That Magic Button
Sunday, January 30, 2011 at 10:20PM A bunch of us guys were sitting around the other day getting ready to go out and ride when I noticed all but one bike had an electric start button.
This started me to thinking about my own stable of bikes and after a quick mental note, I know mental and quick don’t belong in the same sentence when I talk about myself, I realized that all but one of my bikes now have a battery with electric start.
That list of bikes includes a CRF-X 450 Honda, KTM 505 XC, XR 650L Honda, Kawasaki Concours and a Honda CRF 450R.
What the hell happened! Did we all get old last week or what?
Now all of these bikes have a purpose but I find myself choosing the kick start bike last on almost every occasion. But as I look around at my riding buddies and see the average age has crept north of 40 years old with some of those guys in the 60 and 70 year old bracket I realize how efficient, dependable and just plain convenient the magic button has become. Some of these guys amaze me at how well they ride into their 60’s and 70’s even with a bad back, leg or even arthritis that makes starting a motorcycle difficult for them. They push the starter button instead of working to kick start their bike and away they go. They have the biggest smiles after a day full of riding I see anywhere on any riders of any age.
Simply amazing what a device like electric start can do for a whole generation of riders that may have quit riding without this convenience. I hate to see people quit riding at any age.
The 100% performance guys will say they would never have electric start because it is too heavy, has to have a battery, etc. But if I remember correctly KTM makes their MX bike with button start only and is one of the lighter bikes on the market. So I am predicting that in the next few years all of our off road bikes, mx or otherwise are going to be electric start or are going to suffer in the sales dept. Who will be first? Honda, Kawasaki?
After having the magic button creep up on me without realizing it, I will now really consider that feature in my next motorcycle purchase. So far I find the couple of pounds that the battery and starter add to be more than worth their weight when out riding, especially when I get a little tired!
Besides, I see a lot of extra stuff bolted onto bikes in the form of protective plates, fins, bark busters, bigger fuel tanks, fender bags and a host of things people come up with on their own.
You know what? I have this itch to go push a button somewhere,
You should too! Now get out push a button and ride!
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Reader Comments (1)
Greetings from Canada. Enjoyed your Pilot Jet segment on riding in Idaho. What area was this? Planning a trip for a small group from B.C. for w/c18 Sept as a series of day rides.(Arizona friends welcome).