Abstract:
A kick start switch modification kit and method for modifying an electric starter system on a motorcycle to a foot-operated electric starter simulating the classic foot operated kick start mechanism. Novel components which are contained in the modification kit include a foot pedal assembly, a rotating shaft, a switch engaging cam, a limit switch and a cover body having screw holes through which fasteners can pass which fasteners are in turn screwed into the cycle body where the classic kick start mechanism would be located.

Description:
FIELD OF THE INVENTION 
     The present invention relates generally to a kick start switch modification kit for an electric starter system. More particularly, the present invention is a kit for modifying an electric starter in newer model Harley Davidson motorcycles having an electric starter system, to a foot operated electric starter switch simulating the older classic foot operated kick start. The kick start modification kit can also be adapted to modify other motorcycles which have an electric starter system to a foot operated electric starter switch. The present invention is also directed to the novel component pieces contained in the kit which are required to complete the modification. 
     BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION—DESCRIPTION OF THE PRIOR ART 
     Electric starters for initiating internal combustion engines are well known, and primarily consist of an electrically powered motor which through gearing mechanisms rotate the crankshaft of an engine from rest up to a rate of revolution at which the engine will commence to operate on its own. The power for the starter is supplied by the vehicle battery. The starter is designed to produce a high power output or torque over a short period of time without exceeding a specified temperature, so that the static inertia and friction inherent in the engine are quickly overcome. Most vehicles with internal combustion engines, such as automobiles, trucks and motorcycles, are provided with starters so that manual starting is not necessary. 
     Many vintage motorcycles, however, were not built with electric starters. To crank the engine, a kick pedal was provided which the rider had to forcibly move over a partial rotation path. The kick pedal was connected to the kick shaft which was connected through a clutch and gearing or chain mechanisms to the crankshaft. When the rider forced the kick pedal downward, the crankshaft was rotated and the pistons were moved causing the engine to start. 
     Kits have been provided to modify systems or relocate controls on motorcycles. One such kit is disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 6,109,121. This kit allows a kick start only starter system to be modified to an electric starter system with the addition of an electric motor. Another kit is disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 6,637,495 which adds a kick start foot pedal assembly to an existing motor drive shaft. This foot pedal assembly assists in the start of an engine having an electric starting motor. Because it must be fixed to the motor drive shaft, attaching this device to the motorcycle is somewhat complicated. Still another kit is disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 5,661,195 which modifies a foot operated shift mechanism and a hand operated clutch to a foot operated clutch and a hand operated shift mechanism. All of these kits, although claiming to be simple to install, are in fact very complicated because of their being integrated into the basic elements of each system. 
     Currently, there is a desire by motorcycle owners, particularly the owners of Harley Davidson motorcycles, to modify their current model motorcycles to resemble the older model Harley Davidson motorcycles with simulated foot operated kick start mechanisms where the installation of a modification kit that is very simple. Therefore, it is an object of this invention to provide a kit that will allow the simple installation of a foot operated electric switch assembly for an electric motorcycle starter, where the starter switch assembly simulates the feel and appearance of the classic kick starter and can be easily mounted onto the motorcycle in a generally unobtrusive manner without requiring any major readjustment or alteration of the structure of the motorcycle. This assembly can be easy enough to install by the average motorcycle enthusiast or installed during manufacture by the factory 
     SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
     The invention is a kit for modifying a hand button activated electrical starter system to a foot activated kick start switch assembly simulating the classic kick start motorcycle. The kit includes a cover body held to the motorcycle housing and a rotating shaft rotatably mounted to the cover body. A pedal assembly is fixed to one end of the rotating shaft and an operating cam is fixed to the opposite end of the rotating shaft. Biasing means maintains the pedal assembly and rotating shaft in a preset at rest position and helps to resist a force placed by a foot on the pedal assembly. A switch assembly fixed to the cover body is contacted by a portion of the operating cam when the pedal assembly, rotating shaf,t and operating cam are moved to a preset actuating position. 
    
    
     
       BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
         FIG. 1  is a front perspective exploded view of the invention in the at rest position and a partial view of the motorcycle to which it is to be mounted. 
         FIG. 2  is a front perspective view of the invention in  FIG. 1  fixed to the motorcycle. 
         FIG. 3  is a rear perspective view of the invention in the at rest position. 
         FIG. 4  is a front perspective view of the invention in the at rest position. 
         FIG. 5  is a rear perspective view of the invention in the actuation position where the limit switch is closed in the full switched position. 
         FIG. 6  is a front perspective view of the invention in the actuation position. 
         FIG. 7  is a detail perspective view of the actuation cam and the limit switch in the at rest position. 
         FIG. 8  is a detail perspective view of the actuation cam and the limit switch in the actuation position where the cam contacts the switch. 
         FIG. 9  is a schematic drawing of the electrical system with the new modification kit. 
         FIG. 10  is an exploded perspective view of the component parts of the invention. 
         FIG. 11  is a partial exploded view of an alternative embodiment of the invention. 
     
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION 
     With reference to the drawings, the invention will now be described in detail with regard the preferred embodiment. The invention is a modification kit  10  which is easily mounted unobtrusively onto the exterior transmission cover of a motorcycle. This kit enables the motorcycle starter motor relay to be activated by using a motion that replicates that of a classic manual kick start motorcycle. The assembly can be retrofitted to Harley Davidson or other brand of motorcycles to achieve a nostalgic appearance. The kit comprises in general, a cover body  11  held to the motorcycle housing  20 , a rotating shaft  30  rotatably mounted to the cover body, a pedal assembly  40  fixed to one end of the rotating shaft, an operating cam  50  ( FIG. 3 ) fixed to the opposite end of the rotating shaft, biasing means  60  maintaining the pedal assembly and rotating shaft in a preset at rest position, and a switch assembly  70  ( FIG. 3 ) fixed to the cover body which is contacted by a portion of the operating cam when the pedal assembly, rotating shaft, and operating cam are in a preset actuating position. 
     As shown in  FIGS. 1 and 2 , the modification kit is fixed to the motorcycle housing with four mounting screws  12  passing through four holes in the cover body  11 . The cover body is placed over an existing cover  19  on the motorcycle body. A drilling template, not shown, will provide locations for the new drilled and threaded holes, to be formed in existing cover  19 , to which the mounting screws  12  may be fastened. In an alternate embodiment, as shown in  FIG. 11 , the cover body can include a new cover  80  which replace the existing cover  19  on the existing motorcycle body so that the existing screws  5  used to hold the existing cover  19  can be threaded into existing tapped holes  82  in the motorcycle housing so that new threaded holes in the motor cycle body will not have to be prepared. 
     The pedal assembly  40  as shown in  FIGS. 3 through 6  includes a pedal  41  held to a first end of a pedal arm  42 . A second end of the pedal arm opposite the first end is fixed to the rotating shaft  30 . To help secure and remove the pedal arm  42  to and from the rotating shaft  30 , the second end of the pedal arm has a somewhat bendable opening  45 . The bendable opening is forced into closer mechanical contact with the rotating shaft when the nut  44  is screwed into bolt  43 . The pedal  41  is normally biased into an at rest position so that the pedal shaft  46  is parallel to the motorcycle housing  20 , as shown in  FIGS. 3 and 4 . When a foot is placed on the pedal  41 , the foot overcomes the pedal biasing assembly  47  allowing the pedal shaft  46  to be perpendicular to the motorcycle body, as shown in  FIGS. 5 ,  6  and  10 . 
     To keep the pedal assembly in the pre set at rest position, biasing means  60  in the form of a torsion spring is provided. One end of the torsion spring  60  is fixed to a groove  34  in the rotating shaft  30 . The other end of the torsion spring  60  has a hook that is hooked onto a spring stud  13  fixed to cover body  11 . The biasing means serves a further purpose of countering the force placed on the foot pedal as will be explained later. 
     As shown in  FIG. 10 , the rotating shaft  30  is allowed to freely rotate within the cover body  11 . A portion of the shaft rotatingly moves within a bushing  36  which is located in a bushing aperture  17  in the cover body  11 . The operating cam  50  is fixed to the end of the rotating shaft opposite the end to which the pedal assembly is fixed. An opening  56  in the operating cam  50  slides over the end of the rotating shaft  30 . A set screw  58 , passing through the operating cam  50 , prevents the operating cam from slipping off the rotating shaft. 
     As best shown in  FIG. 7 , the operating cam  50  has a stop lobe  51  and a switch actuating lobe  52 . In the at rest position, as shown in  FIGS. 3 and 7 , the switch actuation lobe  52  is out of engagement with the actuation lever  71  of the switch assembly  70 . A first end of the rotating stop lobe  51  is in engagement with a rubber stop cushion  19  fixed in an inner face of the cover body  11 . This cushion absorbs some of the force when the pedal assembly  40 , rotating shaft  30  and operating cam  50  are moved together by the biasing spring  60  from the actuation position, as shown in  FIGS. 5 and 8 , to the at rest position, as shown in  FIGS. 3 and 7 . 
       FIG. 5  shows the pedal assembly  14  in the actuation position after a force is placed on the pedal  41  causing the rotating shaft  30  and operating cam  50  to move to the actuation position. In this position, as shown in  FIG. 8 , the switch actuation lobe  52  engages the actuation lever  71  closing the starter circuit thereby actuating the starter system. As the switch actuation lobe  52  moves toward the actuation lever  71 , the biasing spring  60  is being wound up, as shown in  FIGS. 5 and 6 , thereby providing an increasing force countering the force placed on the pedal  41  by a foot. If the force is too great, the operating cam  50  will continue to move until the stop lobe  51  engages a stop slot  15  on an inner surface of the cover body  11 . 
       FIG. 9  shows a schematic of the existing starter system and with the location of where the wires coving from leads  72  and  73  of the switch assembly from the kit are attached. The switch assembly  70  of the invention has two wires  72  and  73 . Each wire is electrically fixed to a respective wire leading from the existing starter switch  90 . With the ignition switch key  92  closed and with either the starter switch  90  or the kick start switch assembly  70  closed, the starter relay  94  switch closes with current passing through the ignition module  100   c  and fuse  100   d  which are already part of the existing electrical system. The closed starter relay switch  94  allows current from the battery  96  to flow to the starter motor  98  with the current also passing through a relay control  100   a  and fuse  100   b.    
     The sequence of operation for the invention is described in the following actions. A force on the kick pedal  41  rotates the rotating shaft  30  from the at rest position to the actuation position whereby the actuation lobe  52  on the actuation cam  50  engages the actuating lever  71  on the switch assembly  70 . The switch will close and activate the original equipment starter circuit and energize the motor  98 . With continued force on the kick pedal  41 , the rotating shaft  30  will continue until the stop lobe  51  of the operating cam  50  engages the stop slot  15  in the cover body  11  which will stop forward movement of the kick pedal. This action simulates a mechanical kick started motorcycle. After the motorcycle has started, the pedal assembly  14  is allowed to return to at rest position with the release of foot pressure on the foot pedal  41  which allows the torsion spring  60  to provide a return force. The return force is absorbed and dampened by the stop lobe  51  striking a rubber stop cushion  19  retained in the cover body  11 . 
     It is understood and contemplated that certain equivalents and substitutions for elements set forth above may be obvious to those skilled in the art, and the true scope and definition of the invention therefore is to be as set forth in the following claims.