KDX runs fine then dies and shifter stuck.

[james.keaton]

I have an 1989 KDX200. I went trail riding two weekends ago, and my bike was just as strong as ever. 15min into the ride I get a flat. No biggie, we went to the trailer and changed the tube. We got back to riding and 20min down this trail got another flat. I started out of the woods in first gear and after 15 min or so the bike started getting hot. I shut it off and started pushing. After 10 min of pushing I hopped back on and finished riding it out of the woods. now the bike never acted weird at all. A week lated it stopped raining around here. I went out to the garage and the bike had actually fallen over a little so it had lost some over the gear oil through my leaking output shaft. I put the bike on the stand and started to change the tube from the last flat. After replacing the tube I tried starting the bike at this point and nothing. I kicked it over several times with the choke on. (This bike has always started on the first kick with little effort.) So I checked the plug, it looked good. It was only 3 rides old, but as cheap as they are I replaced it anyways. I am running a B9ES plug. The next day I went out and started it on the first kick. I let it run at idle for a couple of minutes. Then it acted as if it wanted to die. I thought it may just need cleaned out. So I hopped on it and tried to take off and it died. It wouldn't start back, I kicked until i was blue in the face. I also tried to roll it off. I took all the plastics off and carb that night. I took the bowl off and it was clean. Checked what I could and everything seemed fine. I put everything back together the following day, and tried to start it. It fired right up so I shut it off and got my helmet, and took off down the road. The bike drove like always for about 1.5miles. Then it started acting like it wanted to die. I couldn't keep it running so I let it die, and then I couldn't pull it out of gear. After setting for a couple of minutes it would come out of gear, but wouldn't kickstart. It would however roll start after 10 minutes, but after just a couple of seconds it would start bogging and wanting to die. Let is sit again, and the same time. Shifter is stuck like it isn't even supposed to move, and the bike won't kick start. If anyone has any idea I would appreciate it.

P.S. - The gear oil is brand new, and the clutch is only a year old.

 

[james.keaton]

ttt

 

[julien_d]

Sounds like trouble. Have you checked compression? A bad compression leak could cause such symptoms. I've been working on a KTM 300 for the past few weeks that acts similarly, and it seems it was dumping water into the crankcase though the base gasket, I guess that could be a possibility.

This is a pretty broad problem to try to diagnose. I would get the compression checked first. The stuck shifter concerns me too. Check under the right side cover where the shift shaft comes through. See if there's anything popped loose there and binding. I think you may have to pull the clutch to get a good look at it.

J.

 

[dirt bike dave]

As for the shifter problem, the shift shaft return spring might have popped out of place. As mentioned by julien, it is under the clutch cover on the right hand side. Drain the trasmission oil, lay the bike on its left side (less messy that way) and pull the right side cover off and have a look.

As to the other problems, all the symptoms sound like plug fouling due to overly rich jetting. Letting the bike idle for few minutes on the stand could have contributed to the new plug failing, espeically if your low speed jetting is too rich.

Lots of guys with your generation KDX run a hotter B8ES plug instead of the stock B9ES. Also, perhaps your 'winter' jetting was OK for cold dry air, but it is too rich for warmer, wet weather.

I'd try another new plug first, and consider leaning out your jetting. Let the bike idle only briefly after starting, then gently ride it until it is up to operarting temperature (don't push it hard when cold or you risk a cold seizure). Once it's warm, let it rip.

Hopefully, it is just too cold a plug and too rich a jetting. From what you've described, I would not rule those things out yet.

 

[liven07]

It almost sounds like your clutch is sticking do you have it in gear when you try to start it. Don't think it would be compression because it is not doing it all the time. Sounds like a fuel problem. Maybe your float bowl fills up very slow and seems to run good till the fuel burns up then it take awhile to fill up again. I would clean the carb. and check the float valve, take the float bowl off and leave the fuel line on and push the float up and see if gas is coming out good, should be a steady stream.

 

[sr5bidder]

you mentioned the bike got hot on your ride and also that it starts right up when cold

definatly check compression both cold and hot sounds like its warming up, expanding and losing compression....a classic problem with 2 stroke rc car engines

hopefully the hotter plug will solve this for you and it is not a wore out engine

Jullien; are you flirting with agent orange!!! my buddy just bought a 525 and everytime he takes something apart he is having to buy new.

 

[podfish]

stator. :yikes:
you at least have to consider it, although neither the flat or the overheating or the lying down sideways leaking would cause the problem - coincidences DO happen.
Especially since you get a mile & a half. That's way too far to on one carburator-bowl's worth of fuel. The failure you describe is what mine was when my stator failed. It'd start right up, run like a champ and suddenly bog and die. So when it dies, pop the plug as fast as you can and see if the spark's gone...

 

[james.keaton]

I am an idiot...plain and simple. I still don't know what is up with the shifter, but it only does that when the bike would die from running out of gas. It was a kinked fuel line, I guess over time the line started to wear out and kink. It wasn't kinked all the way thru which is why after sitting for a few it would fire right up. I replaced the line and tada! good as new. Thank to everyone for there input. I fixed it a week and a half ago. I went riding this weekend and put 45 miles on it with no problems. Well except for me staying on it. That definitely seemed like a problem that day.

 

[sr5bidder]

NICE
you may want to consider removing the flywheel and having a look at the condition of the epoxy... magnets coming apart is the numberone killer of these bikes and I don't know if they are incased in steel in 1989 or not??

 

[julien_d]

89 flywheel is encased, yes.

 

[sr5bidder]

so when did they figuer it out was 89 the first year or did the 86-88 get the new wisdom?