My KDX kickstarter has been acting up for a while now. Weak engagement that was made worse by things like low temperature and oil viscosity. Instead of engaging, the lever would often slip when I’d try to kick it through, especially when cold. I just figured that the ratchet teeth were worn and rounded off. Eventually it got bad enough that I worried it could be a problem if it ceased engaging altogether while I was out in the woods.
I finally got around to inspecting it today as part of my winter teardown. I was surprised to see that although there was some wear on the ratchet teeth, it in no way seemed bad enough to explain the slippage.
Then I began looking at the assembly drawing to account for all the little washers and snap-rings that should be there. It didn’t take long to realize that the 15mm snap ring that should be on the end of the shaft was not there. It had tumbled out with the other washers when I pulled the shaft out. There is a groove on the shaft that is supposed to locate it, but it had jumped out of the groove and was sliding along the shaft like a washer.
The function of this snap ring is to hold the washer in place that provides the backing for the ratchet engagement spring. If the snap-ring pops out of the groove, the spring can move back another 3mm or so before it contacts the housing. In addition, my engagement spring is a bit sacked. The old one measures 12mm, the new one 14.5mm. Combined with the snap ring that jumped its groove, it resulted in much lower engagement pressure from spring, and would explain most of the symptoms I’ve been seeing.
I don’t know if the circlip jumping out of groove is just something that happened to my KDX, or if it’s a more common problem, but if your bike is having kickstarter engagement problems , it might be something to check (part 480A on the buykawasaki.com website). Getting to it requires removing the right side cover, the clutch hub, and the spur gear/kick shaft assy.
I finally got around to inspecting it today as part of my winter teardown. I was surprised to see that although there was some wear on the ratchet teeth, it in no way seemed bad enough to explain the slippage.
Then I began looking at the assembly drawing to account for all the little washers and snap-rings that should be there. It didn’t take long to realize that the 15mm snap ring that should be on the end of the shaft was not there. It had tumbled out with the other washers when I pulled the shaft out. There is a groove on the shaft that is supposed to locate it, but it had jumped out of the groove and was sliding along the shaft like a washer.
The function of this snap ring is to hold the washer in place that provides the backing for the ratchet engagement spring. If the snap-ring pops out of the groove, the spring can move back another 3mm or so before it contacts the housing. In addition, my engagement spring is a bit sacked. The old one measures 12mm, the new one 14.5mm. Combined with the snap ring that jumped its groove, it resulted in much lower engagement pressure from spring, and would explain most of the symptoms I’ve been seeing.
I don’t know if the circlip jumping out of groove is just something that happened to my KDX, or if it’s a more common problem, but if your bike is having kickstarter engagement problems , it might be something to check (part 480A on the buykawasaki.com website). Getting to it requires removing the right side cover, the clutch hub, and the spur gear/kick shaft assy.
