KDX 200 not starting

[JB Cape]

Hi,

Hope someone can help me with the following:

Over the christmas period i was riding my KDX 200. I had been riding for about an hour and stopped for say 5 minutes. I then started the bike after this 5 minute break (It started first kick) and rode about 50 metres, after which the bike just cut out.

I tried to restart the bike and it would not start. I have checkedd the following with no luck:
Replaced the spark plug as it looked like there was oil on the plug
Checked the plug was sparking
Checked the earth
Checked the carb and cleaned all the jets

After all the above checks the bike starts, but immediately cuts out.The spark looks a little weak. I am hoping it is not the CDI unit which has packed up.

Any advice would be greatly appreciated

 

[reepicheep]

I would think that if the CDI went, you would not be getting spark. Maybe check compression next. Any other funny sounds or symptoms?

 

[sr5bidder]

is there a plug in the silencer?

 

[Joburble]

is there a plug in the silencer?

Hi JB Cape, look up "bone head of the month" and you will understand this answer :)

I would have suggested dirt in the carb, but it looks like you have already checked that. When you say "it cuts out" do you mean it just turn off like you are using the kill switch, or does it splutter and stop?

 

[JB Cape]

Hi, Joburble

If you leave the bike for a while and try start it will fire but cut out immediately as if you are using the kill switch.

However, i doubt if is a faulty kill switch as i checked the switch last night and everything was fine.

I checked the spark again last night and it is a very weak spark and plug is not always sparking. I am having the coil checked, as maybe it is faulty.

The electrical connections appeared to be dirty and contain water. I cleaned all the connections and it still will not fire.

Spoke to a motorcycle workshop and they said that if you are getting a spark and you checked everything else, it can only be dirt behind the fly wheel. Will check it tonight and will let you know tommorrow whether the bike starts.

 

[reepicheep]

Seems like a flaky coil could do that. I had the opposite case... the bike had a stutter at high RPM, and I checked the coil to see if that was the problem... coil checked bad, so I replaced it with one that checked good... and I still had a stutter at high RPM. It was a jetting problem.

So the lesson there is that the coil can have an open in the secondary windings, but being a spark plug coil, the spark can jump that gap as well. I assume that would continue for a while, until it breaches the insulation of an adjacent winding, or until the gap gets too big, and then it would just stop working.

I guess it could be the stator coil as well...

You need a special tool to get the flywheel off. It's cheap, and easy to find. It works for a bunch of different bikes.

 

[julien_d]

Maybe the petcock is stopped up. If you lay the bike over does fuel run out the overflow tube? I'm thinking fuel is not getting TO the carb. Float valve stuck, clogged, or petcock clogged.

Maybe. Kind of shooting in the dark on this one....

 

[sr5bidder]

Hi JB Cape, look up "bone head of the month" and you will understand this answer :)

I would have suggested dirt in the carb, but it looks like you have already checked that. When you say "it cuts out" do you mean it just turn off like you are using the kill switch, or does it splutter and stop?

right on joeburble :laugh:

 

[Joburble]

I would definately exhaust all avenues looking at fuel before I started spending money on replacement coils etc. To me the fact that it starts and will run for 50m suggests fuel, but with a full float bowl I would have thought it would run longer than that. A friend of mine had a bike that would suck a piece of gunge into the pilot jet then the bike cut out, then it would go again and so on. But I see you have completely stipped the carb and checked for dirt and foreign matter so I guess that's not the problem.

One more question, did you refuel the bike during your 5 minute rest break? If so, just wondering if the fuel may have been mixed wrong (way too much oil)? I know it may be a silly question, but just throwing some thoughts out there before you start spending dollars on electric bits.

 

[reepicheep]

Great point Jo... bad gas will do that, and I have torn down a carb before only to have the same problem on reassembly, only later to discover it was bad gas.

 

[podfish]

I've made this post before :)
I had a similar problem - I rode up to work a checkpoint at a race, then a few hours later when I started riding back down the hill, the bike started running poorly and erratically. At first it seemed like intermittent fuel flow because it would run fine for a bit then crap out, or seem to be sensitive to throttle changes. I got down the hill and took it home. When I got to working on it later, it had the behavior you describe - it would start fine, run a hundred yards or so, and die. It wouldn't restart for a while, but then repeated the cycle. The answer: $40 to RickyStator.

 

[Joburble]

Hey JB Cape, any luck with the bike?