Kickstart shafts - which is which?

My kickstart shaft is worn around the lever bolt groove (kicks all right, but wobbles unseemingly!), and I was looking to replace it. My factory parts book for the '74 850 gives 040477. However, Norvil say this is a Dommie number and the right part number is 066169. Unfortunately other dealers say the latter is the Mk3 part :?
Help! Does anyone know the right part number, or are they interchangeable?(wouldn't have thought so as the Mk3 is a left foot shifter).
Thanks
Mebbo

All the Commando kickstart levers are interchangeable as far as I know (and will also fit Dominator boxes as well) the later levers give more exhaust clearance and the Mk3 lever is also slightly longer.

Part (not '74 unfortunately) numbers can be checked here: broken link removed

That gives the Mk3 kickstart ASSEMBLY part as = 12-1018 this would seem to be the part now supplied for all 850's as it is listed for the '73 model.

Mebbo,
Is it the shaft or the lever that is worn? (Or both). The kickstart lever is much softer than the shaft and is usually the part that wears out the splines. However, the shafts should be the same for all Commando's including the MkIII. The part number did change for the Mk III to 066169 from 040477, but I believe this was a number change not a design change.

I would try to borrow a kickstart lever first to see if it does not fit tightly on your shaft before dismantling the outer cover to install a new shaft only to find that your lever still won't tighten up.

Just went through this with my gearbox rebuild. Fred Eaton of OldBritts told me those part numbers do indeed refer to the same part.

In my case, I had to replace the shaft AND the kickstart lever. That was about $400 worth of parts - ouch! It's all good now though. I went with a Mk3 lever so my new mufflers won't get smashed.

From what I've seen the two parts wear out together. If one is shot the other probably is too. It's kind of like trying to put a new chain on old sprockets.

Good luck!

Debby

Mebbo,
I guess I wasn't quite awake when I read your post (well it was 7AM UK time) but the 06-6169 would seem to be the correct shaft part number for all Commandos, although the 04-0477 number is listed in Commando parts books until 1974.

Thank you, folks, for the usual excellent advice. The issue of which was worn, the shaft or the lever, did cross my mind.
What happens is the lever, when fitting over the shaft and sliding on, is a firm and non-wobbly fit, but requires a bit of help from a rubber mallet. Once the lever reaches the position where the bolt hole matches up, it suddenly goes to wobble mode. I gave the lever a bit of squeeze help in the vise to ensure a tighter fit, so I figured the looseness at the final part of the mating was due to the shaft being worn at that point, possibly along the bolt groove. The shaft end does look a bit ordinary.
No matter how much I tighten the bolt, the lever wobbles at this point.
I will attempt a check with another lever; otherwise may be shaft and lever replacement time.
Thanks again
Mebbo

Mebbo,
Please look at my response to Spidey's post regarding k-start/exhaust, about half a page down the list. Some of it may be applicable to your problem. Unfortunately, I'm working by memory here, so some Norton data is now a little fuzzy

Greetings,
When I first picked up my 74 850 I noticed that the kicker wobbled on the shaft, no matter how tight the bolt. I cured it by hacksawing 4 evenly spaced slots about 1/8th inch deep around the hole, also made sure the ends of the split could not touch. Once you get it tight, if you have problems with exhaust clearence (assuming the pipe mounting is correct) you can consider tweaking the lever (easy with a hydraulic press). I have also built up the stop area of the fold out part with my mig welder as it traveled a little too far.
justa thought,
GB

Mebbo
Same problem with my MKIII . What i found was that the gap in the kick start was completely closed when the pinch bolt was torqued to spec.
I enlarged that gap using a small cut off wheel. Now when the pinch bolt is torqued it is in fact clamping the kick start to the shaft as it is supposed to.

It's had a lot of use in the last 5 years since i did this and it is still as solid as the day i did it .

Good Luck