Modern Vespa

My kickstart lever on a P2000 is suddenly sitting 2-3 inches below floorboard level. Its return is springy as ever and it engages just fine, but obviously something has caused a sudden change in its resting position.

I've seen posts on this topic reference clutch issues, but the clutch is performing perfectly. I tried pulling th clutch lever and seeing if I could get the lever further up to no avail. Also tried some gentle tapping with a rubber mallet and got nothing out of that.

Either the aluminum lever splines have stripped on the steel quadrant teeth and it's resting lower or, the rubber buffer the quadrant rams into has moved somehow. Look at the splines and see if they're out of position or push the lever down and see if you can hear metal to metal internally.

Bingo! I was convinced it was internal after several checks of the lever, but on careful examination again there's a hairline crack in the lever that caused to to move slightly. I had to sacrifice the lever to get it off but that's a way better outcome than damaging the quadrant.