You can always add the kickstart if you want it. My KLX has one added and it works great.

 

An update on my bike. It turns out it wasn't an issue with the temperature or that it hadn't been started in a week, but rather water had gotten into the carburetor and the air intake. What's strange is that the mechanic who was working on it had no idea how water could have gotten into both areas, especially the air intake as the air filter was bone dry with dust and everything. The mechanic which was at a Kawasaki dealership, even called Kawasaki to see if they'd heard of this happening before, they hadn't.

They suggested that the rural gas station that I'd been getting gas from had water in the gas, which they'd heard from other customers. Otherwise they said having left and ridden the bike in the rain should not have caused the problem and they were stumped...

any ideas?

 

I have had the identical experience of many KLX owners whereby the engine simply refuses to start, or even sputter, when cold. I was aware of this issue before purchasing a KLX and I was prepared for all of the rituals (shaking the bike, run the carb dry, lean the bike over, etc) and remedies (install a primer, drill the enricher jet, etc) but frankly, the owner of a brand new bike should not have to go through any of these ridiculous exercises, and it is further inexcusable the Kawasaki let such a relatively simple bike, with such a major flaw, get to market.

Having said that, I have found the only foolproof way to get the engine to fire without any modification to the bike, or any unusual action, is to simply:
• turn the fuel tap on
• turn the ignition on
• press the starter button
• while starter is cranking the engine begin pulling the choke **** out slowly
By the time the choke **** has reached the point just before it fully engages, the bike will have started. Riding year round in Canada means that sometimes the ambient temperature is as low as -10C (14F). This method has worked without exception in these conditions.

By all means, if you’ve got the carb off to re-jet anyway, drill the enricher out while you’re at it, but I’d encourage other frustrated owners to try this simple method first.

 

I just threw down a deposit for new 2010 KLX. I hope it starts but I am greatful
for these pointers!

Cheers.

FLYNLOMOTO

 

Drill the starter jet to 0.018"

 

So I convinced the dealer to drill out the starter jet and the bike now seems to be fixed.

I have to snap the throttle open right after pressing the starter button to get it to fire up, and it won’t idle with the choke on once it’s running, but it does start immediately every time now.

I have to hold the throttle open after it starts and wait about 6-10 seconds, then turn the choke off or it will die while idling. Not perfect, but I can live with it. At least it’s reliable enough I don’t have to worry about getting stranded somewhere.

My dealer knew nothing about this problem, or the fix until I told him about it. He asked Kawasaki about drilling the starter jet and they sort of beat around the bush. His su****ion is that Kawasaki can’t tell the dealerships to do that because it’s part of the emissions system and they’d get in trouble with the EPA for tampering with it.

They’ve since done the same thing to 2 or 3 other customer’s bikes who have had starting problems and it seems to have solved the problem.

Before having this done I had the ACR repair done that Kawasaki recommended, but it had no effect.

To anyone who has a cold start problem, my recommendation would be to start with drilling the starter jet and ignore Kawasaki’s ACR “solution”.