Motorcycle Repair: 1965 cb77 kickstarter, full wave bridge rectifier, stator coils

Question
I have a 1965 cb77 that i have done "riding" restore on. Today my battery was dead so i attempted to kickstart it. The only problem is that my kickstart shaft splines are not in the best of shape and it stripped the kickstart shaft splines. The kickstart itself is still in decent shape. I have not been able to locate a new gear, do you have any suggestions on securing the kickstarter to the shaft? i have thought about taking it to a machine shop and having a set screw drilled  but not sure if that would work. Any ideas?

Answer
Anthony, First of all, never start a CB77 with a dead battery. The battery is the electrical load for the system and if the load isn't there, then the charging system goes to a full output mode of up to 40v and it will fry all of your light bulbs that are on at that time. There are plenty of 12N9-3A batteries out there, including some gel battery options.

Second, I'm assuming that you are discussing the outer k/s gear attached to the kickstarter arm, not the inner one that connects to the kickstarter shaft inside the engine. The part number is 28231-268-010. Check with Ohio Cycle, who has one listed for $95. There are some at CMS in Holland for about $150. Google the part number to help find loose ones floating around the world.

If your engine is in proper tune and the starter system is working, you won't need the kickstarter.  Replace the starter clutch springs, once you remove the rotor with a special tool and that generally takes care of the major problems related to the electric starter system, but of course you have to have a fully charged battery in place.

Once you get a fully charged battery in it, check your charging system output. If low output, look at the stator coils to see if any are loose and shorting against the stator mounts. Then check wire connections to the harness. Most likely, the rectifier has died after 45 years. You can modify a Radio Shack full wave bridge rectifier to work or buy them from Ebay sellers.

I have seen people weld the end of the shaft to the k/s arm or try drilling it for a roll pin, but that really isn't a very nice solution. The pins will work loose due to the stress of the kickstarter arm against the shaft. Welding ruins the surface of the k/s arm and has to be ground off eventually to replace the shaft properly.

Bill Silver
www.vintagehonda.com