CL 72 Kickstarter woes

[LOUD MOUSE]

The crack is caused when the lever angle isn't what HONDA designed it to be.
11:00 is the recommended angle and the lever will contact the foot peg and stop.
When the angle is 12:00 or 1:00 the lever is stopped by the far end of the shaft contacting the Kick Starter Stopper Bolt.
This applies more pressure than one might imagine and will either split the Kick Starter Joint or twist the end off the Kick Shaft over time.
This is one reason they are hard and expensive to find NOS. .......................lm

Just pulled these out of a pair of Dream side covers. They are better than yours but both have the beginnings of cracks.



This is the best of the two but if you look under a magnifier you can see the crack starting.



And the not so good one. The crack is a bit more obvious.



This is a bad design so they all will crack eventually. The sharp corner at the end of that slot is a 'no-no' in Engineering terms and the part is destined for fatigue failure. Putting a radius where the square corner is, by drilling a hole, would stop the cracking but once it's started it really needs welding up and re-machining.

I thought that the Dream, which has electric starting would be the best bet for a used spare but it depends how it has been used over the years.

PM me if you would like one of these. It could keep you going a while longer. I'm in Atlanta from 18th - 22nd May.

G

[connor1]

lm-

By lever angle do you mean where the lever is normally at rest?

Sounds like you are implying that the angle has some degree of adjustment...and of course I want to avoid stressing this part out and going through this exercise all over again, so help me understand what I do not know.

When I reassemble, am I looking for a certain specific orientation of the kickstarter? (Other than "hey that looks about like it did when I took it apart" which to my mind would be a success!)

And do I also want the lever to contact the footpeg at the bottom of its arc to reduce stress to the kickstarter joint?

Thanks for your insight!

[LOUD MOUSE]

Yes when you have it installed and turned in 11:00 is the angle you want.
Turn the shaft clockwise to stop and install the cover with the lever pulled back to apx. 10:00 (you are using the spring to hold things in place) and install cover to engine.
If angle isn't 11:00 take it off and do it until it's at 11:00.
Keep in mind that after 52 years the odds are ya aren't the first to take the cover off.
<<<<<<And do I also want the lever to contact the foot peg at the bottom of its arc to reduce stress to the kick starter joint?>>>>>>>>>>> YES. And the Shaft.
I have quite a collection of split joints and ruined shafts on my work bench. ...........lm

lm-

By lever angle do you mean where the lever is normally at rest?

Sounds like you are implying that the angle has some degree of adjustment...and of course I want to avoid stressing this part out and going through this exercise all over again, so help me understand what I do not know.

When I reassemble, am I looking for a certain specific orientation of the kickstarter? (Other than "hey that looks about like it did when I took it apart" which to my mind would be a success!)

And do I also want the lever to contact the footpeg at the bottom of its arc to reduce stress to the kickstarter joint?

Thanks for your insight!

[OldScrambler]

I'll take a close look at the units in my spares box..............I have had the same experience.........I must have more than a dozen so chances are good..........Will be gone until Saturday.

[connor1]

Thanks Old Scrambler!

[connor1]

Here is a glamor shot.

[G-Man]

That's a pretty tidy-looking bike. I can see that the rear fender is an aluminum one. What's the front? What year?

G