81 xs1100 special, 5624 orig. miles

[xs11lover]

hey xs11lover, did yours come with the kicker or is that a mod? i see mine has the hole for one. man that would have been nice when my battery died.

It's a kicker from an 850 special. The 78 and 79 xs11 had the post and a hidden kicker under the air box. I just replaced it.
80 and 81 xs's say kicker on the side of the motor but don't have the guts.

[xs11lover]

The '78-'79 models came wth an emergency kick-start lever, bolted to the underside of the battery box. The lever in that picture is not the stock one. However, if you battery is dead, no amount of kicking would have started the bike. The TCI needs a good battery to fire. The kick-start is only for when the starter goes out (which it seldom does), which is why they stopped installing that option.

I don't know if that's all true bug. I've had a low enough charge that the bike wouldn't start more than a few times and it kicker right over. That kicker will kick it over as long as there is a little life left. But yes if it's dead it's dead.

[Jamie]

dahondaboy,
PM sent. New member here and love the bike.