CB360 Kickstart Ratchet Guide Keeps Failing

thrillseeker

Been Around the Block
I've gone through 3 kickstart ratchet guides now. What am I doing wrong?? they keep cracking in the "armpit" of the guide portion that pulls the ratchets apart. I've checked each time and I'm putting everything together in the correct sequence. This time, I got the bike running and immediately it started again with the dreaded buzzing where the gears aren't separating enough so they rub together. My first thought was I put it together wrong. but I just split the case again and everything was together in the proper order but the guide was cracked and bent so it wasn't pulling the lobe of the gear far enough. I was really hoping to participate in DGR this sunday but it looks like that's not happening. help help help!
 
Aw man. This probably got buried. Hard to say without pics, honestly. Might be something you're not seeing that one us may notice. I've never had this issue, so I'm not sure off hand. Most of my knowledge comes from fucking something up and having to figure out how to get it right.
 
Here's what happens. You can see the cracks in the armpit of the guide from it getting bent out. It's definitely not from being too hard on the kick start because I never jump on it or anything. Sometimes the lever does snap back because of the return spring but im pretty sure that's by design, right? Seems like it should be able to handle the force from the spring tension it was designed to use.

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I've thought about adding some weld to the inside and outside of the bend to make it stronger once I get a new one in the mail. But it doesn't seem like I should have to do that. I haven't read about this being a common issue for anyone else


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Which way is the side that's facing us installed. Inbound or outbound?
 
Yup that's the way. I even tested functionality by hand to make sure the lobe properly aligned with the guide and the gears separated properly.


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Bike is all back together again. I found a kickstart assembly in good shape on eBay. Was still having some problems with full disengagement so I decided to heat the guide up and bend it slightly. A couple times doing that and test fitting and I got it to a good point where it was smoothly disengaging. Since I see a ton of these things with cracks in the "armpit" of the guide, I decided to beef it up a bit so I welded some metal to the armpit surface to add thickness, being careful not to weld where the two parts touch. I wish I took a picture. I always forget that step when I'm in the zone.

One thing I learned during all this test fitting is the shaft really needs oil. If it's not oiled the gears have a hard time separating. I'm pretty sure that's the step I missed before. So I made sure to add a good bit of assembly lube before sealing the motor back up. Went for a ride yesterday and no more noise from the kick starter!

I'll be careful not to let the kick starter slap up if the bike has been sitting for a while. I'm pretty sure lack of oil is the cause of these guides getting cracked and bent.




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