Kickstart Rubber. How to keep from kicking it off?

texasSlick

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Am I the only one who keeps kicking the kickstart rubber off the peg?

When I was young, I took the rubber off and forgot about it. Then every pair of boots I owned had a gimped up right shank.

Now that I am older and have tender feet, and Lucchese boots, It would be nice to keep the rubber on the peg. I have tried many adhesives, but nothing will hold the rubber in place.

Anyone else have this problem? Solutions anyone?

Slick
 
If the kicker is the original perhaps it has worn to the point where it sits at slightly more than 90 deg and a judicious blob of weld would help?
 
Some safety wire would probably do the trick, works on my shift rubber and from what I've read some use it on handlebar grips (that is where I got the idea). FWIW HF sells safety wire pliers cheap

Kickstart Rubber. How to keep from kicking it off?
 
Thanks for the replies, guys. Unless someone else chimes in with some other way for me to consider, I am going with Fritz's solution.

Slick
 
I just put a new spare rubber on mine recently. The old one didn't come off easily and the new one took quite a bit of force and twisting before it finally popped over the knob on the end of the lever. If the rubber is reamed out from use, or gets a little oil or fuel between it and the foot lever, I could see how it may slip off when being kicked.

Incidentally, mine could use a little blob of weld to bring it back parallel to the axles when folded out.
 
texasSlick said:
Am I the only one who keeps kicking the kickstart rubber off the peg?

When I was young, I took the rubber off and forgot about it. Then every pair of boots I owned had a gimped up right shank.

Now that I am older and have tender feet, and Lucchese boots, It would be nice to keep the rubber on the peg. I have tried many adhesives, but nothing will hold the rubber in place.

Anyone else have this problem? Solutions anyone?

Slick
Tex,
I had the same problem with the rubber walking off. When I got caught in the rain and kicked the bike it would just fly off in one shot. I did what you did and kicked it without the rubber in this condition. The angle of the Kickstart pin needs to be positive to 90 degrees about 4 degrees. If it is negative, it will have the natural tendency to be pushed off with your boot. A touch of a weld blob with a tig or adding material at the contact point may help.
Cheers,
Thomas
CNN
 
I got real tired of that happening so what I have done is cut off the blind end of the kick starter rubber slide it over the kick starter peg, take a flat washer with an ID which will fit over the smaller diameter on the kick starter peg, split one side with a hack saw twist it so I can slip it on and after its its in place bend the washer flat again. It's not a "pristine" look but it does the job and I don't have to keep pounding it back on with the palm of my hand!

Dave
 
drp said:
I got real tired of that happening so what I have done is cut off the blind end of the kick starter rubber slide it over the kick starter peg, take a flat washer with an ID which will fit over the smaller diameter on the kick starter peg, split one side with a hack saw twist it so I can slip it on and after its its in place bend the washer flat again. It's not a "pristine" look but it does the job and I don't have to keep pounding it back on with the palm of my hand!

Dave

Dave:

I actually considered your solution, or something similar, before posting my request for ideas.

All:

I went with Fritz's solution .... it is already done. My job is not as nice as Fritz's as his cap appears to be lathe turned while mine is only a stainless steel fender washer. Nevertheless, it looks good and I think it will hold up. Just for good measure, I also applied Gorilla glue, using three worm clamps to apply pressure (FYI, Gorilla glue expands on cure, and requires clamping).

The angle on my peg is slightly more than 90 and I agree with all who pointed out this is a factor in kicking off the rubber. However, I fear to let my local welder have at it. I think adding a spot of metal requires a bit more finesse than he is capable of using his stick.

Thanks again to all for your replies.

Slick
 
I used real cheap hairspray. Going on acted like a lubricant, dried,like a rock hard beehive hairdo out of the 60's.
 
hankmarx said:
I used real cheap hairspray. Going on acted like a lubricant, dried,like a rock hard beehive hairdo out of the 60's.

That's a good trick for fitting handle bar grips too...
 
texasSlick said:
drp said:
I got real tired of that happening so what I have done is cut off the blind end of the kick starter rubber slide it over the kick starter peg, take a flat washer with an ID which will fit over the smaller diameter on the kick starter peg, split one side with a hack saw twist it so I can slip it on and after its its in place bend the washer flat again. It's not a "pristine" look but it does the job and I don't have to keep pounding it back on with the palm of my hand!

Dave

Dave:

I actually considered your solution, or something similar, before posting my request for ideas.

All:

I went with Fritz's solution .... it is already done. My job is not as nice as Fritz's as his cap appears to be lathe turned while mine is only a stainless steel fender washer. Nevertheless, it looks good and I think it will hold up. Just for good measure, I also applied Gorilla glue, using three worm clamps to apply pressure (FYI, Gorilla glue expands on cure, and requires clamping).

The angle on my peg is slightly more than 90 and I agree with all who pointed out this is a factor in kicking off the rubber. However, I fear to let my local welder have at it. I think adding a spot of metal requires a bit more finesse than he is capable of using his stick.

Thanks again to all for your replies.

Slick

I had a small bead wire-welded onto the stop of the foot lever and then filed and ground it down to suit to restore the correct angle of the foot lever.
 
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