When most of us think about a true chopper, we envision long and rakish frontends, rigid frames, no turn signals, and maybe even a jockey shift. Then there are even a few of us who feel a chopper just can't be the real thing if it doesn't have a kick-starter.
There is, however, another good reason for having a kicker. Before the general public grew confident enough that their early electric starters would always do the job, most bikes had a kick-starter accompanying the electric starter motor. With the poor quality of battery technology in those days, having a kick-start was a must.
Today, there aren't many companies producing add-on kick-starters since electric starters and batteries have drastically improved over the years. But, just in case you want that extra level of confidence that comes from knowing you'll always be able to start your bike, or if you plan to build a bike without an electric starter, CCI's five-speed kicker is just what you need.
CCI makes the kicker for its five-speed in a four-speed box-style transmission and for '87-and-up Harley five-speed transmissions. Since you'll have to remove the primary cover and the primary drive, you'll need to make sure you have new primary gaskets on hand. Other than the primary gaskets, the CCI kit comes with just about everything else you'll need to get the job done - although clutch cable routing may be easier on some models if you order a cable with a couple inches of extra length.
We dropped in to visit wrench-meisters Scruffy and Matt at V-Twin City in Pomona, California, to watch as the pair made quick work of installing the kicker on an Ultra Fat Pounder.