Stuck Kickstarter = Dead Bike

Well, I just wheeled it off of the truck and back into the garage.

I drove it out on the highway as a test. No problem. A pop here and there but it was running pretty smooth.

Came off the highway and it stalled. Kicked it a few times. There was some resistance in the kicking but it started back up. :huh: (btw, this bike has no working starter motor.)

At the next stop sign it died out again. I go to kick it, and I'm standing up on the kickstarter. No amount of force would move it. If I hold the clutch in, the kickstarter will move all the way down and back up smoothly. Otherwise, I can't push it down.

Please help.

Please tell me the engine hasn't seized. :sick:

Any suggestions as to how to diagnose this would be a great help. Thanks guys.

well mind2find i had to say it but it all sounds like a siezed motor, it also could be that something got way to hot and stuck. Did you check the oil level? were there any abnoermal noises before it stalled the final time? did thee oil light come on at all? just somethings to consider, i hope this helps.

Sounds like piston seizure to me.

let it cool off and see if it will turn over, if not:( time to start removing parts

It's a 750 Twin. You might want to check for an exploded starter clutch...

First thing you should do is determine if there's a problem with the *kickstarter* specifically (like a bent shaft) or the rest of the engine. Take off the points cover, and use a 17mm wrench to see if you can turn the engine counter-clockwise. If it turns, then you might want to start looking at the kickstarter assembly. If not, you may want to look at the starter clutch...

To do that, put it on the centerstand, and take off the other side (left side) engine cover (if you haven't drained the oil, you will lose some here so have a drip-pan). The bolt on the end of the crank is reverse-threaded, and needs to come off. If the engine is seized, the good news is that you don't need a rotor holder to hold it steady. :blink: Anyway, once you get that off, you need a rotor-puller, or you can use your rear axle as a rotor-puller, to pull the rotor. If the starter clutch was at fault, you will see very obvious signs. If not, then you have to go deeper into the engine...

When this happened to me, it was my starter clutch, a bolt had loosened and gotten stuck.

I am not sure on this bike but if no starter motor then no clutch?

thanks for the wealth of advice guys. i need it right now.

the oil light flickered on when it stalled out for the final time. i just attributed that to normal flicker when a bike is sputtering out but...

the starter is still hooked up to the bike. just electrically disconnected due to problems.

i get to the bike on friday so i'll check what the oil lvl looks like, try to kick it again, try to turn it over from the point axle and then dig deeper.

i'll let you know how it goes!

(AHHHH!!! It's the beginning of summer!!!! :pinch: )

The same thing happened to me and my 650. I'd be riding it and the oil light would flicker on and off, then when I stopped it and waited a few minutes, the kickstart was hell to kick. Eventually it just stuck and never moved again. I was able to turn the engine with the 17mm nut so the pistons weren't froze, but I never could figure out what went wrong. I ended up selling the bike to a guy who had a spare engine.

there has been a bunch of stories about the bolt backing out of the starter clutch on those bikes, look in the archive section several have fixed them

Hmmmmm...sounds like You MIGHT get lucky,Bud(with the bike,that is)
I wish You the easiest and cheapest fix!

Yeah, it's basically all I can think about. Damn that bike being on the other side of the state!

Actually, that was what I was doing. Testing it on the highway to take it back to Boston. :pinch: