sticking kick lever

[neverendingmods]

This is becoming a very annoying/frustrating ocurrence.  I figured I'd try asking for advice before I fire up the dremel.  In muddy conditions I have a problem w/ my kick lever sticking in the closed(folded in) location.   To the point where I am beating on it with my foot, misc. tools and a good old kick to release it.  I always pressure wash after my outings as they are either extremely muddy or coal waste.  Before any conclusions are made yet, this is a 04 500 and always, always saturate in WD40 the lever while repeatedly moving the lever fold in, fold out.  Even in very thin watery mud it locks inward on me.  This past weekend I had it lock in the "kick" position.  Of course muddy but even after broken loose, I rotated it 50 times and folded it in and it was stuck.  Thinking its the upper lever being too close to pivot point I was thinking of smoothing this area.  When I leave to go riding there is no resistance whatsoever folding the lever in and out.  Just a nice soft click in and out of position.  1 hr into ride and I can't restart bike.  Annoying.  

Ideas?

[mikesmith]

Ive ridden in it all and never even came close to it being hard to close.I do take mine apart every so often and lube it with moly grease and spray WD then chain lube after washing.Try dissassembling it,grease it with moly grease and see if it helps.

[alan]

The problem with WD40 is that it has been mistakenly been called a lubricant for years! WD40 is a penetrate, You use it on O - rings chains to displace moisture, it is at best a very poor lubricant!

So after you get it all cleaned out use something like Tri-Flow, that has PTFE or Teflon in it! Also there are many dry lubes on the market with Teflon that leave a film of dry lube that does not attract dirt!

Alan