Floppy kickstart

[Revvers]

Hello. My scoot is an absolute nightmare to start from cold. She'll bump ok (ish) but kicking over is no good. The kickstart mechanism seems 'floppy' to me. I did change the crankcase cover during my rebuild and had to fit a 'bespoke' kickstart lever to clear the Ancillotti. So I couldn't really set the mechanism as I removed and replaced the original lever. Can someone tell me how to set the kick start from scratch so I can get a bit of purchase when I kick her over. She starts ok when warm. Thanks

[Knowledge]

You probably need to ensure that the kick-start cam is deploying the plunger (the teeth) at the best point in the kick.

There are two types of cam. One is fitted inside the sidecasing and the other is fitted to the end of the gearbox endplate.

Let us know which you have, and then we can offer some guidance.

You might like to think about use of a variable ignition system, as this will greatly aid the starting of your scooter, but that's another story. Let's get the kick start working first.

[Revvers]

Thanks knowledge. Is the cam ,and it's location, easily identifiable?

[Knowledge]

This endplate has the cam built into it:


This end plate is used when the cam is fitted inside the sidecasing.


(Images from Scooter Restorations)

Here is a photo showing both types of cam, as fitted inside the sidecasing. One is fitted, and the other is shown for reference.


I hope this helps.

[Revvers]

Thanks. When I get 5 minutes to myself, I'll whip the crankcase off and look. Sometimes when kicking over, there's no resistance at all. When the motor is running it seems ok