Ok, so my 348 has never felt right when using the kick start. 90% of the time it feels like the kick start grinds as I kick it, and the engine doesn’t turn over. The splines on the shaft are fine. I was advised that it would be a worn clutch as the kick start goes through the clutch to turn the primary, this seemed sensible. The old clutch plates were shot, I have since gone through 2 different sets of plates with no success. I am now turning my attention to the  kickstart mechanism.

I realise that this is going to require me to split the cases to find out for sure, a job I have been trying to avoid.

Is it likely that the cogs in the kick start are worn and not engaging correctly, or perhaps the spring in the mechanism has broken, has anyone ever had experience of this?

Is there anything I should know before splitting the cases?

Cheers
Sam

You usually need a very good fitting Allen key for the cylinder head bolts. I ground a larger one down on a surface grinder so it was a tap in fit.

The primary drive gear on the crankshaft will probably be very hard to pull off, I had to make an adaptor that fitted behind it then used a hydraulic puller.

The kickstart return spring sits beside the kickstart lever and should make no difference to any slippage.

Before you go to all the trouble of pulling the motor apart, are you sure the clutch release cam and spider are working correctly? (especially after fitting new plates)

Another thing to check for diagnosing clutch slippage is does the clutch slip under hard acceleration in 6th gear? If it slips when you do that, then it will probably slip when you kick it over cold

Most of the starting problems I've seen on these bikes are related to the clutch, as feetupfun has told you. I'd never split the central cases unless you are a hundred percent sure that the clutch is not slipping. The inner mechanism is so simple that, if it fails, you'll notice that the gearbox is stuck, or there is a strange noise while kicking it.

Thanks for all the advice so far.

I only managed to have a quick 15 minute play with the bike this weekend, but I may have made progress. I decided to disconnect the clutch cable, just to make sure it wasn’t this causing issues. The kick start felt the same.

So I turned my attention to the kick start lever itself. The lever was nearly vertical, so I took it off and rotated it to about the 1 o’clock position (don’t worry I know not to have it too far forwards). The kick start felt much more positive and after about 5 kicks the bike fired up. First time I’ve heard it running in 2 years! I connected the clutch and rode it for 5 minutes, it felt good.

I will spend some more time with the bike soon and check for clutch slip in 6th. I’m just relieved that I haven’t had to split the cases yet.

Thanks again

:-)

 

Glad to hear that from you. Sure you'll find a way to improve the clutch avoiding the slipping kick.

How much would it help if the decompressor was still fitted?

My 348 clutch doesn't slip while riding but is sometimes not strong enough to kick over a cold engine.

Since riding a royal enfield bullet with a decompressor I'm feeling like that's what the 348 is missing. 

Came with one as standard stops damage to the phospher bronze bush that the kick start shaft rotates in,cheers