kickstart lever

Does anyone have a good fix for keeping the kickstart lever from migrating up your pantleg while trying to downshift? Several times during a ride I find the top portion of the lever has migrated out and often gets in the way during downshifting. I thought I remember reading somewhere about drilling a hole and adding a spring. Anyboby got any good fixes for this? Thanks.

Tobin

Take the offending thing off. Put a large flat washer on the lever, bend another one to make it into a spring washer and place it on top, grease the bushing and put the part with the rubber back on, another washer on top and clean the threads and use Locktite to put the nut on rather tight. If you have used the correct thickness of washers and the one with the bend gives a good bit of tension...the pedal will stay put, and you just have to once in a while re-tighten it or remove and re-bend the spring washer. The rubber can be kept on too if you have the typical problem of it flying off when you least want it to...at the end, drill a hole, put a large washer over the end of the thing and use a cotter pin to hold the washer on...no more barked ankles..... :wink:

Others will have maybe neater solutions...wait and see what they suggest and make your choice.....

I had a similar problem. I got a nylon washer and placed this on top of the footrest that swivels out, then placed a stainless washer on top of this, followed by the locking nut. I then turned the nut just enough to create friction to hold the footrest in place. You can either use a acorn type nut and locktite, or a nyloc nut.

funny you should mention ....

This morning I went out and got a shin-full of lever. Seems the pedal nut worked loose yesterday. Much to my surprise the pedal went flying off at the bottom of the first kick. That woke me up. It took three kicks to get started and it was getting pretty silly chasing the damn thing around the garage like a football after each kick. I've been carrying it around in my pocket and continue the silly game of where is the pedal now... :?
Luckily it usually is a one kick start.

Did I mention my Norton ate a header flange this week too? I finally got the nut tight enough and then the pipe breaks... nothing some picture framing wire from the corner store didn't fix - that old header certainly came in handy.

Mine came apart on my very first test ride after the big rebuild! The acorn nut unscrewed itself and fell off on a short little ten minute cruise around the neighborhood. Fortunately I caught it before losing the pedal or washers.

I fitted a new acorn nut with loctite, tightened it down nice and snug, problem solved. The pedal stays in place now too.

Debby

Mine has spring washer then flat washer then the acorn nut plus lever have been drilled for a split pin. I had always assumed they were all that way, funny the things you don't notice.

At one stage i misplaced the spring washer then had trouble finding a replacement that fitted. I remounted the kickstart lever leaning back a bit so that gravity held the foot peg in once folded away. If the bike wasn't starting easily the loss of some swing on the lever did make starting harder.

Warning, boring anecdote follows. After trying and failing to find a spring washer at local nuts and bolts shop and mail order brit bike shop (which sent one that did not fit) the current perfect fit was found on the ground while queued up for the Cook Strait Ferry. :lol:

Parts book shows a spring washer (P/N 040433) under the foot pedal, and a plain washer and dome nut on top. I have used a rubber backed stainless fender washer at times in place of the spring washer. It puts just enough tension on the pedal to keep it wherever I push it.

thanks!!

Thanks for all the great suggestions re kickstart. I'll see what I can do.

Tobin

Ron L said:

Parts book shows a spring washer (P/N 040433) under the foot pedal, and a plain washer and dome nut on top. I have used a rubber backed stainless fender washer at times in place of the spring washer. It puts just enough tension on the pedal to keep it wherever I push it.

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