a fellow member and i will be converting a 78 350 four into a bobber style road bike.
the frame is almost completed aside from the welding but my question is more about the electronics.
it has a kick start and an elecrical.
can i just run the kick and remove the starter and all the starter components?
i realize ill have a hole in the side of the case were the starter went...it will be taken car of.
another question. considering there is an alternator on the bike and in the event i dont need the electric start than is there a point for the battery?
the lights and blinkers will just run off the alternator? i hope
please get back to me please

 

You can run a block off plate for the starter and alternator. Super bike did this in that era(not that they ran the 350 in the superbike class)

 

yea you can remove the starter, i think im gonna keep the starter on my bike though....
Imagine stalling out in traffic, and having to pull over to kick start it, ha....

 

well i would like to keep the alternator to generate power for the lights and blinkers.is is possible to ditch the batt also and have the accesories run off the alternator???

 

Is this a honda? I thought they only made the 350 fours from 72 to 74. On my 74 350f if the battery is dead i cant kick start it

 

hey maybe your right i have no idea why wouldnt all the accesries be run off the alternator?????

 

I got this from another forum... in my opinion you should try to get a magneto from another bike, maybe a dirt bike.

"To answer your question though, in theory, it is not necessary to have a battery in an alternator-powered electrical system once the engine is running. The battery is absolutely necessary to power the field windings while the engine is starting, which is why you can't bump or kick start a bike with an alternator if it has a dead battery, but IF there's never more current drawn than is being produced, a battery is not strictly necessary once the engine is running. That's a big 'if', though, because most bikes' alternators don't keep up with current draw at low RPMs, making a battery necessary to fill in the gaps."

 

that makes alot of sense...thank you.
i see alot of custom bobbers and choppers that dont use a battery source.
perhaps its because of the 12hundred cc being able to keep the juice high enough at low rpm.
im just pissed now because it looks so friggin stupid with a battery just sitting there.
take this for instence.my bike will look just like this one.i love it, but the battery is an eye sore...
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=slkNvXknRmY

 

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