Bump start

Bump starting, also known as bump starting or pop starting, is a method of starting a motorcycle by manually engaging the gears to turn the engine over. This technique is most commonly used when other starting methods such as the electric starter (also when battery power is low) and kick starting are unavailable.

The most common way to push start a motorcycle is to engage a low gear – first gear can be used for smaller cc motorcycles, however larger cc motorcycles may have to engage 2nd or even 3rd gear.

With the gear engaged, turn on the ignition and apply the clutch, pushing the motorcycle until it is at a speed of 5 to 10 mph (pushing the motorcycle down a hill definitely helps here). When the motorcycle has reached speed, quickly release the clutch, being careful to control the motorcycle as it is likely to judder and run away from you if the engine starts up. When the engine does fire up, quickly pull in the clutch.

By doing this, the rear wheel forces the gearbox to rotate, in turn rotating the engine as the starter motor would normally do.

Bump starting does not work with automatic motorcycles (mainly mopeds and scooters) where the clutch cannot be operated manually