hey all. i have a 73 ironhead,kickstart will start bike. kickstart will not return? the return spring is fine but kick down and it just stays there?? pull it back up and it makes ratchet sound, bushings r there doesn't seem gunked up,what do i need to check next?thanks in advance

 

It is common for the shaft to be binding in the sprocket cover bushing. Loosen or remove all the screws for the cover so that the cover is loose and see if the problem goes away.

I have 3 shims under the cover on my 1978, each under a different bolt, to keep the shaft centered in its bushing.

 

I have a 73 restoration in progress, my kick shaft was rubbing on the back motor mount. But like mick said remove the timeing cover and check, jpcycles has all the replacement parts you need if something has broken.

 

thanks guys,will look at these things. looking in my manual,they show the bushings on the shaft,when i take the cover off my bushing is in the cover,is this correct or should it stay on the shaft when cover is removed?

 

It is correct that the bushing stays in the cover.

 

well loosened those bolts and what do you know! it doesn't happen very often but love the easy fix! thanks Mick

 

What i did was tighten the bolts, in turn, a few threads at a time, checking for binding each time. When i found the one that bound i put shims [washers] behind the cover for the others. They did not all shim the same so it was tedious, including making a special purpose shim for one.

 

tighten your return spring up another cog