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Anonymous
Anonymous asked in Cars & TransportationMotorcycles · 6 days ago

Why don’t cars have pushstarters?

Something motorcycles have called a kick start.  Like it’s literally a lever that turns the starter to turn the alternator on.

Updated 6 days ago:

I mean pullstarter, I dont know the name. Interesting I did not know they had a pull starter, on motorcycles its called a push starter, or kick starter, because you have to push the lever downwards to start. Cool, I found out today cars DO have pullstarters. Thanks Yahoo!

Updated 6 days ago:

A pushstart must be a button to start the engine, my mistake!

13 Answers

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  • 6 days ago
    Favorite Answer

    Ford Model T's had a crank starter at the front of the engine.  Lots of people got broken wrists from using them.

  • 5 days ago

    they have an electric start which is powered by the battery and that activates when turning the key.

  • 6 days ago

    the first cars had a cranking handle this was ok when the Compression ratio was about 5 to 1 But once 6 to1  or over it was Impossible to turn over the engine

    when I was in Malaysia we had a diesel generator with a Valve Lifter and i would take several Minutes turning the Crank Handle to get the revs up then drop the Valve Lifter sometimes the Engine started

  • F
    Lv 7
    6 days ago

    They always used to have a starting handle but cars are so much more reliable these days , it became obsolete . 

    Those who say you couldn’t hand start a V8, I say a programme where they hand cranked a WW2 German Tiger Tank , 23 litre diesel.

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  • 6 days ago

    A kick start turns the motor over. There is not starter on a bike that has a kick starter. 

  • adam
    Lv 5
    6 days ago

    they do its a button . push it and the car starts dummy. Lots of todays cars use a button like a motorcycle now. Motorcycles no longer use a kick starter . Well motorcycles used on the street. 

  • Anonymous
    6 days ago

    Try hand cranking a V-8.  Even Olympic weightlifters will be humiliated.

  • arther
    Lv 5
    6 days ago

    have you ever tried to turn a modern v8 over by hand?

    long ago cars had crank handles very old land drovers you could turn a pto handle and operate the winch to pull yourself out of a bog if the engine was drowned. did that once over 30 years ago I remember thinking at the time what a pos compared to the 1981 Hilux I drove.

  • lj1
    Lv 7
    6 days ago

    A lot of people nowadays won't buy a car unless it has push button start lol. 

    Having an old car that requires turning a handle to start is great as a weekend car, or something you take to parades and car shows. Can you imagine having to do that every time you drive your car, or doing it when the weather is bad? It would get old pretty fast. Like the other person said, people used to get injured having to manually crank over their engines with a handle.

  • 6 days ago

    Early Reliant Robin three wheelers (UK) had a kickstart as they had a motorcycle engine. You opened the bonnet/hood  put your leg in and operated the kickstart. Many years ago all UK cars had starting handles that inserted through a hole in the bumper/fender and connected with  a dog nut on the flywheel pulley. Broken wrists sometimes resulted.

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