Hitchcocks Forum

Hi all,

Sorry to bombard the board with speculative questions about bikes I don't own... The most recent one to catch my eye is an 09 EFI, which seems to be the only year it was missing the kickstart. Could this cause any problems? The romantic in me likes the idea of having the option or a kickstart but its not a deal beaker as long as the electric bits are reliable enough without the mechanical fallback.

As per previous posts, any views would be very welcome. This is a really helpful forum and thank you to anyone who has contributed- one day I might even end up buying a bike!!!

As far as I know If it's missing a kickstart it's because someone has taken it off. There are balking plates I believe to cover where the kicker should be, so reversible if you wanted to fit one, fear not someone will put you right on here.

Sorry RoSy, your wrong there. Some of the first EFIs didn't have KS.
Mostly the Classic but some Electra models as well.

OK, I stand corrected I wasn't to sure, but thats how we learn.

FWIW the owners handbook I got with my 2015 C5 was printed in 2009 and bears a picture of the early turquoise and cream C5, sans kickstart, on its cover. It's about time RE updated the handbook ( unless they have since I bought mine) as there have been a few changes since 2009, such as the much improved tank mounting.

There was a change to the EFI around 2012(?) when it regained it's kickstart, there were several internal improvements too such as more powerful oil pump and more powerful alternator. The kickstart can be removed and a blanking cap fitted over the stub.