71 Commando Kickstart lever

S

Snakepit

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Is there a fix for the kickstart lever striking the peashooter mufflers when kick starting?
 
If a 750, the 850 lever will provide more clearance. Several vendors sell stepped mounting plates that move the mufflers in enough to clear.
 
Yes, you need a truck with a receiver hitch and a 6' long length of black pipe. Stick the splined end in the receiver hitch then slide the pipe on the arm of the lever and give it a goose in the direction it needs to go..... with that much leverage it will bend easily. Ask me how I know... :rolleyes:
 
I improved mine by cutting the threaded mounting bosses on the mufflers to half their original height.
 
Fast Eddie said:
AN sell exhaust mounting plates that move the silencers inboard.
Click to expand...
I bought new header pipes from AN and had a small bit of tension on the timing side exhaust hanger to pull it in so the kickstarter would clear it and the pipe cracked and broke at the "brazing" point at the exhaust rose. They were brand new pipes about a month or two old and that small bit of tension caused the braze to let go. The new pipes are very thin in comparison to my originals. I didn't even bother to call AN because I knew I put a bit of spring on the pipe when I tightened the exhaust hanger. In retrospect, I should have made a jig and gentley bent the pipe to pull it in. I just remounted my old horrible looking original pipes and don't care that the chrome is gone and the pipes look like shit..

.... but I would be wary of putting any sort of tension on the new pipes trying to pull it into the bike. The old pipes are 100 times stronger than the new thin walled pipes so be careful if you try to pull the muffler in towards the bike. You don't want to stress the brazing at the exhaust flange..
 
Snakepit said:
Is there a fix for the kickstart lever striking the peashooter mufflers when kick starting?
Click to expand...
This could be a pattern exhaust pipe issue I have previously encountered. The original pipes bend outwardly a little at the same time the upward bend before mounting the P shooters. If that kick is not present, the silencer, pipe joint is pushed out from the lower frame tube a little and the kick start will hit the silencer. There is very little clearance with the correct bend. I have traced interference several times to this problem.
 
I have to assume that all the Commando owners that experience this problem (kickstart lever hitting the muffler) have bikes that have been apart or have replacement exhaust systems/mufflers, because although I realize "tolerance stack" and variances existed (and still do to a lesser degree) on older production mass produced machines, I find it hard to believe that the factory or dealers would send a new bike out to a customer with it having this flaw, as I'd guess from multiple postings here indicated it occured on more than just a couple of bikes.
 
L.A.B. said:
Thats the 850 Mk1A/Mk2A/Mk3 lever (12-1018). The 850 Mk1 and Mk2 lever was the same as the 750 lever (06-1464).
Click to expand...
Also, the less expensive 3rd party "MK3" levers I've tried don't help and often the pinch bolt is too short so if spending the money get the 12-1018 from AN. I say "MK3" because the 3rd party manufacturers usually list them for only the MK3.
 
quawk said:
I have to assume that all the Commando owners that experience this problem (kickstart lever hitting the muffler) have bikes that have been apart or have replacement exhaust systems/mufflers, because although I realize "tolerance stack" and variances existed (and still do to a lesser degree) on older production mass produced machines, I find it hard to believe that the factory or dealers would send a new bike out to a customer with it having this flaw, as I'd guess from multiple postings here indicated it occured on more than just a couple of bikes.
Click to expand...
You might as well believe it! Thinking the factory was able to do what no one else can do is the hard (impossible) part to believe :)

BTW, the factory introduced service release N1/01, https://www.gregmarsh.com/MC/Norton/Info/SR/N1_01.aspx for this very problem, but it appears never installed it on bikes or quickly stopped. Probably because it doesn't really work. AN has a version of it https://andover-norton.co.uk/en/sho...r-mount-bracket-stepped-version-chrome-plated that does sometimes help - but, moving the middle of the muffler in tighter by 3/8" barely moves the spot that hits inward and it still takes a lot of fiddling to get the kickstart to miss.

If you straddle the bike to kick and don't have it on a stand, you naturally push outward on the lever and might not hit the muffler.
 
robs ss said:
You could also fit one of the long RGM levers. Gives more clearance and gives better kicking leverage.
I have them on two of my bikes and thoroughly recommend them. 👍
Cheers
Click to expand...
I agree, however their Quality Control is not great. There was a recent thread about that here. When they are right, they install without drama. However, that is often not the case. Some batches of them the bolt interferes with the groove in the shaft causing you to need to file shaft to get the bolt through. Sometimes the bolt is too short and only catches 2-3 thread causing you to strip them while trying to get it tight. Sometimes the part your foot goes on won't stay in the closed position and flops around when riding.

I've bought and sold seven of them. If I remember right only two were installed without issue.
 
L.A.B. said:
That bracket is for the Interstate and Interpol, it doesn't fit the Roadster, and still listed up to the 850 Mk2.
andover-norton.co.uk

Andover Norton - BRACKET - SILENCER RH (INTERSTATE) - 06.3579

BRACKET - SILENCER RH (INTERSTATE)
andover-norton.co.uk
Click to expand...
Yes, the SR was not for Roadster and the equivalent AN part is not for Roadster. However, the AN link I gave is for Roadster, not the version you linked.

My point was that the factory knew of the problem which is what @quawk was asking about. And that AN does have a "fix" that sometimes works for Roadster, and I didn't link the "fix" for the one that matched the SR that sometimes works for the others.

Sorry for the confusion. I never get it right if I try to say everything possible or if I just try to answer the question!
 
marshg246 said:
I agree, however their Quality Control is not great. There was a recent thread about that here. When they are right, they install without drama. However, that is often not the case. Some batches of them the bolt interferes with the groove in the shaft causing you to need to file shaft to get the bolt through. Sometimes the bolt is too short and only catches 2-3 thread causing you to strip them while trying to get it tight. Sometimes the part your foot goes on won't stay in the closed position and flops around when riding.

I've bought and sold seven of them. If I remember right only two were installed without issue.
Click to expand...
And...don't forget the batch that weren't heat treated properly and bent like wet noodles.. But...once they're good , they're very, very good.
 
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