Kick Start issue

[Neo1]

After many years of on-again off-again work, I finally have my bomber running (and running well I might add). I have one issue though. The kick start seems to only engage about 50% of the time. Not 50% of the kicks, but 50% of the time. One time when I try to start the bike, it will engage. Then the next time I go to start the bike it will not engage no matter how many kicks I try. Then another time it will engage just fine. (Not necessarily on-off-on-off, but overall it is about 50% of the time. Hopefully that makes sense). When it doesn't engage, all you feel is the resistance of the spring as you push it down.

I'm thinking I must have assembled something wrong, but I'm not sure. The electric start works fine so I have that as an alternative, but as we all know (or you will learn if you don't know) the charging system on these bikes are not great so I prefer not to use the starter too much.

I have a feeling the answer will be that I have to open the engine up to figure the issue out, but thought I would ask if anyone has experienced this and if they were able to to do anything to make it more reliable.

 

[ancientdad]

Well, yes you will have to open up the bottom end to solve it as the kickstart shaft is held in place inside the lower case. As long as your alternator is working properly and you have a modern rec/reg combo unit in place along with a good battery, you should be able to rely on the electric start almost exclusively if the bike is in a good state of tune and it doesn't take grinding for minutes with the starter to get it running.

 

[Neo1]

Yes I have modern reg/rec combo although I haven't measured what output I'm getting from it yet. The bike usually starts right up. Generally takes 2 kicks (when the kick start is working) when it is cold. Once with choke on and it will fire and then die. Turn choke off, 2nd kick and it's running. So definitely not grinding the starter for 20 seconds or anything.

Just thought I'd see if anyone had any thoughts about what might be going on. Something I can definitely live with until I have to tear the engine open, which I'm not inclined to do just for this.

 

[76Twin]

Hard to tell without opening up the bottom. At the veyr least you should open up the right case and see what's happening with the kickstarter shaft. Maybe seeing that could tell you something.

 

[ancientdad]

I'm guessing it's either the teeth on the pair of engagement "gears" in the mechanism, or it's something wrong with the spiral throwout "thread" binding in the mechanism. This is what you'll be seeing once you go in there