78 GS750 Kickstart issue

[chuckycheese]

Kick

I've had a bunch of bikes with kick starters and it seems to me that no matter how well they're tuned, there's still a unique aspect to the ritual with every bike.

The best thing I ever found for starting 'hard-to-start' bikes....is being at the top of a fairly steep hill.:-D:-D

[StoneGekko]

I've had a bunch of bikes with kick starters and it seems to me that no matter how well they're tuned, there's still a unique aspect to the ritual with every bike.

The best thing I ever found for starting 'hard-to-start' bikes....is being at the top of a fairly steep hill.:-D:-D

HAHA... that would work really well.. only problem is i live in the flats
and push starting it every time i want to go riding seems like a royal pain

[StoneGekko]

Probably a really obvious thing to check, but should be on the list anyway:

Make sure your battery is charged - and holding a charge. My starter wouldn't do anything on my 78 GS750 and it turned out to just be a bad/dead battery. New battery, instant starting.

But I do agree with previous suggestions: Turn the ignition off, kick it over 3-4 times. Ignition on, choke to half or 3/4, and a flick of the start button should have it race to life pretty easily.

Battery is fine, charged it and checked it, but didn't think that would be an issue with the kickstart anyways.
tried the above sequence with with kickstarting it (electric starter doesn't work)... and it worked great except for the fact that it didn't start

[Go Mifune]

Has this thing started yet? I was having trouble starting my ride the other day and I thought I had enough gas in it because I could hear it sloshing around, nonetheless I decided to add another gallon or so. Started right up after that. Also try toggling the run button back and forth a bunch of times, sometimes if you go too long without using the bike the switches get slightly corroded and interfere with the electrics.
Cheers

[earlfor]

The VM carbs on your bike are "throttle priority". That means you can have choke or you can have throttle, but you cannot have both at the same time. To start a cold engine, whether kickstarting or using the electric starter, you want choke only. do not even touch the throttle. As soon as you touch the throttle, the choke function is bypassed. Regulate the rpm with the choke on cold startup. Once warmed up, the bike should start with no choke and no throttle.

The electronic ignition has nothing to do with the starter. 78 750's were made with a points ignition, not an electronic one. It may have an aftermarket electronic ignition, but if you have had the bike running, then it is working.

Pull the choke out fully, turn the engine over a couple of times with the kickstarter (just pushing the kickstarter through),
then turn the ignition on, choke fully out and give it a vigorous kick. It should light off on a single kick. Mine always did.

Earl

Just bought (yesterday) a 78 GS750 and the electric ignition doesn't work ( i'm thinking its the starter, but thats a future issue )

Just wondering if theres any tricks to kickstarting this beast, i've got it going a couple of times but there doesn't seem to be any rhyme or reason, and i'm already sick of smashing my shins

i'm kicking it with about 1/3rd throttle and in neutral on the centre stand... i've tried it cold, i've tried it 10 times in a row, i've tried kickstarting it with the ignition off a couple of times and then turning the ignition on and kicking it...

any help would be appreciated... thanks in advance

[StoneGekko]

Thanks everyone for the info.. finally got 'Frankenstein' going...
turned out that the battery isn't holding a change and kickstarting it in the cold without the battery topped up isn't that much fun... had to finally put a charger on it while i start it up and it comes on every time...

\\/now just gotta tune the valves and do general maintenance that i don't think has been done for a while.. haha