Kickstart shaft position

[Tequipment]

I've got to the first part of rebuilding and I'm already needing advice.
I watched the Piston Ported Youtube video on pre-loading the kickstart lever and had a go last night.
The lever is shimmed very nicely with a 0.5mm shim, but the pre-loading part is giving me grief.

I've got a new SIL shaft, lever and piston as my series 2 came through with broken shaft and missing lever.
Everything looks fine and I adjusted it as per the video, but I can't get the little pin to sit any further up the ramp than this. I was under the impression it should sit on the edge of the flat section.
The problem is that the pin is at the limit of it's travel in the piston, so it won't move down any further.
I adjusted it a few times and moved it a spline in either direction on the lever while adjusting the position of the ramp, but it always sits here.
In fact, if I adjust the lever so it fits further down, the spring won't pull it back up to the rubber stop as the pin in the photo is stopping it from moving any further.
Adjusted as best as I can, the lever moves nicely, but if I release is very slowly, it sometimes stops about 5-10mm from the rubber stop as the pin is tight in the ramp.
If I release the lever in a way that you probably would with your foot, then it goes all the way back and sits on the rubber stop.

It's almost as if there needs to be a washer or shim under the ramp, so it's a little higher, but the shaft is quite close to the bolt heads.
At the moment I have spring washers under the bolt heads, so I could replace them with thinner washers and then put another thin one under the ramp piece, but I'd like it done properly.

Am I safe to leave it here? The teeth are fully retracted in this position, so I don't think there will be any issues with catching the gear. I'm just worried it might cause some sort of other problem.


20200806_200947 by Dan Barrett, on Flickr

[Warkton Tornado No.1]

I think I understand the problem.....

Either the register pin in the kickstart toothed piston is too big a diameter (unlikely) or the spring beneath the piston is getting coil bound or is too strong. The kickstart lever return spring is presumably capable of doing it's job & fitted correctly

The slot in which the register pin can always be smoothed/extended (to allow further travel) & I have resorted to doing so with beefier clutches requiring crankcase cover packing. I have also played about with other piston springs as I have a stock of some from various industries.

I'd be wary of packing the ramp as you mention for fear of reducing what little clearance exists between the kickstart lever & the clutch.

[Fast n Furious]

Indian stuff often needs some fettling before you can use it. Par for the course.
IMO. I think it would be worth filing the pin slot in the shaft with a Dremmel so the pin can move down a little further, so allowing it to engage to the home position in the ramp.

[MK Monty]

I always found the new KS shafts to have a bit more meat on them, How far down is the piston even in this position. Elongating the slot will have it sitting even lower, it all equates to lost movement when you start to kick off. Its halfway down before it comes out and engages with the gear. I was sure SIP shafts came with a 2mm thick washer and you had to lose the same amount off the inside of the chaincase, the tick washer went on before the circlip. MB used to sell the tool but easy enough with a flap disk on the angle grinder. I would also grind a bit of the piston socket so when parked the teeth are just inside. Then adjust the ramp so it's as your picture but the pedal on its stop, so as soon as it starts to go down it's out and meshed.

[Tequipment]

The teeth are about 1mm below the top of the shaft, which looked good to my untrained eye. It starts coming up above the tube part as soon as it starts moving.
The pedal is actually on its stop in the photo, it's just sometimes it needs a little help getting there. Or if you just let the lever spring back then it would settle nicely against the stop.
The return spring is seated well and everything is great until it gets to that last little bit on the ramp and that's when it gets a bit stuck.
As it's literally a millimetre that it needs to move, I might try taking a tiny bit off the pin slot first.
Or maybe I'm being too fussy for someone using Indian parts.
I suppose I need to get used to the idea that things need fettling.

[Wack]

I'd leave as it is.Ideally you want the piston teeth just slightly lower than the housing but as it is now it will engage sooner for a better kick, whereas if you alter it you will find the pedal will travel a lot nearer to the floor before it engages.

[a.lo]

although it looks like it should seat in the ramp it has fully retracted the piston which is all it needs to do. as long as the piston housing itself clears the gear. i have had to grind both ends of mine for clearance at times, as others have said that position will give a more instant engagement on kicking over

[Tequipment]

It sounds like I got lucky and it should be fine then.
I'll keep an eye on the position where the lever rests once it's all back together.
If it looks like it's not going back often, then I'll dremel the slot and get a bit more movement.

I'm not used to having to adjust so many things.

[missing lynx]

I think the problem is not the kick start but the ramp all mine seem to have a less severe angle and a radius not a corner. But as said as long as the pistons all the way down it should be fine

[Tequipment]

It was the ramp that came in the engine, but that's not to say it's correct.
The engine was seized, the chain case cover around the shaft was cracked and the studs were all finger tight.
Inside, the ramp was in place, but the bolts were all very loose so the ramp was moving around. The shaft was also floating about and had the brass bushes stuck on it.
Who knows what went down and what got changed many years ago in Italy before it was brought over here.

[Tequipment]

The ramp is different to the ones I've seen online, in that it's 2 pieces of metal sandwiched together.