kickstart , vortex throttle, d-flex mods...etc.
 

Just had a kickstart kit installed on my '07 last week. i had the shop do it, don't have
an indoor garage to use up here, and wanted it done right, without pine needles and dirt getting into the engine. it cost a ton all in all,
361.00 for the kit, plus 150.00 labor! he got it on and then we couldn't kick it over.
took both of us about 50-60 tries each, finally, i got it to start, and he was like, " see, works great..."
i only had it put on for emergency situations; a crash in the woods when you break off
the start switch would ruin your day...also freezing cold mornings in maine and dead battery
already happened twice this winter.
so i tried it again yesterday morning on a cold engine, took like 30 or 40 kicks, and
finally kicked over...so i guess it's ok. but i wouldn't use it all the time. i'm just using it as backup.
expensive backup though...500+ bucks later.

also just put on the vortex throttle...it's much tighter than the stock,
so for long highway rides you can feel the difference in the wrist...but it does
trick you into thinking there's more HPs...much quicker repsonse, which is nice.
feels a bit more springy on acceleration.

snapped off the stock "hand guard" 2 days ago in the woods, put on the D-flex hand guards
and a new set of bars yesterday (MSR aluminum)...was a bit of a struggle getting
all the parts lined up and not pinching any lines, but finally got it all together...
much more solid than the "windbreakers" that came on the bike.

next year i'll do the exaust and carb...spent enough $$$ this summer and i still need to
get a new back tire pretty soon. only 1200 miles on the bike and the knobs are almost gone...riding about 60% road/40% trail (dirt, mud, gravel fireroad, roots, rocks, sand,...
you name it...maine and NH powerlines and back woods...)
any suggestions for good back tires for that breakdown???

now, with 5 inches of rain in the last 24 hours, it's time to get wet.

thanks all, happy riding...

it'll probably kick over easier once you jet the carb. are you lookng for a dualsport tire or something more dirt oriented? the track master II tire is very good in the dirt but not so good on the road. it wears out pretty fast too.

Congrats on the kicker, mine has saved me three times so far....and each time I was in bf Egypt and really saved the day, no push starting in sugar.

btw, you can richen up the jetting a little for like $10 and she will start on the second or third kick cold, first if she's been running within the hour.

thanks guys, i didn't think about how rejetting would help, but now that you mention it...
i'll probably get to all that carb/exhaust stuff next spring. good to hear it saved your butt
Finger Mullet, my thoughts exactly. why kawasaki would sell a dirt bike without kickstart is amazing.
when you say richen up the jetting for 10 bucks, what would you suggest?

lcpl0331, thanks for the tire advice, i had thought about the track master,
i am looking for (of course) the best of both worlds, as i need an aggresive offroad pattern
for the type of riding i do, but i don't want to replace the thing every 6 months, so road life and handling are important.

Good job on the kickstart mod. I agree... a dirt bike should have a kickstarter. As far as a tire goes I went with a trackmaster II and didn't like its performance on the street at all. I removed the trackmaster from my KLX and put it on my KDX 200 and loved it. The tire is great off road. Like you, I've been trying to come up with a tire that's the perfect compromise but that's a tall order.

One tire that deserves a look is a Pirelli XCMH:

http://www.denniskirk.com/jsp/common...643208&imgId=0

The tread looks agressive enought for off road and adequate for the street. Good luck finding them as they're back ordered and were supposed to be 'released' on the 31'st of last month. I have about 3000 miles on stock D603 after putting it back on the bike. I could no longer wait so I went with this tire which should be delivered tomorrow.

http://www.motorcycle-superstore.com...Rear-Tire.aspx

Hopefully it'll work out. It's tough trying to have the best of both worlds but that's what dual sports are all about.

Mike

I was going to suggest either shimming up the stock needle a little with a washer or two and drill out the air/fuel screw cover and adjust it out. Or even put in the klx300 ntc1 needle with the collar and clip on the second notch.

But since you are all stock and drilling the exhaust out doesn't really help much and you are getting real good gas mileage....I would suggest just getting a mini can of starting fluid with a wd-40 type of tube......and just carry that in your pack, I usually do.....and if you need it, use the tube or straw to give a shot of fluid under the seat toward the snorkel ..... that should work just fine for now if you need it and less than $10 :D

trakmasters suck on the street, just wrecked myself silly last weekend. road rashed left arm and leg from sliding that sucker out. could've been far , far worse all in all. anyway, the TM came off the next day, and i put a maxxis desert IT on. it's not D.O.T. rated, but supposed to be a long(er) lasting tire. i don't ride too much street anyway, so it's okay by me. haven't ridden the maxxis yet, but i'll report after this weekend.

How much?
That would not impress me.

I can start my 300 with a jet kit in less than 5 kicks! If you are kick starting it do not kick the crap out of it like a 2-stroke, there is a technique to starting the bike with the kick starter!! It all has to do with the ACR automatic compression release!!

The sticker on the tank (KLX300) and manual clearly lay this out. Slowly push the kickstarter thru until you find the harder of the two stiff spots. Then, barely push thru it, return the kickstart to the top and do a long smooth fast stroke all the way thru.

Here I stole this from a thread over on TT

Greenlee, this is a problem with all 4 strokes. Even ones with the magic button, although pusing a button is easier than kicking. Actually, if things are broken in, the drill is followed, and jetting is correct, the KLX is widely know as a super easy bike to start - much easier than say a yzf. Have you watched any of the 4 strokes crash during the SX races recently and seen most of the guys not be able to start their bikes??? LOL Go figure that one out... Once you know how to do it, you'll rarely need the hot start. I immediately bought one when I was having so much trouble, but once my engine broke in completely (500 miles) and I learned to do the drill consistantly, I find I rarely need it.

If you're in too high a gear, on the gas, the engine is hot and you kill it.... get ready to start kicking, you've flooded the engine. First off, you need to get your ACR modded by Brewster. This will make the kicking 80% easier. Second, if you know you've flooded the engine - especially if the bike's been upside down or something like that - turn off the gas. Lay the bike on it's side and watch the gas drain out of the carb. Right the bike. Hold the throttle wide open. Kick thru (without trying to start it) 10 times or so. Then do the drill and kick it like a 4 stroke not a 2 stroke. Long, firm and no jabs. Complete carry thru until the kickstarter jams into your peg. Also, turn up the idle. Third, especially if you have the ACR mod done, make sure you know where TDC is. I've seen experienced KLX owners think they are at TDC when they are exactly 1/2 off. Here's a few posts on "the drill" from planetklx:

From: klx4bill
Subject: [PlanetKLX] Re: '00 starting questions
Reply-To: PlanetKLX@yahoogroups.com

Steve, I feel your pain.... Actually, my right shin feels your pain. I got my KLX in Sept. and had nothing but trouble starting it. 20-30 kicks in the middle of the desert in 100+ temp is no fun. I came very close to selling the bike. I'm thankful now that I didn't. After a lot of research around here and other places, I knew that I should be able to get the bike started easier than I was. A couple of things helped out tremendously.

#1 Get your kicking technique down. It sounds like you're on the right track, but practice makes perfect. Actually, practice didn't help my KLX. Getting the engine broken in well did. If yours is new, don't judge the starting until it is fully broken in. Go to:

http://groups.google.com/groups?num=...torcycles.dirt

and search for KLX start, Hot Start, or KLX hard start. You will get a ton of info and techniques on TDC, starting, techniques, etc.

Make sure that you are at TDC. Any amount of kicking when you are not at TDC and you will probably not be able to light the bike up. It’s strange. Other bikes do not seem to be as critical to finding TDC, but the KLX is very picky in these regards.

#2 Raise the idle up. Make it faster than what seems natural or normal. In 1st, my bike idles at about 10-12mph now. It's kind of disconcerting, but it sure helps the starting The manual doesn't really tell you this, but if it is too low the engine will be hard to start. (Resident carb experts can tell you why, but I can tell you that it helps) Also, at the same time I raised the idle, i took off the airbox lid and the butt plug out of the exaust. I'm not sure which helped the most, but the bike will almost always start 1st or 2nd kick now. Hot or cold.

#3. Make sure your bike has the 49 state needle in the carb - especially if you are in CA as they do not come that way here.

#4. Install a hot start kit. See planetKLX.com or Strokerspeed.com. I may not do it yet because the bike is starting easily now, but come summertime when things are hotter here I will see if it still starts easy. At the first sign of problems, in goes the hot start. That doesn't sound like your problem though, since you're having problems hot or cold.

#5. Definately dump the gas. Put in the highest octane you can find.

#6. Here’s one way to start the bike if you get hopelessly flooded and it won’t start and you don’t have a hot start. If you dump the bike hot, pick it up and try to start it. If it won’t start, turn off the gas and lay the bike down until the carb drains fully. Pick it back up, open the throttle wide open and kick the bike thru for 10-15 cleaning kicks to get air into the cylinder and lean out the overly rich mixture. Then, shut off the throttle, get to TDC and kick for real. it should fire right up. Remember to turn the gas back on before you ride away.

#7. your questions:

> 1. Does the KLX have automatic decompression release?
Yes, but earlier models should get the ACR mod by Bruce
> 2. With the stock CVK carb, is it possible to flood the engine if you
> twist the throttle when the engine isn't running?
Yes and no. Mine used to flood unless I had the throttle completely off before hitting the kill switch. Do not, repeat do not turn the throttle until the bike is running! If you do not have the idle turned up, a slight cracking of the throttle can help starting, but too much crack (Oops! :-) and you’ll be kicking for days cause you’ll be flooding it more. Opening the throttle with the engine not running will not flood it due to the nature of the CVK carb. If you have a pumper on the bike DO NOT TOUCH THE THROTTLE WITH THE BIKE NOT RUNNING - you will hopelessly flood it.
> 3. When kicking through a full kick, the starter lever hits the
> footpeg mount. Will this damage the kickstarter mechanism?
Not that I know of. Kick long and smooth. Don't jab at it. Especially at 140lbs. Get up on the kickstand and kick it thru if you need to. More of your body weight going into the stroke....
> 4. How often should the valves be adjusted?
I'm not an expert here, but if they are out of adjustment it will make the bike hard to start. I suggest checking every 3 months of so minimum.
> The starting problem could be my 140 lb. wieght too. I might not have
> enough ass to kick it yet.
My 140lb son can start my KLX easy now. There was no way he could before, but with the above things done he can now. As a matter of fact, I think I'm gonna get him a KLX of his own.

Good luck and keep trying. There's lots of good info around here. These guys have sure helped me in a lot of areas.

Bill Pearson

kdxmike, those pirellis look good, thx for the link. i think i'll try to get a hold of one.
will let you know how it goes. those trackmasters sound like a nightmare on the road.

superhawk, great info, thanks alot for all the forwards...i'll try to turn up the idle a bit and see what happens...i've been using the technique outlined there with finding the TDC,
long smooth kicks, etc...
been using the high octane gass too.
i think the idle up is a good call, i'll give it a shot.
thanks again all for the suggestions and help.
will check in with some more feedback.

peace.