Have we all got over our inherent objections to electric starters now?
I do hope so, because Cannonball are making inroads into sacred territory, making kits for bikes that were born to be kicked into life.
Don’t worry, they’re tucked well out of the way and we won’t tell anyone if you don’t, and they don’t displace the original kicker.
There are two basic types, both of which put a starter motor behind the transmission.
The SSC – StealthStarter Clutch – engages with the revised clutch hub with a starter sprocket and an updated primary and fits hardtail Big Twins from 1937 through to 1957, with a slight difference in primary chain tensioners and the sprockets on a separate version for 1955-57 models.
Both require some drastic cutting of the inner primary chaincase – the starter ring gear is in line with the tin itself – and you will need to make way for both the hardware that supports the chain tensioner at the front and the Bendix at the rear, so you might want to think about a new one if you don’t want to cut old tin. It’s worth noting, too, that the semi-exposed starter ring would benefit from cleaning and a dab of grease occasionally.
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- 13-871
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- 13-871
The SSK – StealthStarter Kickstart – engages with the original kickstart system and comes in two distinctly different configurations: one for a rigid frame (SSK-R), the other a swing-arm (SSK-S), the differences being to accommodate the position of the frame rails.
In both cases an intermediate cover fits between the gearbox case and kicker-cover, and this contains the drive train for the starter motor, starter clutch and integrated kick starter mechanism with a revised – extended – kicker shaft. The bad news is that it will interfere with the oem 2-into-1 exhaust, which will need to be modified, and the rear mudguard on rigid models, hence the length of mudguard with a perfectly-formed recess shown in the collection of parts.
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- 13-880
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- 13-880
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- 13-881
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- 13-881
In all cases, you will need to switch to a 12v electrical system, as well as adding a starter button and a starter relay somewhere. All parts are provided – well, except a new inner primary case – and comprehensive instructions are provided, including multiple wiring diagrams, which are available on W&W’s website and should answer any more detailed technical problems.
| Cannonball StealthStarters | ||
| W&W 13-871 | SSC Clutch type for 1936 Knuck and 1937-’54 Big Twins | €2,523.00 |
| W&W 13-872 | SSC Clutch type for Big Twins, 1955-’57 | €2,719.99 |
| W&W 13-881 | SSK-R Kicker-type for rigid-framed big twins | €2,975.00 |
| W&W 13-880 | SSK-S Kicker type for 4-speed swing-arm frames, 1958-’84 | €2,975.00 |
Comments 3
I am ridin a nose cone shovel on Santee ridgid. I am running open primary. Will this work, or will I have run a primary cover? Thanks.
Author
All bets are off with custom stuff, but if you’re running the stock 4-speed box, it might be a case of using the one designed for that, which runs off a gearbox end cover and on a stock FX would drop the starter motor below the 4-speed’s swing-arm pivot: not sure what you’ve got there on yours.
On an open primary, there’s no particular reason why it shouldn’t work, depending on what primary you’re running. Might be that you bin a lot of the parts in the kit, if you don’t need the front sprocket and tensioner – or are running a belt – then it come down to what clutch basket you’re running and whether that’s compatible with the supplied hub, which is critical … unless you want to attach a starter ring to your own clutch hub.
Don’t think a primary cover would do anything more than get in the way: it doesn’t appear to be necessary for support.
Best bet would be to work out what your primary is, and get in touch with Cannonball direct. Might be you don’t need the full kit.
Will this work on a 1960 stock panhead with a belt drive primary with tin primary drive covers