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[Thack]

Bullet Whisperer: You declare that I am "wrong" (apparently with some relish), but a violent kickback is very different indeed from the lever returning under its own spring. I don't think a "violent kickback" counts as anticipated useage, so I don't think you've proved me wrong.



In fact, you appear to support my point: you list various bikes with built-in protection from a rubber bush, and then say that the Enfield has no such protection, which supports my view that the Enfield is not well engineered in that respect.



No, I'm sorry: violent kickbacks due to an engine fault are NOT remotely the same thing as letting the lever fling back under it's own spring. And if such useage can cause damage, then it's badly engineered. Especially now that you've pointed out that some bikes have protection built in. Why hasn't the Enfield?

[Norm]

Thack why is it you constantly want to be annoying, you knowledge of Enfieds is limited but you want to shout off about things. Christ we all know the Enfield design isn't the flashest but that is how it is so let it go at that.

[Thack]

Norm writes: "Thack why is it you constantly want to be annoying, you knowledge of Enfieds is limited but you want to shout off about things."



Trust me, I never want to be annoying!



"Christ we all know the Enfield design isn't the flashest but that is how it is so let it go at that."



So you're saying you get annoyed whenever I criticise the Enfield? Is that my problem, or yours?



If you are saying it's pointless to criticise the bike, then I'm inclined to agree because it won't affect what the factory do at all. However, I'm still not comfortable with you thinking you can tell people what they can and cannot say.



However, there is more going on, I think. I've noticed that this forum has a few self-appointed experts who think they know all there is to know about Enfields because they've repaired dozens or hundreds of them. That experience is extremely valuable, make no mistake. However, you don't need to be that smart or even very knowledgeable to repair something like the Enfield. You just need to be a fitter.



I've noticed that often these self-appointed experts know very little about the underlying physics and engineering principles involved - mostly the odd snippet they've picked up along the way and only half understood.



What is interesting is that these people get VERY snippy whenever their word is challenged, especially when faced with questions like "Yes, but WHY does that happen?" or similar. For some reason, they regard having their word challenged as some kind of affront to their masculinity, or their position as the forum's "Alpha Male Expert" or whatever. It's a shame this forum has individuals who react like that.



I can smell bullshit from a mile away, and if I detect it I will continue to exercise my right to challenge it, regardless of who it is who's spouting it.



Unlike our "experts" I am ALWAYS willing to admit when I get something wrong, exactly as I have done in this thread. I wish others would be so willing to do so, and also willing to acknowledge that they don't know everything. Knowing what types of piston break in an Enfield and which don't does NOT make you an expert on engine design, it just means you know from experience which pistons won't break.



Meanwhile, Norm, you might want to ask yourself why you get so wound up by my posts. Does your status as "Forum Expert" feel threatened, or something?

For goodness' sake, lighten up.

[rustygman]

With regards to the original question I go with gwilly on this - keep a bent leg on the kick start and let it come back naturally. Trying to quickly remove your foot is asking for a nasty kick when the kick back happens. My bullet has only done it a couple of times but it caught me one on a snowy night when my foot slipped off at the bottom of the stroke and the kick start caught me on the back of the calf. I actually thought I had broken my leg and the bruising went from ankle to knee - and that is a 350. Sure as eggs is eggs if you are afraid to swing through and kick properly your bike will smell the fear and bite your arse.

[Bullet Whisperer]

Thack, just in case any of that is aimed at me. If anyone regards me as an 'expert' that's up to them - I haven't tried to call myself one anywhere as far as I can remember. Alpha male? no, not really. Know stuff about motorbikes and lots of other machinery - yes, because I am very interested in them and have worked with all sorts of stuff, but I won't bore anyone with that. Degree in anything - no - I haven't ever even had to rely on any 'o' levels for anything I have ever done, so I must be ignorant and / or thick. What I know [or sometimes think I know], I sometimes share with others if I feel it may be useful or contribute to the discussion. I am very sorry that I once owned a Honda which had a cracked crankcase, due to a kickback being responsible, I wasn't trying to say the Earth is flat, just saying it like it was [to me at least]. If I offended you, I am so sorry for doing so. Take or leave what I say and please don't be offended by the name 'Bullet Whisperer', it started as a bit of fun and stuck and is not a result of my having an over inflated ego or anything. As you say yourself, lighten up. Paul.

[Thack]

"Thack, just in case any of that is aimed at me. "



Paul, that emphatically was NOT aimed at you!



Please note that you've never said anything to offend me, and especially I am not offended by your experience with the Honda! As I say, I think that's somewhat different from the situation we were discussing, about letting the kickstart lever fly back. Nevertheless, it's all useful background knowledge and has been inserted into my memory banks.



Going back to the personal stuff: I don't take offence when people prove me wrong; never have, never will. Like you, I'll share what I think I know, admit when I'm wrong, and try to learn from others.



The only thing that "gets" me a little bit is when people get "chippy" just because I've challenged something they say. I worked in R&D for the final 16 years of my career, and the whole R&D business revolves around challenging existing knowledge and understanding, including challenging your colleagues to support what they've just said. Professionals not only welcome such challenges, they NEED them. If an assertion is strong enough to withstand such scrutiny, we can gain a very high level of confidence in it. If it isn't, we can stop wasting any more time on it. You win either way.



The only time it goes wrong is when assertions, or knowledge, or understanding, go UNchallenged.

[Norm]

Ignore him Paul he might go away

[Thack]

You wish!

[potboiler]

Thankyou all for your responses to my post about kickstarter technique. Putting them altogether am I right to say that the best method is to give a confident full swing to the kickstarter and then hold it at the bottom of it's stroke with a slight bend to my knee, and then wait to see if the engine starts. If the engine does then kickback my foot will be swiftly elevated to the top of it's stroke but as long as my boot doesn't slip off the rubber then I shouldn't sustain any injury (I assume that most injuries are due to the lever parting company with your boot and then whacking you on the calve?). Then, when the engine has started, I return the kickstarter gently with my foot on it.

[Norm]

Apart from all of this kickstarter business I assume you actually know how to start it?