Broken Kickstarter shaft

[JCW]

This is an odd request, but I'm wondering if anyone has seen a broken kickstarter shaft coming out of the engine. I normally ride new bikes, but I have acquired a very nice 2000 250MC that I am setting up for a spare trail bike. It runs great and starts fine, but it requires a very full and hard kick right to the point of slamming the kickstarter against the end of the kick range.

Several years ago I had a KX250 that was the same way and it eventually broke the shaft, which needless to say is a quick way to end your riding and start pushing in most cases. I know it's crazy but I was thinking about replacing it just to be safe. Any comments will be appreciated.

[Ryno]

Doesn't the kickstarter hit the footpeg at the end of the stroke? You should be OK and I would suggest quick repeatative kicks that don't slam the foot peg. Don't replace parts to replace them, You can always bump start it to get you out of the woods and then do the repair. You'll be fine!

[JCW]

Thanks Ryno and I didn't even check to see if it's hitting the footpeg. I will check that immediately and if so it should keep some stress of off the shaft. I've tried the shorter kicks, but it wants one good hard full kick and it fires fine. I have leaned it out one clip since I got it and I may play with the jetting and airscrew to see if I can get it to crank with an easier kick.

Thanks again for taking the time to respond.

[MattR]

You may want to install a YZ250 kicklever. It is longer than the stock GG lever and provides very good leverage. It is much easier kicking over your bike with it. It's a great upgrade and looks natural on the GG's.

[GMP]

Its normal for the starter to hit the peg. Never saw a broken shaft on a GG, but have seen a guy break two on a KX250 so maybe its a weak point on that bike. YZ starter is the ticket, the newer GG starters are longer.

[JCW]

Thanks guys for the info. Is there any particular year model of YZ starter to get (or avoid)?

[eff]

I don't know what all the kickstarter issues are all about. I love the GG kickstarter on my bike and have no isssues kicking it over.

IMHO the YZ kickstarter looks more difficult to use.

[prk03]

Talking about starting a GG , I had a difficult time kickstarting my 07 250. It would take sometimes 10 kicks. Then I was taught to lean the bike over for a count of 3 then stand back up. You should see a drop or two of gas come out the drain tube. Then slowly kick over the motor 3 or 4 times then a real kick. Since I started this always starts the first real kick. After warmed up never a problem.

[JCW]

Thanks again everyone. Mine will crank 1st kick, but ONLY if I give it a very full and hard kick. It's not a problem, other than it makes me think about breaking the starter shaft on my old KX250 from having to do the same thing.
I was thinking that kicking it all of the way down to the hard "metal to metal" stop was possibly creating excess stress on the shaft (like the KX250 obviously was), but now that I know it's hitting the footpeg and not over-stressing the shaft I'll be fine.

However, I will try the YZ kickstarter since I can probably pick one up cheap on ebay. I'll also keep working with the airscrew and jetting to see if I can get it a little better. Regardless, it's a super smooth and fun bike. It feels very 4 stroke feeling with tons of engine braking, which is odd for a 2 stroke. It's actually smoother than my KTM250XCW, which is a very smooth feeling motor.