tturvy Posted November 11, 2012 Report Share Posted November 11, 2012 I recently had to replace a sheared off shifter shaft from my fairly well loved 280 txt pro. All has gone fairly well so far until I've attempted to restart it. I have read most of the posts regarding the kickstart issues and making sure that the shaft is completely seated to insure proper functioning. I've got a bit of a different issue with mine now that it its re-assembled. My kickstarter moves freely and returns to its proper location. The issue is that the kickstart gear will not engage on the initial kick. I have to push the lever down as though I was kicking the bike and then let it slowly come back up. Once I'm about 3/4 of the way back up if I begin to again push down on the kick start lever the gear will engage and I am able to kick the bike over. So, basically in order to kick the bike over I've got to push the lever down first and let it start to return. As soon as it is coming back up if I put pressure on it the gears will engage. I've pulled it apart 6 times now and checked all parts and pieces according to the manual. They are all in proper locations. I have also watched the technical video #3 regarding engine repair on the trials parts usa website enough times to nearly have it memorized. As you would imagine I'm a bit frustrated at this point so I'm looking for some feedback on something that I may be missing. Going on with the idea that many heads are better than one when troubleshooting what could be the problem. Any help or tips much appreciated. Cheers. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
arnoux Posted November 12, 2012 Report Share Posted November 12, 2012 Check that the friction spring (the circlular spring with the "U" shaped tang), not the kickstart spring, has enough tension on it. When this spring gets "old" or "soft" it does not grab the quadrant gear with enough force to help it up the kickshaft spline. You can kick to your hearts content, and it will just slip on the quadrant gear. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cursed Posted November 12, 2012 Report Share Posted November 12, 2012 (edited) Obviously if both kickstart + idle gear are present, but not engaging, then the kickstart gear is not moving up the splined shaft. Is the hook type spring definitely located in the correct hole in the crankcase? If not the it will not stay still and will simply move around with the the kickstart shaft, and it will have nothing to pull against to pull the kickstart gear up the shaft. If it definitely IS in the correct hole; As arnoux said, if the hook type spring that attaches to the kickstart gear is not tight enough, it will not "grab" the kickstart gear and pull it up the spline. Contact GasGasUK for a new one (Y). They can be a bit of a bitch to get on/off, although I guess if your's is knackered it shouldnt be much of a problem! To get mine on/off I used a pair of pliers after holding the gear in a vice. Edited November 12, 2012 by cursed Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sting32 Posted November 12, 2012 Report Share Posted November 12, 2012 (edited) A tip from someone that used to have to fix this now and again (broken starters). The spring we need to talk about (& that Cursed is talking about) is shaped pretty much like a c-clip where it goes onto the starter shaft assembly, but with a handle on it... the "handle part, goes into the case (just like Cursed talks about)... Now, if you stretch that spring at the "handle part" of it, while putting it onto the lip where it goes, then it wont grip like Cursed talked about. I have taken 1 bike apart that this spring clip was actually finally broken almost in 2, at the "handle" part of the spring. I believe this is because of a tip I gave the owner, for when he had it apart, might been taken to extreme... when I get that clip on the grove it goes on, I grip "slightly" the spring part of the "handle" with some good pliers to make it grip the gear harder... you can test this when shaft is in bike like it should be, hold that little handle part of the spring with your fingers, to hold it stationary (not lte it rotate around while you rotate the kick lever), then as you rotate the shaft to start, the gear moves up to hit the idler gear, which then turns the clutch-basket. Edited November 12, 2012 by sting32 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tturvy Posted November 28, 2012 Author Report Share Posted November 28, 2012 Sting, Cursed, and Arnoux, Thank You for the tips. I have the replacement spring on its way to me in the mail. I've also ordered a new Ducati voltage regulator as in the past I've had some issues getting consistent spark so I thought I would solve that problem as well. I should get the time to get things sorted here this coming weekend and hopefully I will be back up and riding. I'll keep you posted as to my results. Thanks again. tturvy. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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