barb36jack31
Full Member 2005 No Login
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I love YaBB 1G - SP1!
Posts: 173
Heathrow, FL
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As a young sailor in the early 50's,I had a number of four stroke singles whiile stationed in southern Cal. Great bikes but each had its own starting drill....Retard the spark, pull in on the compression release and roll her over to tdc. Heave up and come down on the kick-starter with all youv'e got and Follow Through!... There would than be a moment of truth. Either the bike would go THUMP, THUMP, THUMP, or you would do the fastest one-legged deep knee bend in history! This was no time to be cautious. Any half-way approach would get the H... kicked out of you. Once you got the hang of it, there was no sweat. The old 500cc thumpers would start on the first kick as a rule.
I have never fallen out of love with the big singles and my recent ownership of a Suzuki GN 400, Honda NX650, Honda GB 500, Suzuki DR 650, Kawasaki KLR 650, and now my Suzuki S-40 have attested to this. My old bikes of my youth, a Norton ES2 500, Ariel Red Hunter 500, and a BSA Gold Star 500 TT were wonderful, but the newer ones are a lot more civilized.
Sorry for the long dissertation, but this link regarding starting the big singles just brought back so many memories.
Ride safe and have a Happy New Year.
Jack H.
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