Repairing the kick starter of my Dad’s Indian Scout 741 was easy. It went without a hitch… almost!
When we worked on the transmission, for some reasons I can’t completely recall at the moment, we completely took apart the kick starter. That was a good thing because we noticed that the crank spring was not in good condition and the pinion clutch had 4 out of 10 broken teeth. Not good! But easy enough to repair!
So I ordered the spare parts and I’ll let you know more about this soon. Where, how, issues and difficulties… But for now, let’s just focus on the kick starter.
To remove the chain guard, unfortunately, we had to remove the exhaust pipe which is tricky on its own, but a bit easier to manage when it’s not your first time!
Replacing the pinion clutch
We started by the front part that needed to be replaced, took the bolt out and used my dad’s ‘very special tool’ to get the pinion clutch out. I don’t know if the pinion clutch and pinion gear are supposed to come out like a breeze or be difficult. With this tool he created (very high technology as you can tell!) it is very easy to take them out without creating any damage.
Before trying to install the new pinion clutch, we compared it to the old one…. Darn! They were not the same diameter! There I was, all my motivation going down the drain and being replaced by frustration. I had not bought the pinion gear that fit with the pinion clutch because it was quite pricey and pretty much instantly regretted it. I didn’t tell my dad, I don’t want him to know how much this project is costing me.
So there I was, comparing the 2 pinions and wondering… “Well, we don’t have a choice anyway at this point. We have to make it work. Inside diameter seemed to be the same and fitted on the shaft. So let’s do this”…
We put the new pinion in place. Couldn’t put the washer back on so will be for next time! And moved on to replacing the crank spring.
Replacing the crank spring
The old crank spring was still doing its job despite its look! Now since it seemed that it had been repaired before, which would have made it more fragile, we (I) thought it best to replace.
The new spring was so easy to put in place. That was cool!
Put the crank back in. Easy!
No washer…. More on this below…
Put the lock ring in place… ??
It should have been so easy… but dad doesn’t have the tool for lock rings… So it was a nightmare!! I’ll spare you the details as we managed at the end but putting this lock ring alone took us more time than everything else!
OK, tests… all good!
Put the chain guard and exhaust pipe back on. Congratulation!
A great afternoon!
Lessons learned
1- Get the tools needed!
Goodness, things get really complicated and frustrating, when you don’t have the right tools. Nothing more to say really on this, just get the tools. Speaking to myself here!!
2- Measure parts before ordering!
I was so upset with myself for not having measured the pinion gear before ordering. I had taken pictures, I had counted the teeth, but that was not enough. Next time, I will take the measures of everything.
The next issue that will need to be handled
As you may notice from the pictures, the crank has damaged the exhaust pipe. Those 2 snuggle at every start of the engine and that’s not good. I do want to change the pipes in the future but I don’t want the same to happen to some brand new shiny pipes. So this has to be sorted.
Dad had put a big washer behind the crank to limit this. The washer creates space and pushes the crank slightly outward which does limit the friction a bit. But it’s not enough and it doesn’t seem the correct way to solve this issue.
This additional space has an unfortunate further consequence: the crank is not perfectly aligned with the pinion gear. Again, not good! This also means we don’t have space for the washer in front of the crank. No good but not terrible.
Now, I have seen other Indians with the same type of issues. I’m not sure how to fix this yet. But at this stage, I’m thinking it has to be at the exhaust pipe level, not the crank. Researches are needed and some convincing… I’m trying to get my dad on board with losing the extra washer! Like with other thinks, it will take a while but I’ll manage!!
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