Kickstart option

[Getzapped]

Can someone tell me if this is a plug for a detachable kickstart or just a place to install one if i wanted.

[dbeardslee]

It's a plug. The 78's and 79's have a splined shaft with a rubber cover to accommodate a kick starter. But not to worry - the 80's came with the roll start option. You just have to find a hill.

[BigRed]

The motor in my bike is from an '82 XJ, and I added a kickstart through that plug when I did my 2nd gear fix. I don't remmeber the whole parts list, but I believe I had to add a gear, spring, shaft, and seal.

It's handy when you've got a marginal battery. It is not how I prefer to start the bike in general. You still do need some battery power to start, as you need something like 10.7V for your ignition system to work.

[Getzapped]

I cant imagine trying to roll start this thing. But i may lookinto adding a kickstart.

[HalfCentury]

There are some threads about this in the recent past.

One of the suggestions is that the kickstart is a hold over from the predecessor two and three cylinder XS bikes of the 1970s. The early XS1100 production bikes had the internal kickstart parts installed until the supply of parts ran out. At that point, none of the kickstart internals were in the bike but if you can source the parts, you can add the kickstart to the 1100.

My 82 xj1100 has the plug and the "kickstarter" lettering on the engine indicating that the feature can be added.

My guess is that Yamaha was too lazy/cheap to re-cast the engine and remove the lettering and the hole.

During this this time frame, the US market was flooded with Japanese bikes and sales was a cut-throat game. There was no economic incentive to sink money into improvements. Yamaha made small evolutionary changes where possible without large re-tooling efforts. So, it was more economical to leave the engine alone and plug the hole and not install the kickstarter.

My first motorcycle was an XS400 Special II. It had the kickstart and that was useful and it was not difficult.

The XS/XJ 1100 has got to be much more difficult to kick over. And, you probably have to have the carbs and ignition system in tip-top shape to catch in the small amount of time that the engine is turning over after you kick it. It would be fun to try to kick one of these monsters over but not enough for me to take on the project.

[BigRed]

It is pretty cool when the carbs and ignition are in tip-top shape. Also, it seems to bypass a slipping starter-clutch if that's a problem that you have... or if your battery is weak.

It's not a project I would do just for itself, but I'm happy I added it on to the 2nd gear fix.

[3Phase]

It is pretty cool when the carbs and ignition are in tip-top shape. Also, it seems to bypass a slipping starter-clutch if that's a problem that you have... or if your battery is weak.

It's not a project I would do just for itself, but I'm happy I added it on to the 2nd gear fix.

It may or may not be a simple add-on, it depends if Yamaha included the internal kicker/idler gear that meshes with 1st gear. If the idler is there then you can just add the rest of the kicker parts and away you go.

If the idler gear is not in the case or if there are a couple of other parts missing then you will have your work cut out for you. The later model XS11s and the XJ11 probably won't have the idler gear or the idler shaft and retainer clip.

When the engine is tuned and running right, the kicker will start the engine with one kick, two if it's cold and requires the enrichener. I use the kicker to keep from wearing out and replacing that dratted, totally simple starter clutch that Yamaha designed and then wrapped an engine around it. It also keeps me from running the battery down when I make a lot of short, local, trips that won't allow the engine to run long enough to recharge the battery after using the starter.

[AggiesaurusRex]

Does anyone know if the main kicker shaft (#9 and the one that travels internally) is supposed to be basically free moving? I've already checked and I can see a gear behind the small internal cover, but there's almost no pressure needed to spin it. Am I missing something? I cant find anything on the parts diagram that I don't have (except the ratchet gear and the washers, parts #10, 12, 13, 14) but surely that's not the way its supposed to be spinning? I have the engine out of the bike right now, if I spin the shaft in any gear in has no effect on the shaft drive, so something can't be right.

http://www.cmsnl.com/yamaha-xs1100s-...6.html#results

[IanDMacDonald]

It also keeps me from running the battery down when I make a lot of short, local, trips that won't allow the engine to run long enough to recharge the battery after using the starter.

Really? I have Tony's R/R on my bike, and I see 14.2v @ idle.

Increase the wire size running from the battery to the starter solenoid, along with running your R/R straight to your battery (fused), and see what you get.

[3Phase]

Really? I have Tony's R/R on my bike, and I see 14.2v @ idle.

Increase the wire size running from the battery to the starter solenoid, along with running your R/R straight to your battery (fused), and see what you get.

I've already done all that and more a long, long, long, time ago.

Recharging any battery is simple physics. Even with the extra power from the XJ11 alternator and better wires it still takes time (distance) @ RPM or about ~15 or 20 miles to replace the starting current expended. I see roughly the same voltage at idle you did, about 13.3 with the XS11 system, a hair more with the XJ11 system but charging voltage at idle is meaningless because I can't let the bike sit at idle to recharge the battery like an old Chevy van.

The full charging voltage and current is the same with or without Tony's Regulator/Rectifier because the alternator is limited by inductive reactance, not the R/R. Tony's R/R is more efficient so you'll see full voltage and current at a lower RPM than OEM but the time required to recharge the battery still depends on the depth of discharge, temperature and the engine being in good tune so it ticks over on the first try without extended cranking or multiple restarts.

Short hops and more cranking drain the battery more, no way around it, and you'll have to ride longer/further to fully recharge the battery. It's not like it's going to keel over dead right there on the spot but over time there's a loss of capacity and some extra sulphation from not getting a full recharge, then sitting after being discharged.

You can, of course, put the battery on a charger when you get home or schedule a top-up charge once a month but it's more fun to ride the miles if you have the time or just use the kicker so it doesn't need to be recharged in the first place.