Left foot forward for a start

I read (as always) your comments and in particular your test ride on the Ducati Scrambler, in the November 2021 issue. What you state about kick-starters placed on the left-hand side of the machine, I agree with. I too find it very awkward indeed.

It got me thinking why manufacturers opted for this. Do you think it has something to do with the camber of the road? As British manufacturers put the kick-start on the right, many foreign manufacturers followed and did the same. In early days a run and bump was performed by running alongside the left of the machine. Enter the gearbox with hand change and then kick-start mostly placed on the right seemed the right way to go.

Since I have had a new left knee joint and a very weak right knee which does need doing, though complicated due to an RTA in 1972, the orthopaedic surgeon said I must use my left leg, once strong enough, for kick starting. So I now start my Matchless and AJS CSRs on the centre stand beside the machine. It is awkward but I have mastered it. If one stalls then it is off the bike, on the stand and prod...

The recent articles on Mike Hailwood and Helmut Fath have been very enjoyable.

As always, thanks for a great magazine.

Malcolm Arnold, AMOC, via email.