Maintenance & Technical > KX500 Original

Kickstarter ratchet mechanism modification

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pmskreta:
Recently my Kickstarter began giving me issues. It would work normally but when it got to normal operating temp, it would slip. The kickstarter would cycle through and not engage. After cooling down a bit, it would start to engage enough and I could start my 04 K5. I almost DNF'd the last couple of races because of this. After reading on this board what others have experienced, I decided to tear it apart and inspect the ratchet mechanism. As others have stated, the teeth are cast and not machined to a nice fit. I could see a little bit of rounding where the teeth slipped. I decided to cut the teeth to a nice sharp 90 degree angle and even put in a slight back cut. I used a Dremel and a tiny cutting wheel. It took less than 30 minutes and I had a nicely refurbished mechanism. I also streched the existing spring out to give it more tension. It worked like a champ! It also makes a more pronounced ratcheting sound. I rode around my neighborhood and stopped and started the bike to make sure it worked. It works better than new. I'm taking it out on a desert run this afternoon to give it more of a test. Thanks to everyone who wrote on here about this subject. Without your experience, I couldn't have done it.

Johnniespeed:
If you check the posts, that is what I did a couple of years ago. Still works perfectly and flawlessly.
 I do think the factory should have machined the gear teeth instead of casting them, they could a least have offered them as an upgrade replacement part.
  I too used a slight back cut to enhance engagement.
 John

JoeO:
Yup I had the same problem on my 2004 KX500... did the mod as stated above and problem solved!

thanks to everyone on this forum.

Foxx4Beaver:
that's funny...mine was doing just the opposite the past month.
it would slip when cold, but once it was warmed up, it was fine.
the spur gear and ratchet were worn a decent amount...barley a full season on a brand new, full kicker mechanism.
sooo, I just replaced the entire mechanism again...shaft and all, again last week.
I added an extra washer to keep a touch more tension on the spring this time around.

wardro:
Foxx -
  I'm experiencing the same kick starting slipping as you when cold.   I can't seem to find anyone that sells the 13078-007 ratchet part.   Do you have a contact person for all the parts?  (26 T gear, ratchet, shaft....etc.)

I once had two springs and still had same problem.

Thanks in advance.

Ron

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