Cleaning Kickstarter Spring -- What is the best solvent?

[gravano]

00 Honda Elite SR 50

My kick is making an awful whining noise and it's not retracting fully after a kick (sometimes it hangs just below its return).
So I took the cover off (struggled with that stupid clip) and noticed there's a lot of belt debris coating the spring.
I don't want to take the spring off and was wondering if Brake Cleaner would be the right solvent to clean this baby with.

Thanks again everyone for your help.

[Wheelman-111]

Greetings:

It couldn't be much easier to dismantle this assembly and do it right. Brake cleaner won't get into the bushings that are sticking and sure won't replace the thick grease you need between the shafts and their bushings. The Manual actually makes it look harder than it is. Except for dirty hands, there's no downside.

[tru72]

wheelman is correct, just clean it , relube!
I use this purple power stuff for all my motors. carb /brake clean gets expensive when you go thru it like candy!

[Wheelman-111]

Greetings:

Sorry, to answer your original question, just get out a tray and pour a half-gallon of Mineral Spirits and let the small parts soak. I have a collection of containers appropriated from Ms. Wheel-Person's Tupperware collection so that solvent can be limited in quantity to what's necessary. A couple of old toothbrushes and maybe a brass or steel-bristle for the tough stuff and scrub away. Lube up when everything's shiny again. I use Harley-Davidson Multi-purpose grease just because I happen to have a tube handy. It takes any thick grease that won't soften and run out when hot.

[gravano]

I thought getting the spring back on would be a huge challenge, but I'll rethink that.
Gonna take it off and let it soak.

This is what scared me off.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8qZPja_2 ... ure=fvwrel

Thanks everyone.

[motormike]

I thought getting the spring back on would be a huge challenge, but I'll rethink that.
Gonna take it off and let it soak.

This is what scared me off.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8qZPja_2 ... ure=fvwrel

Thanks everyone.

That youtube video was about the most useless p.o.s. ....
The only thing I'm scared of is being forced to watch it again...

[Pete M]

You ain't kiddin....... Easy as pie to do, have at it.

[Wheelman-111]

Greetings:

Some "Rocket Scientists" have lower standards than others...
I bet if you let me practice a few minutes, I could assemble the whole thing in under 60 seconds. The trick is to slide the kickstarter lever-pedal onto the shaft to allow you to move the gears around easily.

[gravano]

Finished putting it back together last night. It's a little tricky. The hard part is getting the spring to sit flat and getting the clamp on it. I had a friend help hold the gear over the compressed spring as I pushed the spring so it was centered around the shaft.

Works great now. Next job is figuring why it won't run right.