Slipping Kickstarter

[gowen]

Wow, this week has been horrible for the KX.. Waterpump seal blows, clutch cable breaks... Well, I just went out to fire it up, despite the water disapearing within' 1 minute of riding and the oil backing out the vent in the crank... The Kick starter is now slipping, as when it is cold, if you stab at it, it will not even grab like it will slip.. What would cause this?

[kawdude]

I am having this very same problem with the kicker on my KX.  Took everything apart and didn't see anything wrong (darn it).  I hate it when things aren't obivous.  My bike was missing a washer so I replace that and the spring that makes the hook thingy slide on the splines.  I thought the gear may be a little wobbly on the shaft but not enough to cause a problem.  Nothing really stood out.

Ideas:
1.  splines are wore on the shaft that the hook thingy slides on so it doesn't slide.  
2.  grease used on splines became thick in the cold and and acted more like glue causing the assembly not to slide on the splines easily.  

I am leaning to #2 as the problem.  It's interesting that I'm not the only one having this problem.  We'll see what the other say.  I should also say that upon reassembly the kickstart worked fine until it sat overnight in the cold.  It didn't slip the next day but you could tell it wasn't working as freely as when it was just reassembled and warm.  

Of course, if you live in Arizona this theory doesn't apply!!!

[Paul]

Well, you might be on to somethin' there

Of course, if you live in Arizona this theory doesn't apply!!!

[mikesmith]

It gets cold here and I haven't had that problem,but not that this helps the problem you have now but feel the kick starter engage before kicking it hard.Don't just pull it out and mash on it.

[kawdude]

Wow, this week has been horrible for the KX.. Waterpump seal blows, clutch cable breaks... Well, I just went out to fire it up, despite the water disapearing within' 1 minute of riding and the oil backing out the vent in the crank... The Kick starter is now slipping, as when it is cold, if you stab at it, it will not even grab like it will slip.. What would cause this?

Did you ever determine what the problem is here???

[gowen]

I'm so tired of it, I have not even tried anything. Just parked it in the garage and don't even bother with it.

[kmac]

I have found my kicker doesn't work great when it is cold, fine after the engine is warm.

[kawdude]

Yeah, that's what I'm finding too.  In the warmer months I don't have a problem but like now the gear doesn't like slide on the splines.

[John]

A theory; The cold related problem could be caused by the tranny oil you are using.

If you are using petrol based single grade oil i.e. SAE 90. Try change to lower multi-viscosity type of oil that doesn't turn to syrup when it's cold.

Take for example SAE10W-40 oil. The first number (10) is the viscosity at lower temp and the last number is the viscosity when the oil is warm (40).

Use a high quality multi-viscosity synthetic oil. Just make sure you don?t pick one with silicon in it as this could affect your clutch function (that?s my theory built on experience from the old days). You don?t have to buy the most expensive oil in the shop though. My personal view is that there is no such thing as motorbike oil (it could be that the manufacturer has proven it works with wet clutches?). That's probably a bit provocative? Try a good ?car? oil. I myself use Mobile-1 and I haven?t had any problems ever.

Single grade oil (petroleum motor oil) is a thing of the past.

//John

[doordie]

So right John!
Maybe go for 10/30w!
But does`nt the Mobil 1 use the silicon?

[John]

Possible but even so,it doesn't affect my clutch.

//John