A couple of kicks before you start?

[Anonymous]

I was wondering if giving your bike a couple of kicks before actually starting it would be beneficial.

I think that would put some oil in the top end and maybe help out your valves etc. and maybe extend the life of your engine.

What do you think?

-istp :?

[Anonymous]

no way i would ever want to kick my 1100gk.

anger management is the way to go.

[Anonymous]

Re: A couple of kicks before you start?

What do you think?

-istp :?

It would be a waste of time. For practical purposes the only difference between kicking the bike and starting it is the fact of combustion in the cylinder. In both cases, the piston continues to slide up and down, parts rub, and fuel is entering the cylinder.
In fact, fuel is drawn into the cylinder when the bike is kicked, but serves only to wash the oil off the walls when that fuel is not ignited (this is the reason that engineers caution against my late father's misplaced wisdom of racing the engine and pumping the accelerator as the engine is dying after you kill the ignition).

Priming systems (electric pre-pressurizing systems) for the oiling system are standard equipment on a few car engines out there. I've read about retro-fit kits, too. That would be the trick! In the same way you would heat the glow plugs on a diesel for a few seconds before hitting the starter, these things pressurize the system before any parts move.

Don't get me wrong, I'm a big fan of fogging/oiling the cylinders before storing an engine (and taking it out of storage), but trying to oil the top end by kicking the bike isn't practical. Do I recall correctly that my cam lobes run in an oil bath?

[spots25]

no way i would ever want to kick my 1100gk.

anger management is the way to go.

bahahaha!!! I kicked a motorcycle once, and hurt my foot.

anyways, no, that wouldn't help at all

[bwringer]

Worse than pointless, for the reasons explained above.

You're far, far better off to make sure the carbs and ignition are nicely tuned and in perfect shape so that the bike starts instantly with no throttle and a minimum of choke.

That way, you're not dumping in raw fuel while you wear down your battery grinding away with the starter. The engine is also pumping oil immediately when it starts easily.

[Anonymous]

OK,

Well that shoots down THAT theory! 8O