A concern that I had whilst most of the bike was together during the New Year period, was the fact that my beautiful brand new Mikes XS kicker smacked the Dunstall exhaust at the bottom of the stroke. For obvious reasons a solution needed to be found.
With my powers of research at full strength I managed to discover that the RD400E kicker had the same splined shaft mount. The most appealing aspect is that it has two bends that ensure the pedal pushes outwards during a downward kick. It should also blend in better than the straight XS650 kicker whilst in the "at rest" position. It seems to be of lighter construction yet am hopeful that it will be strong enough anyhow.
I picked RD400E kicker from Yambits.
Below are some comparison shots I'd taken this evening.
Hey mate - saw you on the SCR fb page as well as the XS650 forum, love the bike and love the way your bike is gracefuly changing colours as this goes on! Thanks for the hot tip on the RD kicker - i was hoping to not have to bend mine to clear my rearsets on my 78 XS - so fingers crossed that works. cheers tom w
ReplyDeleteHi Stephen, Loving the project. I'm a little concerned on the strength of the RD kicker. Having ridden several RD400s and kicked them into life I must not that they are way easier to kick over than an XS650.
ReplyDeleteNormal starting practice for my stock 650 was to put it on the center stand and the after finding TDC give it a hefty boot to bring it to life. A bit different to the couple of sharp prods to get the RD to fire.
You are also compounding the problem with the shape of the RD kicker putting the end of the lever further from the pivot. This will give it more leverage against the bend in the kicker.
I'd look for an old 650 lever and heat it and bend it so it clears your pipes. You can get the lever part rechromed easily enough or paint it to match the bike. Combine that with the nice spline and pivot from the Mikes XS lever.
Cheers
Aussie Mike
G'day Mike, thanks for the feedback.
ReplyDeleteIt certainly is noticeable the difference in weight/thickness between the two kickers, which is what my initial concern was once they were side by side.
I also questioned whether the leverage would be a problem too, however, I was going to give it a shot and see if it would be a major issue.
At least I still have two original kickers that I can bend into shape should it become a problem.
The engine does have an electric starter that I'm retaining and likely to use regularly anyhow. The kicker will come in handy should there be starter problem, or if I feel like showing off in front of a crowd (provided I've mastered the art of the kick start.
Have a great one mate!
Damn I miss a kick start .... pushing a button to start it up just isn't the same
ReplyDelete