Kick Start Lever hitting Exhaust

I appologize but I searched and couldn't find it but I believe it is on here.

The kick start lever is hitting my pea shooters, it is as simple as bending the arm or does the exhaust need to be tweeked?

Undo the exhaust rose and the silencer joint, jiggle the pipe closer in away from kickstart, tighten up exhaust rose and silencer joint. If that does not do it the expensive fix is to go for the MK3 kickstart lever which is bent further out.

I have been playing around with the mounting a ton today.

Do you have a OEM part number for the MK3 kick starter?

The kick start lever hits my exhaust also, not because the pipes are too far out but the metal of the lever is softer than the gearbox shaft and so after a few years the spline inside the lever has distorted. Half way down the kick the lever moves closer to the exhaust.

I am going to put weld lines inside the lever to build up the worn part then refile it to fit in the correct position. I must get a roundtoit.

Any better suggestions apart from buying a new lever?

Spidey said:

Do you have a OEM part number for the MK3 kick starter?

Click to expand...

The part number for the MkIII kickstart assembly is = 12-1018.

You can find part numbers, prices and availability here:broken link removed

Select the model from the list on the left (no list for 1974 850).

Before replacing the k/s lever, make a couple checks. First, look at the mounting plates and rubbers on the silencers. Also, look at the big aluminum plates. The big plates may not be mounted to the frame properly, causing the mufflers to be mispositioned. Measure the spacers. If they are ok, then the rubber mounts can be shimmed with washers to move the exhaust in or out. (Loosen the head nuts if needed.) Make sure the exhaust is not binding on something solid after shimming (swingarm etc) K/s lever: These tend to be loose, from improper installation (and poor design?) If used when even a little bit loose, they will cause some wear inside the clamp. First, check for a gap between the ends when the clamp bolt is torqed. Use a feeler gauge, and flashlite. If no gap, you must remove material from one or both sides so it will pull tighter. Also, sometimes the bolt body itself is what is binding up, instead of the clamp pulling tight. That special bolt can be a big problem in this case, and it may have to be carefully ground down for necessary clearance inside the clamp and still work correctly. (Helps to have a spare bolt on hand for reference/replacement!)
Also, look at the foot lever itself. Check for excessive movement in the pivot. If sloppy, it could move sideways enough to touch the exhaust when kicking. Also, does contact occure when the clutch is in? If not, what is moving under load?
Something else to look at: Your pipe may not have the right bend(s) in it. I found a couple of pipes on Nortons I was uncrating/setting up that were not made properly.

I also had the kickstart lever hitting the muffler. Well actually it was my boots doing most of the dammage. I replaced the Z plate, the exhaust mounting brackets and all the spacers. Lots of attempts at repositioning the headers as I tightened them.... The previous owner had obviously done the same because several spacers and nuts were ground down to fit.

Eventually I bought a MkIII kickstart lever on EvilBay. It was a pattern part that did not fit. The splines were wrong... I swore a lot that day.

I bought a new MkII kickstart lever at the nearest Norton shop and all my problems went. The old ever was bent ....not that you could tell by looking at it.

If you have a friend with a Norton borrow his lever and try it.