Cause of governor lever failure???

[xpwarrior]

Picked up a new governor lever today and I will be taking the top end apart tonight to clean the KIPS valves. Just wondered why the governor lever was so prone to failure. Mine was broke when I got the bike so I don't know what caused it. Is it most likely failure to support the governor shaft when tightening the left-hand nut? Will running the bike with the valves stuck break the lever? Since i'm doing all the work to get KIPS running again i'd just like to make sure it stays that way. :)

Also does just the very end of the governor shaft fit into the slot on the governor. I couldn't see any way to change the fit but had just figured it would engage it a little farther. No more leverage than this system has I better make sure the valves move smooth as silk.

Thanks
Jason

 

[BRush]

Just the tip engages. My old one had the same wear marks. I too, would like to see more engagement, but what you have observed is "normal".

 

[spanky250]

It happens often enough that I have to say it is a design flaw.

 

[canyncarvr]

I've read input from mr. fredette that said (paraphrase), Try to remove or tighten the nut (LH THREADS!!!) without supporting the shaft...and the shaft WILL fail!!

BTW, you CAN access the nut under the cover on the LH side of the engine to actuate the system. With the pipe off, you can look into the cylinder, actuate the system with the nut and observe the main valve and the sub-ports move from 'closed' to 'open'. Also can check the alacrity with which it returns once opened. It shouldn't be slow, mushy or sticky.

 

[xpwarrior]

Well the top end is back together and the valves work smooth. Wasn't too bad of a job to clean everything. Is there a trick to tightening the nut under the left hand cover? The nut is the only thing that holds that gear and the left drum valve in place and I couldn't find a good place to hold everything while tightening it. Now i'm just waiting on a new boot for the gov shaft so I can finish up.

CC are you sure it's a good idea to crank the whole system around by that nut. That means the little governor lever has to overide the spring pressure and that seems like a lot of stress for it. :eek:

Also found something else interesting while cleaning. The previous owner installed Boyeson reed and managed to put the cage in upsidedown. This put everything at a major offset and was choking off the flow. I may have more power than I know what to do with now.:cool:

 

[canyncarvr]

I can't say I KNOW it's a good idea based on reading it in the service manual or somesuch. I've done it (actuated the KIPS using the nut on the LH side) quite a few times to no ill effect. The amount of pressure required is negligible. Granted, I wouldn't want that much pressure applied to my nose with a ratchet..but metal-wise it doesn't take much. I've never measured the force required torque-wise.

I've read the same idea from other posters.

None of that means it's a 'good idea' though, does it.

Can't you use the flat on the governer shaft to tighten the LH nut as well? Probably good idea to check the specs on tightening that nut. If you don't have one or don't know, let me know and I'll look it up in my svc manual (if someone else doesn't post it).


re: boyesen in backwards.

I'll admit it. I've done the same thing. I can guarantee you'd find a bottom end improvement even if that was the ONLY thing you changed.

Hey!! It wasn't HARD to put in upside down!! It fit great!!

 

[xpwarrior]

Here is a pic of the governor lever that broke last week. It only ran about 2 minutes and just looks like it was made out of crappy metal or they overheated it when they drilled the hole. The metal was crystalized where the rod went through but looked normal near the edges.

Broken lever pic

CC the nut I was trying to tighten was the RH nut under the round plug. The valves have to be lined up then the nut tightened to hold the gear in place. I got it tight by running it up against the stop. That kept the gear and the center shaft lined up. Just wondered because I thought this looked like the best way to remove it but I still managed to break the last tooth off of the gear. This was most likely because the nut was EXTREMELY tight. At least it was just on the single gear instead of the center shaft. :)

I do have a shop manual but thanks anyway.