How to Ride the BSA Lightning
- 1). Straddle the motorcycle and then turn the kick starter foot grip outward with your right hand. The kick starter is the chrome lever just behind the foot brake on the right-hand side of the motorcycle.
- 2). Pull in the clutch with your left hand and turn the key to the "on" position. Stand over the motorcycle while straddling the seat and shift some of the weight over to the left side. Place your foot on the kick starter, and then put all your weight onto the starter very quickly. It may take several kicks for the engine to turn over.
- 3). Seat yourself on the motorcycle once the engine has started, but do not release the clutch with your left hand. Check that the transmission is in first gear. The BSA Lightning has a four-speed transmission. The first gear is one click down from the neutral position. Second gear is one click up from neutral, third gear is two clicks up and fourth gear is three clicks up. The gear selector switch is located just ahead of the foot peg on the left-hand side of the motorcycle.
- 4). Apply a small amount of gas to rev the engine slightly and then slowly release the clutch to start the motorcycle moving forward. This is where the trick comes in. You need to feather the clutch between fully engaged and disengaged until the motorcycle reaches 10 mph. Once you have reached this speed, you can fully release the clutch and shift as you normally would.
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