400 Electric start conversion

[spots25]

I'll admit it, i'm a little on the lazy side. Is there any way to convert my '78 GS400 (kickstart) to an electric start?

[Anonymous]

Electric start isn't all it's cracked up to be. Sometimes I wish I had a kickstarter. What condition is it in? You could try trading it.

[sagent]

Seriosly Keep the kick, electric starts are overrated. My 750 has both and I almost always use the kick for the Initial start.

[spots25]

i don't want to get rid of the kick starter, I just want to supplement it with electric start. Electric start only kinda does suck. Anyways, my GS400 is in pretty damn good shape, and its gonna get even better as I partially restore it

[sagent]

having both sure is nice but it seems like it would be exceedingly difficult to add an electric. you would have to frankenstien your engine to find a place for the starter motor and that is just the start of it. I don't really know how the electrical system is set up on your bike but there is a chance that it could not handle theincreased strain. but then again, I am no expert on the 400s

[sagent]

oh yea...


... welcome to GSR

[spots25]

oh yea...


... welcome to GSR

eh, maybe I'll just give up

anyways, i guess welcome back would be more appropriate. I was here about a year ago, until I got a new bike. Then I realized I liked my old GS400 better, and now decided to trick it out.

[Anonymous]

Well, technically speaking, I doubt there is any way to add the electric start. You would have to find a place to put the starter motor and interface with the crank. That means either finding room in the crank case, which there isn't, or bringing the crank outside the case, which is severly impractical.

A lot of the Honda Hawks, the CB series, from that time period, have both electric and kick start. Very few GS's do. I think there might have been just one model year that had both on a couple models. But it's pretty much all one or the other, and mostly electric at that.

[sagent]

Very few GS's do. I think there might have been just one model year that had both on a couple models. But it's pretty much all one or the other, and mostly electric at that.

must have been '77. Lucky me

[Anonymous]

must have been '77. Lucky me

Yeah. The GSes were phased in starting in 76 I think. The first year had a 550 and 750 or something like that. They "stroked" the 750 into 1000 in a couple years and then expanded that to 1100, and then introduced a new standard bodywork package in 82, which is my main bike. But they dropped the kickstarts pretty quickly.

More info on the history at http://www.suzukicycles.org/.

[SqDancerLynn1]

they pretty much dropped the kick start in 1980 on street bikes My 79 850 has both

[gspaul]

Wish I had a kickstart, hated it when they got rid of them.

[IanFrancisco]

I think the 79 GS425 had both kick and electric start. Check out this link:

http://www.suzukicycles.org/photos/GS/GS425/1979_GS425E_sales1_bw_800.jpg

This is a cool site by a 'zuki lover in Finland of all places. Some of his info is not completely accurate but the brochure in the above link specifies both electric and kick start and you can see the kick starter in the pic.

[Anonymous]

The 1979 GS425 does have both kick and elctic start.

[Nerobro]

The 77 gs550 has both kick, and electric start.