B31 Cotter Pin

[Old_Legacy]

Hi all,

This feels like a dumb question but I'm a newbie to old bikes so maybe not. I bought a cotter pin from a reputable shop (told him the bike I needed it for) and when it came to installing said pin, it only went in so far (no thread on the other side)

I've tried putting it in a different way, turned it & wiggled it about but the bugger won't go in fully! Is this a common occurrence and is there a way around it? Any advice would be much appreciated.

Many thanks,

- OL

[idie]

It is very common.  It all depends on how far up the pin that the chamfer is cut. It sounds to me that the chamfer on your cotter pin stops before the end. It could also be that yours is a metric one. Just to confuse you even more it also depends on how deep the groove is on the kick start shaft.

[Blackthou]

The cotter pin on my C15 had been bashed in hard so just a few threads were there for the nut (about 2). I carefully dressed the hammered end, which was swollen, to get it true and then filed - keeping the same angle, the taper until it slid in perfectly. The angle of the kickstart i.e. relationship of hole to flat plays a big part. Gently interact one against the other and it will slip in further.

Hope that helps.

[Old_Legacy]

Thanks for your replies.

We're all sorted now, I filed it down & after some trial and error it went in ok!

So glad to get this done thanks again.

- OL

[Blackthou]

Well done. Satisfying too.