Did you change the coil stops in your restore? There are a couple to choose from and each creates a slightly different starting point for the flipper. I have difficultly making the bear kick ramp from my right flipper.

The bear kick is designed for the left flipper. It should be a difficult shot from the right.

I can only make it from the right flipper off a rebound of some kind. I can't straight back-hand it. I wish I could, I'd be hitting the 99 bear kick cap every game! My TAF is an unrestored, full mylared, factory stock game.

I hit the bear kick ramp from rolling lane ball from both left and right flippers. Usually 6 or 7 in a row. I like it!!!!!!

If the angle of the flipper at rest changed that will affect the shot.

Before I restored my TAF I could hit the bear kick over and over and over. I would regularly get super bear kicks with scores averaging 1-2 billion. After the restore and taking time getting everything correct, i.e., flipper bats properly aligned, correct stops, etc. I could almost never make the bear kick ramp from a dead ball. Just post pass to the left and make the ramp. The game is too ramp dependent IMO so not making the ramp off the right makes it a better and more challenging game in the home environment.

With a clean, waxed playfield at 6.5° to 7° and strong flippers with relatively fresh rubber, it should be possible to hit the ramp from the right. It should be difficult, but possible. It's too risky to be considered a good strategy, though. A post transfer from right to left is definitely the way to go.

If I try and backhand the bear kick ramp, I can do it occasionally. It goes around about... eh... 40% of the time. But if it doesn't go around, it goes the whole way up to the microswitch up there, misses, and comes screaming back down and almost always drains somehow. Which I think is the idea behind the design -- as others have said, I think it should be difficult. And as Jeremecium mentioned above... Usually you're better off just doing a post transfer, make the shot from the left flipper, and then call it done.

Derek