Need some help advising my mechanic 81 KDX

[Bark3rd]

Hey all, trying to revive an 81 175 I bought awhile back, to make a long story short-when I got the bike the kick idler gear
and the gear on the kick shaft had teeth broken off and the clutch cover was cracked on top of the hole for the kick shaft. We replaced the parts and tried to kick it over, bam broke another clutch cover (Im on the fourth one now and rapidly depleting the world supply of these things). The kick shaft has some play in it, and when the bike is kicked over it almost feels like it is hydro locking, we get a popping sound and the lever pushes back. Mechanic says he talkeed to some fellow experts and concluded that the shaft can have a little play in it, not sure where to go from here. He said compression is high at 200? Would having fuel in the pipe from a flooding issue cause this? I was hoping some of you may have been through these symptoms before. My mechanic is very experienced and builds race engines for all kinds of teams, Im stumped as to why he is stumped.

 

[Tom68]

Does it push start? sounds like you better see if its got the right head and barrel gasket, also make sure the head hasn't been shaved and the piston is the correct one. Don't kick start it untill you can push start it but above all get it to someone with a bit of respect for parts no longer in production.

 

[_JOE_]

So you guys replaced 4 clutch covers and never dumped the fuel out of the pipe? :whoa:

 

[_JOE_]

If that kick shaft is supported by bearings I would expect there to be no play. If it can rock back far enough to disrupt gear mesh that could cause the teeth to collide and push the shaft back into the case.

 

[_JOE_]

Like Tom said, try to bump it and make sure it runs ok.

 

[mudpack]

Don't kick start it untill you can push start it

...and don't push start it until you find out why it feels like it's hydraulic-ing.

PS. Who is your mechanic (so I can avoid him....) ?

 

[sr5bidder]

did we not try to kick it over with the plug out? 200psi is a bit high

and the bump start excellent idea 3rd gear at 10-15mph sould do her

 

[Bark3rd]

This old bike thing is getting frustrating! Man it has comsumed so much time, all the while my 08 KTM is a flawless joy and helps me win races. Anyway, Ive got about 550 into bike and parts and now almost 400 in labor and still have a pos that doesnt run, this mechanic is a well respected race shop who should have no prob with an old air cooled 2t. He mentioned that maybe the cases need to be split to check bearing around the shaft to the tune of another 400, (we would of course replace all the other bearings and seals). The question is should I give up due to cost? Theres so many perfectly clean old bikes out there for under 1000 freshly rebuilt that run great (IT 250, 82 CR 125, 81 CR 125, cool bikes) that I could buy, I hate to give up after almost 1k. I just want an old Kawi to ride!

 

[julien_d]

Split cases to check the bearings around the kickstart shaft?

ick. I think you are overestimating the skills of your mechanic. Should not cost anywhere near 400 to split the cases on that old air cooled beast. I had a shop split my 73 250 cases AND install new crank bearings for $65.

More importantly, there are no bearings INSIDE the case that support the kickstart mechanism. Everything is in between the RH engine case and clutch cover. Perhaps I have misunderstood the problem... we'll hope so at least.

J.