Happy Thanksgiving! I'm just glad to kick about it

I'd never been so thankful I could kick start a motorcycle.

It's easy to kick start a Royal Enfield Bullet. There are videos online of children in India doing it with their hands. (Never do this! A kickback could deliver a severe injury.)

But I've seen Royal Enfields for sale on CraigsList by owners who write that they can no longer kick their Bullets, due to age, knee or hip pain, etc.

Reading these is a constant reminder to me that, at my age, the possibility exists that some injury could end my motorcycling. If you can't kick start your motorcycle there's a good chance you also can't hold it up with that leg, which means you can't ride. That would be an unwelcome change in life.

I got an even more painful reminder of this the other day. Here's what happened:

For years I've thought it might be nice to have a drainage channel to carry rainwater from the house down the yard to the river behind it. I visualized something decorative, filled with river rocks and lined with ferns, its banks frequented by fairies and leprechauns.

Not that I had drawn up any plans.

Something prompted me to pick up a shovel and dig a trench down the gentle slope toward the water. I hadn't ordered any river rocks or issued any invitations to leprechauns yet, so, with the digging done, I put away the shovel and forgot about it.

Yes. I forgot there was a trench there until, in the dark, I strode across the back yard and stepped into it. My right ankle took an awful wrench.

My first thought was: there goes kick starting the Bullet. Surprisingly, though, the pain didn't last and there wasn't even any bruising.

That is, there wasn't any pain until the middle of the night a full day later, when I realized my foot hurt so badly I couldn't walk to the bathroom.

I woke my wife and had her get me the cane from the closet. Lying there in the dark I made plans to spend the rest of my life wielding it.

But no. In the morning I was almost pain free again. I hung the cane on the clothes tree next to the bed and went on with life.

I'm thankful.

Among the challenges and annoyances of life, there are always many more people and events for which I should be grateful. I hope you, too, can count many blessings this Thanksgiving.

Why Royal Enfields have kickstarters and center stands

Iconic Royal Enfield photo shows rider kick starting a Continental GT.

In his 2015 evaluation of the Royal Enfield Continental GT, Sam Bendall of RideApart.com wrote:

"I went ahead and used the kickstart and it worked the one and only time I tried it."

Bendall sampled the Continental GT for two months, but his lack of interest in the kickstart lever is typical of many reviews written after a much shorter experience with the motorcycle.

Presented with electric start, few choose to bother kicking. It doesn't make sense to them.

But it makes sense to Royal Enfield. Blogger George Pullin's research shows that Royal Enfields have sported kickstart levers since at least 1913.

Some may remember that the Royal Enfield Classic C5 was introduced in Europe and the United States in 2009 without a kickstart lever. It was electric start only — and the design didn't encourage trying to add a kicker, although one enthusiast in Poland did manage to add a kickstarter.

But Royal Enfield's biggest market isn't Europe or the United States. It's India; and buyers in India were already concerned that the C5, with its Unit Constructed Engine, fuel injection and electronic ignition, might lack the beloved "thump" of the old iron barrel Bullet. They would accept only so much change.

When the new Bullet went on sale in India it came with a kickstart lever in place, a triumph of history over necessity. C5s sold everywhere have come with kickstarters since at least 2011.

And, as Bendall discovered, all Royal Enfield Continental GTs (so far) have sported a kick start lever.

Bendall also used the Royal Enfield's center stand only once in his two months with the bike. Yet he complained that the motor won't run with the kickstand down (a safety measure designed to keep you from riding off with it down).

"How else am I going to look cool at the cafe while waiting for my ride to warm up?" Bendall asked.

Answer: let the motorcycle warm up on its center stand.

But practicalities aren't the issue.

Like the kickstart, the center stand is a feature that ties Royal Enfield to its heritage. The Bullet is a motorcycle from the days before electric start, and in those days any truly proper motorcycle came with a center stand.

Will Royal Enfields of the future always have kickstarters and center stands? Perhaps not. The newest model, the Himalayan, has electric start only — but does have a center stand.

Kick start, carbureter make a Royal Enfield C5 "vintage"

This Royal Enfield C5 really does look like a motorcycle of the 1950s.

Lots of owners add "vintage" accessories to make their Royal Enfields look older than they are, but few go to the trouble Maciej of Warsaw, Poland did.

This Royal Enfield enthusiast changed the look of his 2010 C5, eliminating the nacelle and fitting a period tail light structure and lights. It looked great.

That was just the beginning.

"I started with some cosmetic changes to make it look more like early '50s models but this was not enough," Maciej wrote.

"I missed something in the experience. I was fortunate enough to find guys in the town who are not afraid of serious work and they are also RE enthusiasts, so in stages kick start was added, Amal carb replaced EFI stuff, electric starter was removed, big bore kit installed, new exhaust fabricated and fitted, etc.

"It ended up as a genuine ‘modern classic’, and while one could say this was a step backwards, I’m delighted with the outcome; after some teething problems it’s an absolutely fantastic bike to own and ride a daily basis."

Early Royal Enfield C5 Bullets came with electric start only. Customer demand forced the factory to add the kick start on the production line but it was not an option owners who didn't have it could retrofit.

Maciej bought his C5 in early 2011, as a compromise between the genuine vintage machines he admired and a reliable modern motorcycle he could ride daily. Even before it left the dealer he chose cosmetic modifications to make it look older.

"But as it turned out all of it could not help the fact that I started to be bored with the simplicity of starting it with a button; also I discovered I would prefer it to be more ‘mechanical.’ Too many computers in our lives! I know this sounds weird but this is how it was; it’s about feelings."

Maciej's C5 with vintage look but still with fuel injection and without a kick start.
Compare it with the stock photo below.

Trading his C5 for a newer one with kick start would have sacrificed the modifications already made. And so it began.

"After I came to the decision to go radical, then no obstacles could stop me, although identifying and then obtaining correct parts was a nightmare indeed.

"Hitchcocks helped as they could but they were not sure themselves what needs to be installed; also they sent me some parts they thought OK while in reality they weren’t, for which I don’t blame them at all — they admitted at some stage they tried to develop a kick start conversion kit themselves but they gave up as it was too complex to be practical.

"Anyway, you could imagine the frustration when we discovered the kick start shaft they’d sent was a B5 part, which was 3-to-4cm too short. This we realized after the crankcase was assembled.

"I think this gives you a flavor of what it was. There were also many other lessons to learn with the carb conversion.

"The Polish Royal Enfield dealer also helped a lot in sourcing the right parts, although getting things from India could take some time. And of course without the clever guys at www.multi-moto.eu garage nothing would really happen.

"Yes it was frustrating, yes it was costly and time-consuming, and yes I think it was worth it."

For sale: 2 Royal Enfield C5s with kick start

If you lived in North America and wanted a hot new Royal Enfield Bullet Classic 500 that you could kick start, you were out of luck.

The "C5" model, as they're called, come with fuel injection, electronic ignition and the new Unit Constructed Engine. But so far, in the U.S. and Canada, they come with electric start only. The kick start, beloved by some, cursed by others, is unavailable.

Until now.

Two of the new motorcycles, one red, one black, both with kick start levers, are for sale on eBay in Ontario, Canada. You can buy them, but you might have trouble getting them registered.

"Almost brand new 2010 Royal Enfield Classic 500 C5. I am having trouble registering this in Canada, so (I) decide to sell," the seller writes.

I emailed him to ask about the motorcycles. He replied:

"These bikes are electric and kick starts. Can't be registered in Canada because manufacturer is not in Transport Canada list. I purchased them from India without knowing this — BS — and lost money and time."

Well, that explains it. In India, the C5 does come with the kick start mechanism. Note the sari guard on the left-rear of the red motorcycle, designed to let an Indian woman in a flowing dress safely ride side saddle.

Clearly, these bikes were made in India for the home market.

Where they go from here is the question. It will be interesting to see how the eBay auction works out.

Royal Enfield C5 has kick start in India

A Royal Enfield Bullet Classic 500 (usually called the the C5 in the U.S.) shows off its kick start lever in this actual photograph out of India. This is not just artwork from a press kit: it's a photograph from the online journal WheelsUnplugged, "India's Leading Automotive News Source."

Royal Enfield C5s sold so far in the U.S. have had electric start only. The kick start lever is a feature of all other Royal Enfield models, and there was some concern that it was missing from Royal Enfield's top-of-the-line model. "You don't need it," seemed to be the attitude of company engineers, proud that they had created a reliable electric starter.

But, for the Indian home market at least, the kick starter is back. Will it come to the United States?

Royal Enfield C5 gets a kickstart in India

New Royal Enfild Classic motorcycles sold in India will have kickstarters, according to Royal Enfield's press release on the new bikes. The text of the press kit specifies both electric and kick start, and the press kit picture shows a Classic 500 (usually called the C5 in the U.S.) with a kickstart lever.

C5s sold here so far have only the electric start. Many Royal Enfield fans consider having a kick start lever part of the appeal, even if some admit they rarely use it. Owners of original Royal Enfield Bullets use nothing else, of course, since kick starting was all they had.

It takes a bit of technique to do it right, and that is seen as part of the fun (occasionally the frustration) of owning a Royal Enfield motorcycle.

Electric start is standard now on all new Bullets in the United States, but only the C5 drops the kickstart entirely.

Adding kickstart parts to a C5 without one would be no simple matter, since the mechanism is well inside the unit constructed engine and transmission. In contrast, the electric starter parts are easily reached. You can see the thinking of the engineers here: the kick start mechanism in fact is a liability; losing it eliminates one more thing that can go wrong in an expensive way.

Still, there it is, in the press kit picture. I am indebted to my sharp eyed reader Andrew Marsh for spotting this (it also has received attention on the Classic Motorworks Forum). Andrew is the fellow blogging about the decisions he faces in his quest to own a Royal Enfield motorcycle. Check out his Quest for a Royal Enfield blog.

Kick starting your Enfield adds drama to life

Kick starting a Royal Enfield or any motorcycle is a dramatic motion that (hopefully) ends with the motorcycle roaring to life. Few things in life say "Let's Roll!" with more emphasis.

This has been reinforced on television and in the movies, where a kick start typically provides delicious punctuation to any scene including a motorcycle. Americans of my generation watched the television show Then Came Bronson. Motorcyclist Jim Bronson (in the video snippet above) was portrayed as a bit of a drifter, looking for the meaning of life, and repeatedly meeting pretty girls along the way.

Somehow, he never seemed to think any of them were somehow tied up in the meaning of life. When things got gooey, Jim would throw a leg over his Harley-Davidson, give the girl one last lingering look, and swing into action.

I've read that actor Michael Parks actually thumbed an electric starter button as he kicked. I don't know if that is true and I don't see why it would have been necessary. Hollywood has complete control over sound, so it wouldn't have mattered in filming if the motorcycle started, as long as it wasn't immediately supposed to drive off.

A director who did biker movies once commented that one of the most difficult scenes to photograph was the inevitable moment when the gang members charge out of the clubhouse, mount their bikes, kick start and roar off to avenge some wrong or save a buddy.

"The bikes would never start," he said in a documentary on his work.

Yes, Dear, kick starting is very impressive

All you really need to kick start a Royal Enfield motorcycle is gas, a well-tuned Royal Enfield and the proper technique. At least, that is what people will tell you.

You also need confidence, the self-assurance to give a full, fast kick without holding back for fear of a violent backfire. Courage!

Without self confidence you might hold back just that little bit and fail to start the motor. Royal Enfield riders have noticed that this tends to happen when other people are watching. The motorcycle seems to want to keep you humble.

Last night I was reminded that motorcycles aren't the only friends in the world who help us stay modest. By this I refer to our wives and girl friends.

"You got a great response to your blog items about kick starting," my wife commented, as we took our nightly stroll.

"Yes," I agreed.

"You seem to have struck a real chord with your readers."

"Yes," I agreed. Modestly.

"Is it hard to kick start a motorcycle?" she asked. Innocently.

"No," I replied. "Only when you're trying to impress someone."

"Is kick starting a motorcycle supposed to be impressive?"

I must have grunted something, because we changed the subject. But you can see her chain of thought, can't you? Kick starting a motorcycle can't be that hard: even my husband can do it!

So, yes, dear. You are supposed to be impressed. Kick starting a motorcycle doesn't require much strength, but it does require manly confidence and courage.

Why? Because if this thing isn't in tune it can throw my boot off the starter and back into my other shin so painfully I may roll on the ground in agony, cursing. This has happened (luckily no one saw me).

When I kick start the motorcycle I am taking a real chance — of embarrassment.

Your role, as audience, is to be very, very impressed.

Bonnie and I pose a stationary motorcycle at the Harley-Davidson Museum in Milwaukee, Wis.

Does your Royal Enfield have an 'ODM'?

My post about how a Royal Enfield motorcycle may not cooperate if someone is watching you try to kick start it was inspired by a bit of mischef on the Yahoo Royal Enfield message board. Member George Smith wrote:

"Despite the apparent simplicity of the Bullet's electrical system, I have been unable to locate a component that I'd like to either disable or bypass. Can anyone tell me where the Observation Detection Module is located? My Enfield is a reliable first-kick starter unless it detects someone nearby watching. Maybe I can pull the fuse, or tape over it."

George's seemingly innocent question took in several members, who responded that they'd be glad to help him find it if he could better describe the "Observation Detection Module."

Unfortunately, the ODM is fictional, and thus can not be disabled. It is part of the mystique of Royal Enfield motorcycles. Annoying as it is, it is also endearing.

And, better yet, no Japanese made motorcycle can claim to have one.

Kick starting an Enfield keeps you humble

Graph illustrates the odds of your Royal Enfield Bullet starting on the first kick.

What are the odds your Royal Enfield motorcycle will start on the very first kick? If you follow the starting procedure perfectly, and the bike is warmed up but not overheated, the odds are actually very good. The only problem arises if someone is watching.

Royal Enfield motorcycles delight in making you look like a fool in front of friends, loved ones, and, especially, attractive members of the opposite sex. How does an inanimate object know that, instead of merely trying to go someplace, you are trying to show off your ability to kick start a mighty beast into life?

I don't know. But my Royal Enfield Bullet knows. To foil me it has moved its own kill switch into the "off" position, and developed instantaneous fuel starvation or flooding.

The fortunate thing is that when the friend, loved one or attractive person gets bored and wanders off, the Royal Enfield will cheerfully return to full operational duty. It's not disloyal; it just wants to keep you humble.

The graph above was produced on GraphJam, a fun web site that features the humor of people perplexed about such topics as why a bed is always most comfortable when the alarm clock goes off. It is well worth a look and you might even want to make a chart of your own. Thanks to my daughter Erin for pointing it out to me.