Kick starter doesn't always engage

[Audizway]

Well, I may swapping motors sooner than I thought- my low mileage XS360's kick starter doesn't always engage to turn the motor over, only about 50% of the time, and about half way through the stroke. Anyone know if this is common, and is it a huge job to fix?

 

[drewpy]

could be a few things;

1) the plain bush casting inside the case has broken, due to peeps hitting the kickstart with their size 10's (common)
2) the clutch needs to work to transmit the torque to the cyls, so could be slipping


either way, you can take off the clutch side to investigate, its not an indepth job, just have to drain the oil and crack those tight allen bolts off ( use an impact driver)

 

[Travis]

The clip on the bendix may be weak so the gear doesn't always engage as the shaft as it is rotated by the kick lever.

But like drewpy said, you'll have to pull the cover so see what's going on in there.

 

[Audizway]

Thanks for the suggestions, I will try to get into it this weekend.

 

[Travis]

Did you ever get a chance to dig into this?

 

[Audizway]

Thanks for following up, I have been on business travel and am looking forward to getting the clutch cover off one of these evenings. I had tried to bump start it, and the clutch was slipping, so that was good advice.
I did buy brass swing arm bushings and a new battery while I was gone, so I have that to look forward to.

 

[volcomskater77]

thats NOT wat you want to be looking at. otherwise you gotta run only the starter or replace the entire case. ask me how i know (i did the hard one) THATS WHAT SHE SAID!

 

[Audizway]

I opened up the clutch side, everything looks good - kick starter mount is intact, clutch moves in and out. How can I tell if the clutch is sticking? I took a picture, but can't seem to attach it.

 

[drewpy]

slipping, you want to know if it is slipping!!..

check tightness of the clutch spring screws, smell for any burning like brakes.
make sure adjustment of the pushrod is correct.

 

[Audizway]

It's not running, I can't turn the motor over with the kick starter or by bump starting it, that's why I suspect the clutch. It feels fine, I see the basket moving in and out when I pull it.

 

[drewpy]

It's not running, I can't turn the motor over with the kick starter or by bump starting it, that's why I suspect the clutch. It feels fine, I see the basket moving in and out when I pull it.

yep, your slipping, I suspect either a bent/stuck clutch pushrod, incorrectly adjusted pushrod, sticking cable (common), worn clutch spring/plates (not common) incorrect oil IE fully synth used (fairly common)

 

[Audizway]

Thanks, I will look into the push rod (first I will look in the manual to see how it works). It's not the cable, I released it and pulled the cable from the bottom to make sure it was loose. As for the plates, could they be so bad that it would slip while pushing it in 3rd gear?

 

[drewpy]

don't rule out the cable, Mine looked ok and did as you say and I got slippage. cured it with a different cable i had lying around

 

[lhaolpa]

In my opinion,syn oil has it's place,but one of is not in the clutch of a 30 yr old cycle.I use 15w40 oil in everything I own except my wife's explorer,and that gets 5w30 syn oil,as that's what is required.The syn oil is too slick and slippery for a wet clutch,and for an old motor as it will leak and all that expensive oil will be on the street and driveway.You might try removing the cover and see if the mechanism is stuck,just move the spring to see if it has a problem engaging.Spray WD-40 or whatever to see if anything is gumming up the works.Good luck. lha

 

[gordonfi]

In my opinion,syn oil has it's place,but one of is not in the clutch of a 30 yr old cycle.I use 15w40 oil in everything I own except my wife's explorer,and that gets 5w30 syn oil,as that's what is required.The syn oil is too slick and slippery for a wet clutch,and for an old motor as it will leak and all that expensive oil will be on the street and driveway.You might try removing the cover and see if the mechanism is stuck,just move the spring to see if it has a problem engaging.Spray WD-40 or whatever to see if anything is gumming up the works.Good luck. lha

I have a (maybe dumb) question. When removing the plate (cover) for the kickstart mechanism, does the oil have to be drained first? I guess I'd find out when loosening the bolts...