Jon Jon - New member 250f/500 project

[Jon Jon]

     Hello everyone. I have came here in search of information, and ultimately, help and guidance with an upcoming project. I have been pointed in the right direction by a couple of helpful members already. Thanks guys. (Brian, Dutchie!)
     I have a 1993 KX500 and a 2006 KXF250 i will be attempting to morph together. So far I have only ridden the 500 once on the street, not long after I bought it, just to make sure I had a good running donor. Which brings up question #1. How the hell do you start the thing with the kick starter??!!! The guy I bought it from could not start it the night I purchased it, and I couldnt start it either. I weigh in at about 185. I had to roll it off down a hill. It immediately sprang to life, but d**n, that thing is hard to kick! BTW, the rear tire lasted all of 10 min!  lol
      I have read a few posts, and seen pics of some projects. I have questions concerning the best direction to go in the "yoke" department, and also locating new lower frame rails (Jfabmotorsports). I have seen the billet piece Dutchie made for his and also read about reusing the stocker. Both seem about the same amount of work. Dont know which direction to go. Obviously I want it to look as sano as possible, but strength is a major concern. I like to OVER engineer things, but I dont want it to be heavier than necessary as it will be primarily a MX race bike.
I am aware of some of the problems you run into, but not ALL, so any advice will be appreciated. What radiators to run, will the stock hub hold up?,.....
     I am going to attempt to assemble everything I do with plenty of pics to help the next guy. Thanks in advance for all the help and advice! Jon Jon

[Friar-Tuck]

   Welcome J.J.,

 Glad you found us.
    I ruined a brand new alpinestar tech 6 the first day "in the field" on another single 500 two stroke.
 That got me to start asking around as I was not only ticked of but exhausted...

 I did get some good advice and will pass  on what works for me.
   Find a 5gal. bucket or milk crate and put it on the ground  behind the Left footpeg.
Or if on the trailer/truck leave the bike secured with tie downs.
      This is to keep you and the bike steady. Use the bucket/crate to stand on.
   
  Choke on, Cycle the Kickstarter/engine through the entire stroke twice to get some fuel moving.

  Now cycle the kicker until the piston is at TDC.   When the engine gets to that point, bring the kick start lever back up to the top.
 You'll know when your there when you re-position the kick lever, and the pressure against your foot is at its highest point in it's stroke.  (What you are looking to do is get the max amount of crankshaft rotation as possible with one long hard boot.)
    Right now you should have your right foot on the kicker with just enough pressure to take up any gear lash between the kick starter, clutch basket and crankdrive gear.
  Your almost there bear with me...

  Kind of hunker down your upper body With both knees slightly bent, Rise/Hop  up using your  left leg, and as you start back down,shift all your weight over to your right leg.  Use the momentum of your body as you start back down giving the kicker  all you got in one long boot downward.
 (as opposed to a stab or rabbit leg)
  Make sure to follow all the way through.
The only time I ever had a bike kick back, is when I did  not follow through all the way down the full length  of the kickstarter travel.
 This may sound long and complicated as I'm not the best at storytelling.
There is a video or two out there,I'll look tomorrow for a link.
  Best of luck,
Tuck\o/
 
   

[Jon Jon]

Thanks Tuck. I will try out the technique.  Not quite as simple as my 05 YZ250. I just turn on the fuel, lean it over to the side a little bit, look to make sure fuel came out the overflow, pull up the choke, bring it to tdc and give it a nice firm kick. No throttle. Starts first kick 99% of the time. 

Yeah, I have heard the nightmares of the kickstarter coming through tennis shoes before, but a new boot is kinda scary. That does suck. A friend of mine was telling me his tried to throw him over the bars once during a kickback, or at least one of his body parts!

I'm about 6'2", I dont know if thats going to help me at all, but I bet I will definetly find a "strategic" place to pit from each time I race. Maybe it will start easier now that I have "blown it out". If i were to had kept the original rear fender I would have had to replace it. There was a fair amount of premix blown all over it. Probably from woods riding? I dunno the history of the bike. I do know that it looked cool as hell sitting there leaned up against the tree by my shop after I got back from the maiden voyage. There was a steady supply of thick white smoke coming from the silencer for about 2 minutes after i shut it off. Probably the first time the bike had been held wide open for any length of time for quite a while?  Drifting through the neighborhood was insanely irresponsible, i know,...... But it sure was fun!

Reminds me of the time I borrowed my friends woods machine to finish up a series race after mine blew up. It was kinda funny that day. There was probably a good portion of the last 2-3 bottles of premix still in the pipe until practice that day. It looked like I was fogging for mosquito's!!! lol A friend tried pulling me off the track because he thought the bike was going to catch on fire!! 

[ZETTNORCAL]

First off,  Welcome 
As far as the starting issue I think you just have to get a feal for your 500, and you will find your bikes correct starting procedure. I have or had just about every brand 500 or big bore out there. I have found that if it is jetted properly and your used to the bike it will start by the third kick every time.  My 250cc friends try and try to start my 500's till they give up or I call them off cause they are kicking all weird and look like they'er going to break my kickstart lever or the case from kicking outward. I think it is so funny when they hop on and start the rabbit kick thing I just say "it'll never start that way" LOL    You'll figure it out though.
                                                                           Ryan

[kwakman]

welcome aboard.there is a whole thread on starting the the mean green bigpot,and everyone's technique differs.like tuck-o said though,you cant kick it half heartedly so get in a comfy stable position before you start. i think the starting thread is in 'kx500 maintenance and technical'.enjoy.

[Jon Jon]

I have a neighbor that came over today and was checking out the 500. He's a bigger man, probably about 265-275. Anyways, he's the kind of guy that has ALWAYS been there or done that, ALWAYS knows the best way to do EVERYTHING. He wanted to hear it run and I told him it was a bitch to start and I didnt really feel like messing with it just to let him hear it. Looking down at his New Balance running shoe, I knew what was coming.... So, before he started foaming at the mouth about how he was going to show me how to start the monster, I began to reach for my wallet. I pulled out a $20 and laid it on my work bench. Go for it I said. You start it, you keep the $20. Then it started. Not the bike.... His mouth. The excuses started flowing about it probably wasnt jetted right, his shoes were too soft, the kick starter, etc and so on. Well i didnt push the issue because I had places to be. I think I am going to have a little fun with the guy. I am going to set up a video camera. I may have some funny video's to post before this project is completed.