'00 KTM 65 Won't Kick Over

[bishop_d]

I'm having a problem with my son's 2000 KTM 65.

Since I bought it used, it has been difficult to start. Never lights on first kick, but usually around 3rd or 4th. Not sure if this is normal for the bikes or not. This past weekend, we were riding and he killed the bike. We couldn't get it to kick over for nothing. We ended up pushing it up hill, and bump starting it. After bump starting it, he rode it back to camp with no major problems. I figured it was just a plug, so I replaced it, but it still wouldn't kick over, only push start. I checked for any loose grounds or connectors, but didn't find anything. The spark looks very weak when kicking it. I did clean up the original plug and get it to start for a little while, but after 10 min's of riding it happend again. It has good compression, and I was told the piston was fresh, so I don't think that is the problem.

Does any one have any idea what the problem may be? I hate to go pay the dealer a ton of $ for them to replace everything on it. Also, I'm running a BR8EG plug in it. Is this correct?

deano...

 

[dell30rb]

Are the reeds in good shape? Is the airfilter clean? Is the carb clean?

Those are some of the things I would check on a bad running or not running bike. ( I didt include the spark plug because you have oviously covered that)

 

[markkeegan]

Hi there

We use an NGK B10EGV with a 50:1 pre-mix ratio, runs very well. Kicks over 3rd or 4th time when cold, 1st time when hot.

 

[bishop_d]

Hmmm... I didn't think about the reeds, they could in fact make it hard to start if they are very worn. I did pull the carb apart, and it looked good. But after I got it going and it stopped again, I didn't look into the carb again. With my mid-desert repairs, there is a chance that something could have got into the carb after I cleaned it up. The airfilter was indeed clean.

A B10 plug huh? If my spark plug knowledge recall is correct, that's two steps hotter than the BR8 I was running.

I'll try to go with the hotter plug, check the reeds and clean the carb again and see if that helps at all.

Thanks for the help guys.

deano...

 

[dell30rb]

Actually, thats two steps COOLER than the plug you are running. the lower the number, the hotter the plug.

 

[bishop_d]

Actually, thats two steps COOLER than the plug you are running.

OK, I wasn't sure on that. In that case, does the hotter plug have more resistance, thus the reason it looks to have little spark when kicking over?

 

[dell30rb]

no, a hotter plug sits farther into the combustion chamber. You can tell if a plug is the right heat rating by looking at the first three threads. If they are black, then the plug is the right heat range. If there are more than 3 black threads, then the plug is too hot. If there are less then it was too cold. I got that off of eric's site. www.ericgorr.com he has a section on how to read a sparkplug.

 

[dell30rb]

a hotter or colder plug will not affect how the plug sparks.

 

[bishop_d]

Ok, I'll take a look at the plug. It was the one the local katoom dealer suggested.

Thanks again for all the help.

deano...

 

[ktmdad]

If you have a weak spark, your either have a bad ground or the ignition is failing.

Bad reeds will not affect the spark strength.

Take off the coil and make sure there is no paint on the frame where it bolts on. Also, have the stator and coil tested.

Be sure to check all the little things that cost you nothing and have the stator / coil checked before spending any real $$$.

 

[bishop_d]

Bad reeds will not affect the spark strength.

I'm aware of that, but I can't swear that the spark is weak, since I don't know what it should look like. I assume that gear ratio on those little kickstarters are such that it's easy to kick over for little kids, and the motor don't turn very many revolutions. Given that, I can see where there would only be a few sparks per kick, so maybe it is normal to appear a lot weaker than my CR250.

I think I need to have the electronics all tested and pull the fuel system apart before I make any more assumptions.

I'm sure glad for this forum, you all have given me some great advice and lead me in the direction to start working on this thing.

 

[MXboy01]

Hey, I had that problem with my '97 CR80R...was running it in trails across street...ran fine...went home, next day after school i went to start it and all of the sudden the spark plug wasn't sparking at all...put a hotter plug in, same thing, we was about to bring it to the honda dealer, but my brother that is a car mechanic took left side motor cover off and played with it inside...i didn't actually see what he did since i was in school and he did it during his lunch break...but it runs fine now again...most probably ground...i still run 32:1 mixture tho and it never starts on first kick, always 2nd, and no more than 2 kicks...go figure

 

[Jasle]

Reread eric gorr's site on heat range for plugs. The plug actually does not sit further in the chamber...if it did it would strike the pistion. A hotter plue has more space around the insulator a deeper V if you will. This does not allow as much heat to transfer to the outer portion of the plug. BTW the heat range for NGK is the lower the hotter but most other plug brands...AC Champion Bosch... its the opposite so keep that in mind if you ever have to cross your NGK in an emergency.

Also on this problem your seeing. Pull the plug after you have kicked it over a few times. Is the plug wet? WE had a problem where our "choke jet" was clogged and could never get it to start easily. We have a different carb though that actually has 3 jets.
Jason

 

[dell30rb]

My 2002 cr80 always starts second kick too. I cant figure it out!! it never takes more than 2 kicks though. The Cr80 has a vented ignition cover to help with condensation, and it needs to be cleaned out and allowed to dry every 2 hours or so.