Straight Commando kickstart

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Hi folks, due to the rearset position on my Seeley Commando I could do with a straight folding Kickstart, preferably longer for a better swing. Is there one off another Norton, or even another make that would suit? The spline diameter seems different on alternative AMC ones I've looked at
 
RGM folding kicker make life a lot easier and it stays tight on the spline have had mine for over 10 years now and folds away from the back of the leg.
 
Quite a popular solution to similar problems…

You! You! - I can't believe it! ...you're actually recommending a kickstart!

(okay - who are you? - and what have you done with Nigel?)

;);)
 
I went and tried the T160 type quite a while ago. But it doesn't play with my rearsets and TTI. So back to the MkIII type.
Yes, would like a longer lever...
 
The RGM lever works with my rearsets but only because I made them to suit, on a Commando you need to move the footrest and gear lever further back than the normal rearsets to clear it. The NYC rearsets do this straight out of the tin.

Straight Commando kickstart
 
Hi , on my seeley the folding RGM does not work , so back to the domie one ..........but all depends where and how are your footpeg fitted (of course I use a folding one ) , may be the longer Production racer will do ??
 
The RGM lever works with my rearsets but only because I made them to suit, on a Commando you need to move the footrest and gear lever further back than the normal rearsets to clear it. The NYC rearsets do this straight out of the tin.

Straight Commando kickstart
Could we have a full size shot of that beauty the kick start lever is attached to?
 
Could we have a full size shot of that beauty the kick start lever is attached to?
Not my bike, its an NYC bike so head off to their website.

 
If I understand your requirements and was in your shoes, I would take a stock Norton kickstart lever and straighten, bend, lengthen, and modify it until it is exactly what you need. There is nothing magical about the steel in a kickstart lever.
Then if you want to make it look nice, get it chromed.
If you have the tools and skills, or buddies with tools and skills, the cost would be about the same as buying a kickstart that probably won't be exactly what you want anyway.
 
I personally wouldn't waste my time doing all that with a factory kickstart lever. The pic is after a rebuild with the original "74" lever. WTF? I guess it finally broke.
Went with the RGM and an Alton. I guess I could have built from the remains, but it was a lot easier to buy new shit.
 

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Have the long and straight and folding aforementioned RGM lever on 2 bikes and love them.
I'm fairly sure I wouldn't be successfully kicking, as I am, with the short, rigid stock unit.
Go for RGM!
Cheers
Straight Commando kickstart
 
The way I read the thread, the RGM kickstarter was not an option for the original poster. Maybe I missed something.
I have RGM kickstarters on a couple of my Commandos.
They have their place, but IMHO are a little over-rated.
They don't work with some rear sets.
They don't have a spring or detent to retain the swivel part in the retracted position.
The ones I have were machined so the swivel did not stop at 90 degrees. I had to do some tig brazing to fix this.
After a few years of kicking, the pivot hole/bolt fit is getting sloppy cause there isn't enough metal around the holes to keep them from going egg-shaped.
The leverage is nice, but the stroke can be excessive. Sometimes when I jump hard on them, at the bottom of the stroke my knee begins to invert. That never happens on a stock kickstarter.
 
The way I read the thread, the RGM kickstarter was not an option for the original poster. Maybe I missed something.
I have RGM kickstarters on a couple of my Commandos.
They have their place, but IMHO are a little over-rated.
They don't work with some rear sets.
They don't have a spring or detent to retain the swivel part in the retracted position.
The ones I have were machined so the swivel did not stop at 90 degrees. I had to do some tig brazing to fix this.
After a few years of kicking, the pivot hole/bolt fit is getting sloppy cause there isn't enough metal around the holes to keep them from going egg-shaped.
The leverage is nice, but the stroke can be excessive. Sometimes when I jump hard on them, at the bottom of the stroke my knee begins to invert. That never happens on a stock kickstarter.
I see that @Onder & @marinatlas said it wouldn't work for them (#5 and #7) but I can't see anything from the OP to that end.
I do know they won't fit on a Mk3.
Anyway - I like them - you don't. Different strokes for different folks!
 
Its a Seeley frame so none of us with Commando frames know if the RGM will fit other than knowing on a Commando the rearsets need moving back a bit further. This may or may not be significant to a Seeley framed bike.
 
Look at my photo in #12 - if that works - anything can (I nearly said "for Christ's sake!")
 
With a little heat, you can bend a kick in any shape you want.
It can also be made longer.
Mine started life as an Atlas kick.

Straight Commando kickstart


I like simplicity.
Kommando's setup sure looks nice and shiny, but I won't even begin counting the parts involved..
 
That broken kickstart, supposedly "original", looks like one of the Taiwanese copies that are cast, not forged (hence much cheaper!). A forged kickstart arm may bend (well, try!) but I have yet to see one that actually brakes off. Did see a lot of those imitation ones broken into two, though.
Since the original kickstart arm is a forging it can be modified if heated up correctly. Our Andover Norvil (beware of imitations) Proddy Racer kickstarts are, as in the day in Thruxton, made from original Kickstart forgings modified by a blacksmith, then chromed.
 
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