Broke the external spring on my kicker

[57FLH]

Hello all,
I rode out to Gettysburg last Saturday for bike week. I really had a great day, but on the way back when I stopped to take a leak & when I went to start up again the external spring on my kicker broke. Oops...no big deal, tied up the kicker with some friction tape & rode home. My question is this....should I attempt to replace that spring without pulling my kicker apart or do I have to pull it all part & wind it up on a vise etc.......I probably should as it does slip sometimes anyway. Also, if I do pull it, is it fairly easy to replace the clutch gear, kicker gear, etc... or should I let the shop do it. I don't own a press. I was quoted $175-200 to rebuild.
Any advice would be appreciated.
Thanks!

[Jonderson]

57:

With all the bad luck going on with kickers this summer, and seeing as it is slipping anyway, you probably ought to pull it apart and check/rebuild it. If you decide to do it yourself, the first thing I would do is go read the other kicker problem threads from this summer. Cotten had some great stuff to say about getting the "fit" right once you change something in the kicker box, among other things. That doesn't sound like an excessive amount to pay to have it done though, btw.

If I had the same problem right now I would probably pay to have it done simply because I am frantically busy right now and I would want to ride on a day off in July rather than wrench. November would be a different story though. But maybe that is just me.

[57FLH]

Thanks Jonderson,
you refreshed my memory of that earlier post I had read..."too close for comfort". I actually thought of that post when my kicker went south & was thankful that it didn't happen going 60mph! I just read the clymer re: rebuild & it doesn't seem too laborious but it's the old $, time, kids, work thing....ugh. I suppose I could pull it, wind a new spring on, & wait for winter to rebuild it.
No time to rebuild it right now, & not enough $ to pay someone else to do it. Has anyone had any success winding on a spring from the outside?

[dj]

Yeah, I need a kicker bushing set installed on mine. I know for a fact that it's the original, and.....it's time. I'm not comfortable with all that slop. Not too bad, but still sloppy. Probly have to get the crank arm replaced also, and whatever else inside. I have a good local repairman right around the corner. Have not got an estimate yet, though.

I'll wait till winter. To much more important stuff to take care of right now.

I didn't think the external return spring was that much of a big deal. I took mine off to clean it and put it back on without a whole lot of winding...etc. It works! I guess what I mean is that I didn't have to wind it any additional turns than what is presented. I just squeezed it and hung it up on the arm. I hope I have it on right, but like I said.....It works!

[57FLH]

Pulled the broken spring off tonight & yeah, it doesn't seem too hard to re-install. The book talks of winding it up on a vice etc...but the way I look at it is this....if I buy the new spring, throw it on & it stays upright, I'm up and running til the end of the summer (knock on wood) & I'll pull it all off in the winter & rebuild. I realized that my rear brake linkage & exhaust will have to come off too & seems like winter work to me!
Thanks for the help everyone!

[53rigidrider]

You're lucky, I broke my kicker arm clean off!
I had to push it about 15 times up a hill to start it, what a workout!
I think it'd be a good idea to pull the whole shebang off to check everything out and rewind your spring.
Just my $.02

[57FLH]

That must have sucked 53.....
I bought a spring & managed to get it on without too much trouble. Believe it or not, HD had one in stock...the last one. The parts guy thought I was crazy for even asking if they had it, but since I was in there anyway to get some free reading material (thunder press,etc...) I asked and was truly shocked that they had one.
Also, a friend told me that if my clutch was out of adjustment it can cause the clutch gear to skip.
Thoughts? I'm going to adjust it anyway cause it's probably time & see what happens........off to the garage, I'll let y'all know.