I bought a kickstart only XR600 Honda when I was in my mid 40's and 15+ yrs later I still have it. I've kickstarted that bike under just about every condition imaginable from hub deep in sand in the Sahara to hub deep in snow in the Alps, in torrential rain, in freezing cold, on the start line at Silverstone, in bogs and, worst of all, at the head of traffic queues in London when it stalls at lights. My considered opinion is that kickstarting a 600 single, particularly a trailie where the kickstart is likely to be high off the ground, sucks!

If you've ever had a small 2-smoke kicking it over is easy - just fold out the lever and kick. You can even do it sitting on the bike. There is a knack to getting a 600 single going- even with the autolinkage between the decompressor and the kickstart. The piston has to be in exactly the right place, the kick has to be of the right type and you have to be in the right part of the carburation cycle. Get any of those wrong and you're going nowhere - unless it's over the handlebars when it kicks back (usually when you do a half hearted kick).

Don't underestimate the amount of physical effort needed. It's one thing to start it up in two kicks on a sunny summer day when you're dressed in a T-shirt and shorts. It's quite another to do it on freezing winter morning when you're cocooned in multiple layers of clothing and you can't bend your knee enough even to reach the kickstart never mind move it. And I won't even mention the balancing act required to fire it up on a diesel covered off camber filling station forecourt. At times like that it's easier to give any local kids a small amount of money to push start you.

My advice - make sure if it's supposed to have an electric start that it does - and that it works. Any cost or weight saving will be more than compensated for in sweat and wailing and knashing of teeth very quickly.