Natrik wrote:I had a Pontiac Fiero (hold the jokes please) and had no idea that there was a saftey switch that kept the starter from turning unless the clutch was all the way to the floor. Whenever I had the clutch in, but not all the way down, it wouldn't start. I figured it was the starter, and couldn't afford one (I was 17) so I must have push started that thing fifty times before someone clued me in to the clutch switch. Never in my life had I been so fast at bypassing a switch.
When they brought out the GoldWing in '75 they figured that, even though no-one had built a car with a crank start for decades, the world wasn't redy for a bike without a kickstart so they added one. If you haven't been intimte with an early GL1000, the kicker worked via a lever arrangement on the outside of the crankcase at the back that rotated the crankshaft via a rtchet. The lever stored inside the shelter (the thing that looks like a fuel tank) when not in use and had to be plugged into the mechanisim when needed.
They stopped putting them on in '79 because no-one used them except in emergencies and it would bump start almost as easily.
That said, in answer to your original question: Yes. Anything is possible if you are determined enough. And have enough time & resources. And are obsessive enough. Heck, Bert Munro broke land speed records on 40 yeaar old bike with tires that he shaved the tread off of with a carving knife and filled the cracks with shoe pollish to pass tech inspection.
Re bump starting: I can usually get my 650 to start by riding it downhill in 2nd and letting the clutch out at about 10 Km/h. The trick is to use 2nd gear or higher - you won't get the engine turning over fast enough to start in 1st. You also have to make sure the key is on and there is fuel in the carbs.