Kicker options

Here is my kicker situation with TTI box , rear facing shift lever and rear set footrest.
I am not going to be gaining much if anything by heating and straightening the lever.
Wot I need is to cut the lever just below the swivel where it bends and add as many
inches as will allow for the pedal to clear the silencer.
It has been so long since I purchased the AN lever not sure which one it is but suspect
it is the Mk3.
Really need a longer lever but hate to butcher a good AN lever. Still wonder why nobody
has thought to run some longer levers up for sale to the weedy.
And will a proddy lever clear the silencer?

Onder said:

Here is my kicker situation with TTI box , rear facing shift lever and rear set footrest.
I am not going to be gaining much if anything by heating and straightening the lever.
Wot I need is to cut the lever just below the swivel where it bends and add as many
inches as will allow for the pedal to clear the silencer.
It has been so long since I purchased the AN lever not sure which one it is but suspect
it is the Mk3.
Really need a longer lever but hate to butcher a good AN lever. Still wonder why nobody
has thought to run some longer levers up for sale to the weedy.
And will a proddy lever clear the silencer?

Click to expand...

Looking at your pics, I still do not understand why a T160 type lever won’t work ?

Might be academic tho as, as was pointed out earlier, they’re only about 5mm longer than the mk3 one (which was news to me!).

I’ve no idea if a proddie type leaver would clear your silencers but you might also benefit from the special cranked silencer brackets that AN sell, they bring the pipes in a very helpful amount.

Before their site disappeared RGM had a pdf showing the lengths of all the factory kickstart levers compared to their t160 based lever, these got progressively longer with the MK3 being the longest factory version and just short of the T160 based RGM version. In fact the MK3 I had on my MK2a was the same length as the RGM folding one when placed side by side, I had bought it in the late 90's so anyone's guess who made it.

Fast Eddie said:

Looking at your pics, I still do not understand why a T160 type lever won’t work ?

Might be academic tho as, as was pointed out earlier, they’re only about 5mm longer than the mk3 one (which was news to me!).

I’ve no idea if a proddie type leaver would clear your silencers but you might also benefit from the special cranked silencer brackets that AN sell, they bring the pipes in a very helpful amount.

View attachment 125268

Click to expand...

The problem with that cheater plate isn't the plate: it is the angle that the exhaust pipe itself wishes to take. The pipe is AN and they usually make correct stuff so my guess is that the port in the head is a bit off. The pipe wants to be where it is and if you try to haul it inboard you risketh the pipe fracturing in due time at the head. If there is a weakness with a standard Commando, it is the flexi engine and then dogging the pipes to a non flexi frame begging pardon with rubber bushes. Small wonder why said mounts are consumables.
A MK3 kicker placed on a pre-MK3 bike provides plenty of clearance, note pix.

If you fit the spherical seat for mk3's in the exhaust port it will work with non mk3 headers but allow the pipe to be slightly out of position to the flat port seat.

I took and old lever with bad splines and a good stock lever and had them welded to make one lever 1-1/2" longer than stock. I made a jig to hold the arms so the stop boss for the foot rest would be at the right angle, and brought the mess to a pro welder. It still interfered slightly with my dunstall mufflers which are wider than stock ones, so I put the splined knuckle end of the kick lever into the receiver hitch of my truck, then slid a 6' length of pipe onto the arm of the kicker and bent the kicker arm until it cleared the muffler... The trucks receiver hitch worked just like a vise to hold the arm... I've had it like this for a number of years with no sign of imminent failure.

You probably can't even tell that it's longer from the picture...

Inch and a half doesn't seem like much. But does it make it easier to kick?

Onder said:

But does it make it easier to kick?

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Yes but the pistons do not move as far for the same foot movement as you have changed the ratio. At some point lengthening the kickstart works against you.

No... not really, but in theory it's about 10% easier to kick.

My bike kicked back on occasion with a boyer microdigital ignition. Eventually, I just retarded the ignition 2 degrees and it kicks and starts much easier and it never kicks back anymore.. It felt a little more powerful in the engine's midrange at 31 degrees full advanced, but it's not worth the aggravation of being harder to kick and start... I think the timing change made it easier to start than the longer kick lever... but of course that's just my opinion...