anything fun but anyway, with the bike on the center stand and me straddling it I flipped the lever out with my right foot, turned on the key and let the computer boot and I was ready.  
I put my foot on the lever until it moved and then made a slight jump up coming down with all my weight on the lever.

The results?  The lever might have moved an inch before it stopped dead still.
Darn near damaged some of my valuable tissue.  

No one laughed but I know there were a bunch of muffled chuckles.

With time (and the secrecy of my back yard)  I figured out what the trouble was.

The automatic compression release doesn't release the pressure very fast.  Not fast at all!

Knowing this, I found that when pushing down on the kickstarter using a moderate amount of pressure it moves pretty easily until the piston starts to come up on compression.  Then it slows down to almost a stop.
At this stage, if I continue to push down with a moderate force, the lever will slowly descend as the compression leaks out thru the exhaust valve while the piston rises to the top of the cylinder.

As it does this, suddenly the lever will start to move very easily.  THAT IS THE TIME TO STOP PUSHING.

Inside the engine the piston has just passed top dead center (TDC) and you want it to stay there while you reset the kick lever for a full stroke.

The guys on the older Royal Enfields (or Triumphs, BSA's, Matchless etc.) have an ammeter to tell them when this point is reached but we on the UCE's have to feel for this piston position.

Resetting the kick lever with the piston at, or near TDC will give the crankshaft flywheels a full down stroke, upstroke and another down stroke worth of rotation to get up some speed (momentum) when you finally do kick the lever down with force.
That 540 degrees of rotation will give the flywheels a lot of energy.

In fact, with the piston starting at this location you really don't have to use a whole lot of force to get the flywheels going fast enough so that their energy will do most of the work of compressing the fuel/air mixture on the compression stroke to get the engine to fire.

Anyway, with the piston at TDC, give a firm downward kick and DO NOT ROTATE THE THROTTLE.

Usually the engine will start idling on the first kick.

Summarizing this:
1. Turn on the key and let the computer boot and the fuel pump come up to pressure.

2. Push the kick starter down slowly feeling for the compression and keep pushing down slowly until it suddenly gets much easier, then stop.

3. Reset the kick starter lever for a full stroke.

4. Give the kick starter lever a good solid downward thrust clear to the bottom of its travel.  THUMP. THUMP. THUMP....

5. Smile big at the crowd and enjoy the ride.  

[Hobbydad]

Excellent write up. I use the kicker everytime, just like my old dirt bikes. People love it when they see a bike like this kick started, not too common a sight these days. Sure puts a grin on my face.

[Desi Bike]

My routine is very similar.

get geared up

get on bike on centre stand...my preferred parking method.

turn on key.

push bike forward of stand while system boots.

flip out kicker

kick it over

thumpa thumpa thumpa

flip kicker back closed with an aire of style with my foot.

turn on lights and go when safe to do so.. winking at the ladies as I ride off.

(of course it seems like there are a disproportionate number of elderly men that seem to take a shine to the bike. As is the usual, I withhold the wink lest they get the wrong idea. Heck, some days I'd prefer even an octogenarian cougar to put on my starting routine/show for.)

[GlennF]

Generally I find my B5 starts first time when parked on the center stand. The exceptions are if you are stalled at the lights with an irate truckie behind you or if a big bunch of cute girls are watching you smiling and giggling.   I have decided the reason for this is my B5 suffers from performance anxiety.

Kick starting astride the bike is another matter altogether, as being shorter I have trouble getting the solid full kick when sitting on the bike.

The other comments I wouldmake:

-  unless its snowing outside, the UCE engines need minimal throttle or enrichment (choke) and in many cases you are best just switching it on and kicking without touching throttle or chock at all.
- if it doesn't start first go, I find the best procedure is to switch off, kick through to TDC again and then switch ignition on again. this re-primes the engine without flooding.

[BrashRooster]

I myself had a crash course early on in the art of kicking a RE 500 UCE. I had a 1974 CB 550 4 that would start 1/4 way through the kick some times less. Not so much on a uce 500 but hey now I can really punt a ball!  Kicking a bike to life does make me feel old school macho.

[AgentX]

Hm.  The UCE 350 is about the same...you'll feel some compression, then it'll go free. 

But you don't have to ease through any compression with the smaller engine.  You can just whale down on it when you feel it tighten up.

And in practical use, you can simply stomp on it with the piston in any position and it'll generally get going first or second kick.

[tooseevee]

- if it doesn't start first go, I find the best procedure is to switch off, kick through to TDC again and then switch ignition on again. this re-primes the engine without flooding.

              How does it "reprime" anything?

               You're not squirting any fuel into the intake like with a carb with an accelerator pump. Isn't there only fuel when these UCE engines are Running? 

[MegaMoo]

Nice one Jim. I've been wondering why sometimes it kicks like a dream and other times I almost end up in hospital with a dislocated knee when it suddenly stops! Will give it a go later on with the press-down-until-it's-easy technique. Hopefully I'll get more appreciative smiles and less laughter at my expense from the girls on the sidelines now...

[barenekd]

  How does it "reprime" anything?

               You're not squirting any fuel into the intake like with a carb with an accelerator pump. Isn't there only fuel when these UCE engines are Running?

Mine primes every time I shove the kick starter down. I have to be careful not ot have to kick it too many times are it will be flooded.
Bare

[Ducati Scotty]

I'm guessing the EFI fires a pulse for every revolution (or actually every other revoultion on a four stroke), regardless of RPM, so it probably fires even at low kickstart RPMs.  Once you fire a pulse or two the fuel pressure in the line drops and the pump turns on to bring the pressure back up, as it should.

Scott

[Arizoni]

On the EFI bikes when you are kicking it thru the intake stroke right after the piston reaches TDC (with the key on) you will hear the fuel pump make a little 'whurr' sound as the injector squirts some fuel thru the injector.

If you think the engine has become flooded, turning the key off, opening the throttle fully and running the kick starter thru several full cycles would probably clear it out.

[wokka]

Hmm, strange.
I've never had my C5 "lock" on a kickstart, I have had a few black fingernails from it kicking back though. I removed the starter motor a few months back and machined up a blanking plate. So she's always kickstarted
Out here in the desert, I've found that I can kick her into life first time, every time if I find TDC and use full choke with no throttle

[tooseevee]

On the EFI bikes when you are kicking it thru the intake stroke right after the piston reaches TDC (with the key on) you will hear the fuel pump make a little 'whurr' sound as the injector squirts some fuel thru the injector.

         Ah! I did not realize that. I haven't worked on ANYthing with fuel injection since the CG boats ('56 to '67, Cummins & GM).

             

[shamelin]

Great summary.  I've had my B5 for about 6 months and had to learn the kickstart on my own.  It was a frustrating week full of tired legs and a few bruises on the shin. 

A few additions, if I may:

1) Make sure you are in NEUTRAL before kicking.  If not, your bike will push forward.

2) No clutch!  If you hold the clutch down while kicking, you'll never find TDC nor will it ever start.

My bike likes the choke, so I use it every time the engine's cold.  Once I figured out the kickstart method, the bike was starting on just about every first kick.

[BRADEY]

I am sharing this "just for the kicks" 
however my C5 never kicked back, wondering if everything is alright with mine 
but if you do not know the right technique the old iron barrel could rocket you 10 feet off the ground or give you a severely bruised knee 

[Ducati Scotty]

My C5 never kicks back either.  Of course, it's IS a 2010 

[barenekd]

My G5 has never kicked back.
Bare

[Okie Enfield]

My C5 never kicks back either.  Of course, it's IS a 2010 

+1

[clubman]

I too assumed the decomp valve would mean you could dispose of any previously necessary ritual and just kick it over but a few such attempts got nowhere so I reverted to the ritual I used in the 80s on my MZ 250 two stroke single. That is, with ignition off, free the clutch and then find TDC and give one kick. The find TDC again, turn ignition on and kick again. Wait until the kickstart is fully depressed and slightly open the throttle. I find that as long as the air temperature is 5 or more it works every time. It generally works OK with choke above zero. However on really cold days it is a pig to kick start. I've decided to use the kickstart more or less routinely in the summer months at least since I'm well out of warranty and don't wish to have to pay for a sprag clutch. (I've got the new version after two warranty claims but when it's so easy to kick start why not?) I'm not saying the above routine is the best, let alone only, way to do it. I'm only using this method cos it worked way back when, (and it was pretty much the ONLY way with the MZ), but it works well for me.

[Ducati Scotty]

If I had a kcikstart I'd use it all the time, just for the cool factor

[wokka]

My C5 never kicks back either.  Of course, it's IS a 2010 

OK, now I'm confused. Am I the only one that's had a kickback? Could it have anything to do with being Indian market spec?

It's only ever happened 3 times

[jartist]

I've experienced a few kickbacks and even one that threw a crank position code.  I was doing it wrong though and kicking slowly until I met compression and then giving it all I could. Even bent the kickstart lever. After reading this post and following the directions she starts first kick every time without the stress on me or the engine gear.

[The_Rigger]

It's my first day with Fiona, and I've already mastered the just-past-TDC-kick method... I can even 'Fonz' her into starting (e.g. kickstart her while sitting astride her), as long as she's still warm. (amazing how fast the UCE engine cools off when you shut her down, though...)

[JVS]

I've noticed taht 99.9% of the times it starts with the first kick.

But one peculiar thing that happens sometimes is that as soon as I commence the kick, a 'click' type thing happens, the lever goes down a tad and then I feel the resistance. Anyone else noticed this?

It's hard to explain but it sounds/feels like the kick lever broke but still works. It's like a small click, the lever goes down about 3/4 inch when that click happens and then I feel the normal resistance of the lever.

O_O

[Arizoni]

The kickstarter on the UCE bikes uses a ratchet and pawl design to transmit the force of the kickstart lever to the transmission.

If the pawl has to move a bit before it can engage the next ratchet tooth the kickstart lever will move down.

Don't worry about it.  Just use it and have fun.

[JVS]

Oh, I see!

Gives a lot of relief knowing that. Thanks for clearing that up, Arizoni.

This forum is awesome lol

[BRADEY]

From all my experience with the Royal Enfield and the art of kick starting it,
I have known that no matter how elaborate a write up you may do on this subject
it would help yourself and perhaps few others.
Because each RE has its own personality and quirks. What may be correct for
yours, may not be good for the second bike.

Hence to each his own !

[Singh_Chicago]

I usually kick twice before turning the ignition key - to clear off left over exhaust- and then it always starts on first kick. 

[boggy]

My AVL's e-start doesn't work unless the battery is tip-top charged so I kick 100% of the time.  Sucks the few times I've stalled out (not flipping fuel to reserve fast enough usually).  I've tried kicking on the fly, sans-centerstand but I've always had to pull over. It's a p.i.t.a. when you are city-commuting.

The kick back (where the lever shoots up suddenly) happened when I was first figuring things out and is definitely due to NOT kicking that lever ALL they way through.  Try it... try not full kicking, but wear some shin guards or strap yourself down because it has FORCE.

Good summary steps for kicking.

[AgentX]

From all my experience with the Royal Enfield and the art of kick starting it,
I have known that no matter how elaborate a write up you may do on this subject
it would help yourself and perhaps few others.
Because each RE has its own personality and quirks. What may be correct for
yours, may not be good for the second bike.

Hence to each his own !

I dunno, the old ones are quirky.  Every UCE I've ridden/seen, just kick the starter once and the bike starts running.  If that doesn't work, repeat once more.  Not much mystery to it.

I was confused when I got my first bike (UCE) because I thought there was going to be some ritual to do, but there wasn't.  Now that I own a '77, it's another story.

[MrMike]

This is really good info.  Have only tried kick starting once and got zero results.  My last bike was a Yamaha SR500, kick start only.  Sensitive choke but I did okay.  Now I may be able to master the RE.   Thanks. 

[hortoncode3]

I kick start my '09 G5 Military about 90% of the time and have NEVER had issues like those mentioned. In fact, I'm amazed at the ease of kicking it over. It's actually a little too easy. However, after it was properly broke in, it always starts on the first kick. I only had one bike that started easier in a kicker, and that was my 78 KZ 750...which was lucky because the starter sucked.

[Royalista]

+1

Easy indeed and never a kickback.
Makes the old ones smile and the young ones gasp.