Will a Kanguro kickstart lever fit a 3½ Sport?

[Galligaskins]

A few months ago I bought a 3½ Strada on which a previous owner had modified the footpegs to move them back to where they would be on a later Sport, but left the brake and gearlever as they were, so a bit of a stretch. I'm in the process of bringing the controls back to match. I still have the Strada kickstart lever and find that with the footpegs set back that 2 or 3 inches À la Sport compared to a standard Strada the lever gets in the way of my heel. It looks like Sport kickstart levers are predictably rare but I have seen a number of Kanguro levers for sale which look like they could do the job.
Has anyone tried this?

Regards
Howard

[hombre]

I've tried it on some but it probably won't fit, they won't even fit the round frame camels. The axle fitting is the same but it will hit the frame or footpegmounts at some point

[Morini Jen]

Hello Howard.

I'm not sure about differences between Strada kick start levers and Sport ones. I think earlier levers swivelled at the top (red bike in the photo) and later ones at the bottom (yellow bike). It looks to me as though the lever on the red bike would give more room for your heel. That lever has part number 38.01.11.

It looks as though the red bike has had it's footrests moved further back.

[Galligaskins]

Hi Hombre,

looking at it again I see what you mean, that the hinge on the Kanguro lever could well strike the part of the footpeg that extends forward before the 90 degree outward section that carries the rubber, and your foot.

download/file.php?mode=view&id=3773

Hi Jen,
to my understanding, the red and yellow bikes both seem to have an 'unconventional' (wrong is too strong a word ) pairing of footrest and kickstart. Ironically, both set ups look to me like they'd interfere with the rider's heel/ankle. It's more usual to have the early kickstart with the top swivel paired with the forward footpegs of the yellow bike, and the lower swivel kickstart that's on the yellow bike with the slightly set-back Sport pegs of the red bike.
My bike is the same as the red one and you do become aware of it. It's not awful, just a niggle. If those two bikes swapped their kickstarts, the red bike would then have the lever safely in front of the rider's ankle, and the yellow bike's would be behind with plenty of clearance.
By the way, Jen, thanks again for the tip off previously about the gear lever adapter. I got one from Mdina along with a second hand Sport (shorter) brake lever. I also got a s/h gear lever from a 250 2C from Italy. Just needed to turn a stub on my lathe to mount the gear lever onto the footpeg and everything is where it should be now.
Just need to sort that kickstart lever out. Looks like I'll just have to hold out for a later 'lower swivel' one but not a Kanguro one.

Regards
H

[Morini Jen]

Hi Howard.

Having read your description, and looking again at the photos, I agree that the red bike and the yellow bike would be better off swapping levers. At first glance I thought that the 'top swivel' lever would be more out of the way but I suppose it is something you can really only assess when sat on the bike.

Still, I am delighted to hear that you now have your footrests/brakelever/gear linkage all sorted out.

Good luck in your search for a 'bottom swivel' kickstart. Maybe post an advert in the 'Wanted' section?

I don't know if you have a parts book but I have attached a couple of photos which may be of help to you or someone else.

[Galligaskins]

Hi Jen,

thank you, I do have a parts book that was passed onto me by the previous owner, but I agree it's always helpful to post information for other people to pick up in future searches. I also got the big blue service book.

As you suggest, I'll put out a wanted ad for a low swivel kickstart.

Edit to add: I've deleted the off-topic rambling about the background of the bike. It was just my enthusiasm getting the better of me And a glass of red

Regards
Howard

[Steve Brown]

From looking at the pics above I recall trying to fit a kanguro kickstart to my Sport some years ago. I'm sure it didn't work and that the problem was the Kanguro vertical pivot pivot is directly above the shaft, then as you move the lever through its arc, the top of the pivot fouls the exhaust down pipe. If you had a non standard exhaust like an RMS etc things might be different.

[ianlucas006]

Hello Howard
Just picked up on this thread. I was looking at pegs and levers recently as a couple of people want to convert sports with aftermarket rear sets back to Strada's (we are all getting older and less flexible!) I thought it fairly straightforward but there are quite a few subtle variations which all work after a fashion. The red one has certainly got later pegs than when it came from the factory and the yellow ones are probably closer. The very early ones had the most forward set pegs but they were moved back a little bit quite quickly. Are you looking for a kick start the same as the yellow bike? If so I will have a look tomorrow and see if I have one.
Thanks Ian

[Galligaskins]

Hi Ian,
yes, I'm after one the same as the one on the yellow bike.
I did consider one of the 1983 Strada kickstarts on Ebay from Italy but the bottom joint is different and wouldn't lend itself to the NLM extender if I ever went down the rear sets way, which is a possibility.

Regards
Howard

[norbert]

A 83 kichstartlever meins K2. These are made of Steel and can be bent ( heating them up to livin red) The Chrome obviouly will suffer, but it's the smartest way to suit rear sets

[ianlucas006]

Hi Howard
Found this one. PM me you mobile number and I can send some higher res pictures on WhatsApp

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kick small 2.jpg (482.27 KiB) Viewed 4433 times