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Norton Kick Start Crank Hitting the Muffler Problem

1) The bosses on the mufflers from various manufacturers can vary in thickness. The bosses might be modified by grinding to bring the muffler a bit further inboard.

2) Any variation in the threading of the exhaust port holes can cause quite a difference in how far out the muffler comes.

3) Tightening the exhaust nut causes the exhaust pipe to rotate outward. So tighten the nut with the exhaust pipe held as close to the frame as possible without touching.

4) Sometimes it is possible to bend or shim the brackets for a better fit. We also now offer a cranked RH muffler bracket (BCS# 06-1721/A)

5) Some of the aftermarket kick start arms were bent a little further inward then the genuine Norton, so a genuine Norton crank should help. If all else fails a MKIII crank is bent even further outward.

6) Shimming the motor to offset it a little further to the right might also help. There is a tendency for people to shim on one side only.

7) We have seen variations in the thickness of the 06-0622 rubber mounts that might necessitate some bending of the muffler brackets. Current genuine Norton rubber mounts have a body thickness of .710", while we have seen aftermarket ones with a body thickness of .840", which may cause mufflers to sit farther out. One more thing worth checking...

It is very, very rare for this problem to be a warrantee problem due to a "bad pipe". In many cases fixing just one of the above can solve a kick start hitting the muffler problem, but in some cases it will take all of the above.

Mark 07/18/02