Vintage Dirt Bike Q & A

Ive read on here that a slipping kickstart is not an easy fix if the problem lies inside the motor... sadly my kickstart slips... more like the teeth just dont mesh at all when i kick, and then after a few slips it grabs something and then we are away again for a little bit... Its defo not the splines as the kicker is tight on those... so what am I looking for when i am inside the engine and do i need to replace the parts, or just get a new spring or spacers/washers?

(anyone got any pics of a bad kicker? Ive got a few engines in my spares and could maybe find the good parts from another engine...ta)

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MT250 with CR250 top end & Bassani pipe... almost fully restored.

See more of my motorbike builds at my Honda MT250 and Yamaha RD and RZ website, 2Smoked.com

If you like watches, check out my websites: DeskDivers.com & PloProf.com

When this same thing happened on my MR, it turned out the kickstarter pawl had popped free from its circular retaining spring (the MT250 uses a nearly-identical setup). I pulled the clutch cover, replaced both parts with used-but-good spares, and haven't had a problem since.

If the kick lever returns to an upright position after kicking, your return spring is OK and you shouldn't have to split the cases unless something else is wrong.

Ray

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'74 CR125M (175cc), '75 MR175, '82 RM250Z, '08 YZ250F, '14 Zero FX electric, '14 Zero MX electric, '18 Alta MXR electric

Thanks Ray, yes the kickstarter pops back up no problem. Thanks for the heads up, I'll have a look inside when I get time to whip[ the clutch cover off.

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MT250 with CR250 top end & Bassani pipe... almost fully restored.

See more of my motorbike builds at my Honda MT250 and Yamaha RD and RZ website, 2Smoked.com

If you like watches, check out my websites: DeskDivers.com & PloProf.com