broken kicker gear

[poorbiker]

Well hell, got gas, got back on bike, gave it normal kick, skipped, went straight down and I wrenched my knee but good. Finally got it to catch and start but only after I sat on bike for a couple minutes (cause a goodlooking girl half my age was watching)  pretending to look at something on the engine, nearly cried. If I had been in garage I would have layed down on floor and whinned like a baby.
Broke kicker gear, of coarse...........

[CraigArizona85248]

OUCH!  I've had that happen and it does not feel good at all.

Baker makes a really high quality kicker gear setup for the OEM 4-speed.  Not sure what transmission you have.  Might work in some of the 5-in-a-4 transmissions too.  Unfortunately most of the aftermarket kicker gears (from Drag, CCI, etc.) are junk.  Steer clear of those.

-Craig

[triumphbruce]

good cover grab a shot pound a beer and grab the wenches o i ment wrenches

[tommc2000]

Had the same thing happen to me...in front of a group of people, had to man up! Hurt like a motha! Use the Baker gear.

Tom

[BikerJim44]

Had a bad thing happen on a 2000 Panzer. Guy broke the shear pin and gaulled up the case inside so he took it to a machine shop to be welded up. The outer ramp was still in the aluminum case and when they got the case hot the ramp fell out and was lost. Don't ever loose one of those little rats as it was a York Drivetrain kicker assembly. I tried every source and even posted on here for a new outer ramp. Of course they are nothing like the stock H-D ramp and ball assembly. Had to get the part from Muller in Germany. Mr. Muller doesn't speak English so I had to find a German interpetor. Finally got the part from Muller at a cost of $148.00 with the international money transfer as he couldn't take my credit card. What a hassle that was but I got it and it's all good now.
Hope the knee is better. That does hurt like hell when that happens. OUCH!!! Is all my knee is saying right now.  Spidey.

[greybeard_541]

Wow- glad to hear there IS a "real" fix (Baker gear). this is the second one I've stripped and thought it was just something I was doing wrong. One thing I did do last time I had it apart was to make sure the "end play" of the kicker shaft was taken up. Discovered you can take an old starter shaft thrust washer and file it to create a custom shim to take up the slop usually in the shaft. It takes some trial and error to get the exact fit. The problem I found on my first go round was the play allowed the shaft to drift too far in getting the "ramp" rivited to the back side of the gear bound in the pinion. By spacing the shaft with the shim on the outside of the kicker cover it keeps the gear inside from drifting.

Hope this may help someone...

Greybeard

[stroker800]

 Lets face it ,,when you pop that knee backwards ,,,,,you will pay what ever that good gear costs...I've never had the gear bust on mine,,,BUT I would have a few pints and jump on that kicker (74" low comp) like it was a 120 Harmon and it would start 1/2 way thru OOOOWWW!!!! cover your ears!!!! So I stroked it and put up the comp,,,no more bad knees.
Dave

[Trip]

You think 74,s were bad...ever hear of "sportster knee" ...those poor baztards crippled themselves!!  lol*****  hurts just thinkin about it ...

[Kuda]

I'll be the first to admit that the recent reproduction gears are junk.  That said, a lot of what folks blame on bad gears can be tied back to sloppy bushings and improperly spaced gears in the kicker cover. If the gears aren't meshing correctly, they WILL fail eventually.  Plus, a lot of folks are running big offset kicker arms to clear exhaust pipes, which puts a hell of a strain on the bushings, cover, and yes, kicker gears (once the bushings wear out or the cover cracks).  Just sayin'...

-Kuda (running OEM gears, mind you...)

[greybeard_541]

Thanks for bringing up that the offset kicker arms will add extra stress on the gears!!!

Greybeard