Kz750 twin hard to kickstart

I bought an 82 kz750 csr last month I know it runs cause the guy got it to run before I bought it and he was having issues kick-starting it and I'm just stuck basically on why it's so difficult to kickstart like it takes my whole body weight just to even get it to budge. Any help with this would be much appreciated!

If it was mine I would remove the spark plugs and then see if the engine was still difficult to cycle by using the kick starter and then by turning the crankshaft (under the ignition cover). If it is difficult by both methods there is probably an internal engine problem. If it turns over easily with a wrench on the crankshaft by with difficulty using the kick starter I would suspect a problem with the kick starter mechanism or possibly the tranny. Ed

That is why God invented electric starters.

Haha I personally hate starters and will only buy a bike if it has a Kickstarter so much simpler and I know the engine is easy to turn over with a wrench but I will try without the spark plugs and see what happens

Alright well I finally got around to it all but it's easy to turn by hand and I took the spark plugs out and it was so easy to kickstart I put them back in and hard has a rock again

Assuming it runs ok and it kicks over easily with the spark plugs out but is hard to kick over with them in I believe you are just experiencing excellent compression. Keep in mind that on a 750 twin you are kicking against the compression of a 375cc piston each time, so there will be a fair amount of resistance. In fact, my old BSA 350 had a compression release gizmo that cracked open the exhaust valve when you kickstarted it. I removed that gizmo and found that little 350 needed a hefty kick to start. Ed

Because it may have the biggest Kz pistons, it's probably the hardest KZ to kickstart. I've seen average sized people needing to put their whole body weight on Kz750 twin kickers to turn it over. I don't know if that's normal, but it is not uncommon.

I am running kick only on my 750 twin and it does take a serious jump to kick it but starts on first or second kick. Keep ignition spot on and a good battery, then it is a easy bike to start compared to a Yamaha SR500.

Ya this is my first twin I have owned so it was just frustrating cause j have never had a bike so hard to kickstart but thanks for the help 650ed

For comparison, the inline four 650 practically starts if a leaf falls on the kicker.

Ya and that was the last Kawasaki I had was 79 kz650 and I was like I know for a fact the 650 was super easy to kick over

I don't know if you have problems with it kicking back, but I've often wondered if a small ignition delay, during kicking, might help against that. It's something I've had in the back of my mind for years.