Kick starter does not catch

My kick starter sometimes doesnot turn the engine.Just goes easily right down.
Any ideas what this could be?

you're not holding the clutch in, are you?

Did the kick start work then stop working?

Yeah it was working fine then stopped i think my clutch is going.

Has clutch push-rod been adjusted? (Not talking cable-slack here).

No i have not adjusted pushrod.Should I?And where isit?

Not sure what difference the clutch makes other than if it were totally slipping. The kicker mechanism inside the engine more or less can't do much besides work. It is a gear that engages the 1st gear on the tranny and once you go through a kick cycle, there is a mechanism that causes it to return. You can't put it in wrong in any way I can think of... If it doesn't engage, you might want to check to see if the kicker outer lever is just rotating on the kicker shaft where the teeth are either stripped or not engaging but if this is not the case, you will have to split the cases to fix the problem. If I were going to fix the problem, I would probably assume the old internal kicker is broke and have a spare on hand. To fix the thing, it isn't all that horrible except for the engine case gaskets... you have to pull the engine and remove the kicker cover, the clutch cover, the inner points cover, the inner countershaft cover and the stator cover. This means a gasket set and some scraping as the gasket mating surfaces need to be clean before you re-assemble and install new gaskets. You remove the 5 or 6 bolts on top near the starter then flip the engine over and remove the 20-something bolts on the bottom that hold the cases together. There are three 8mm bolt threads on the outside ends of the cases where you install 8mm bolts and turn the bolts in the thread which automatically splits the cases. You take out the old kicker and install the new... it can only go in one way and I can't think of a way to mess up its install. You use some case sealer on the case mating surfaces and reinstall the bolts... I think you put some sealer under the heads of the bolts as well and use thread locker. Anyway, scraping the case gaskets is the biggest part of the job. Just reinstall the engine. This is probably a Sunday afternoon job if you are handy with tools; otherwise it may be a 2-day job... I clean all bolt thread and chase the holes that the bolts fit into and clean the holes real well.

When you reinstall the kicker itself, you have to load the internal mechanism by rotating it as far as possible clockwise and then put the kicker lever on with the mechanism rotated.

ricerocket wrote:

No i have not adjusted pushrod.Should I?And where isit?

FSM says 78KZ1000 has ball type clutch release and refers back to same push rod adjustment used for earlier slide types.

This applies to the slide type. First allow plenty of cable slack. Then access clutch pushrod adjuster under the left side inspection plate. Loosen locknut. Turn out adjusting screw 3-4 turns until it turns with no drag. Turn adjusting screw back in until it gets hard to turn (this is the point where the clutch plates are just starting to separate). Back out the adjusting screw 1/2 turn from that point and re-tighten the locknut (just snug - not Godzilla tight).

Clutch pushrod adjustment is a routine maintenance item which compensates for clutch plate wear and can't be done too often. As the plates wear, the pushrod play is gradually reduced. If not adjusted to keep allowing the play, the clutch will eventually fail to fully engage and will begin to slip.

CAUTION: My experience is limited to the earlier slide type adjuster. Could be wrong but seem to recall reading somewhere that the ball type adjustment was the reverse or described wrong in one of the after market maunals so that instead of screwing in until tight and then out 1/2 turn (as with the slide type) the ball type might require screwing out until tight and then screwing in 1/2 turn. But the FSM makes no such distinction.

So please await confirmation and better advice from someone having hands on experience with the ball type before attempting the adjustment on 78KZ1000 ball type push rod adjuster.

After pushrod adjustment, then set the cable slack.

And of course clutch slippage may not be causing the kick starter issue -- and probably isn't if the clutch is holding okay during normal riding. Am just hoping for you a quick cheap easy fix via a routime maintenance item that might have been neglected.

ricerocket wrote:

No i have not adjusted pushrod.Should I?And where isit?

FSM says 78KZ1000 has ball type clutch release and refers back to same push rod adjustment used for earlier slide types.

This applies to the slide type. First allow plenty of cable slack. Then access clutch pushrod adjuster under the left side inspection plate. Loosen locknut. Turn out adjusting screw 3-4 turns until it turns with no drag. Turn adjusting screw back in until it gets hard to turn (this is the point where the clutch plates are just starting to separate). Back out the adjusting screw 1/2 turn from that point and re-tighten the locknut (just snug - not Godzilla tight).

Clutch pushrod adjustment is a routine maintenance item which compensates for clutch plate wear and can't be done too often. As the plates wear, the pushrod play is gradually reduced. If not adjusted to keep allowing the play, the clutch will eventually fail to fully engage and will begin to slip.

CAUTION: My experience is limited to the earlier slide type adjuster. Could be wrong but seem to recall reading somewhere that the ball type adjustment was the reverse or described wrong in one of the after market maunals so that instead of screwing in until tight and then out 1/2 turn (as with the slide type) the ball type might require screwing out until tight and then screwing in 1/2 turn. But the FSM makes no such distinction.

So please await confirmation and better advice from someone having hands on experience with the ball type before attempting the adjustment on 78KZ1000 ball type push rod adjuster.

After pushrod adjustment, then set the cable slack.

And of course clutch slippage may not be causing the kick starter issue -- and probably isn't if the clutch is holding okay during normal riding. Am just hoping for you a quick cheap easy fix via a routime maintenance item that might have been neglected.

Well tonight its about 6 degrees celsious.And my battery was dead so i used the kick starter and it worked ok.When it was slipping is when the bike was warm after a ride.

Do as Patton describes I had a very similar problem when I got my 900 from previous owner. I thought my kick starter gear was bad, but one day after adjusting the clutch push back to spec it then worked perfectly. If I remember correctly when the pushrod is adjusted too far in is when my kicker slipped. Adjusted it out a bit and it worked.