LT Don wrote: > > Mitch: > > I guess I don't understand why manufacturers eliminated the kick-start > option. Doesn't weigh very much, looks cool, etc.
Probably because it costs money and people were willing to buy new bikes without. I can remember when a 250 was considered a good street bike, and an RD350 was a sport bike. My brother had a H-1 Kawasaki, I've still got my T-500 Suzuki. The Titan is kind of a classic, but I'd be willing to upgrade to a front disk if I could find the parts. The front disk was the best feature of the CB200, way more braking power than a 290lb bike needed. I kind of liked the 1981 Suzuki GS450S twin. It'd keep up with a Porsche Carerra in the 1/4 mile, had a headlight switch (eliminated for 1982), and I believe it had a kickstart. 50-60mpg, and in the height of the dumping season (~1983-84), you could buy a new one for $1100. A couple years later I really wanted a VF500F Interceptor, but didn't want one bad enough to pay $2600 for it. I figured that if you switched to the overdrive sixth gear from the VF500 Magna you'd get pretty good MPG. Mitch.
