I used to do this with my motorcycle, thinking I was helping the
battery not
have work so hard to get the engine turning on cold mornings.
I always found the kick-starter to be more congenial for such
purposes. Most of our bikes were a bit cold-blooded, so a good
round of stomps did wonders for getting them going at first.
Bikes of that era didn't tend to have very big electrical
systems. They were also carbureted, so tended to be a bit
fussier about that whole 'running' thing.
No kick starter? Not a real bike then! :-)
For the Benz? I just start 'em per the owner's manual.
If I want to make it easier on everything I just plug in
the block heater for a bit. (Which on the Winternheap
also runs a battery charger.)
-- Jim
