1984-1985 Tecate kickstarter

[coreyschaff13]

I recently rebuilt a 84 kawasaki tecate. Everything has went good so far except of the kickstarter. The other day i spent about 3 hours trying to get it to function correctly. It turns the motor over but it wont spring back. I followed the service manuals instructions and still cant get it to work. Spring looks to be in good condition, it is corrrectly placed in the shaft and the case. The plastic bushing is in place with the washer. Any help of info on this would be helpful. Thanks

[Stoopidbot1]

We have a mod on here that is a freak when it comes to trikes. Be patient he will help you out.

[Ajmboy]

Yeah he is the 3 wheeler king: mywifeknowseverythin 's ATV Page: QUADCRAZY ATV Community

[ATVmechanic]

I recently rebuilt a 84 kawasaki tecate. Everything has went good so far except of the kickstarter. The other day i spent about 3 hours trying to get it to function correctly. It turns the motor over but it wont spring back. I followed the service manuals instructions and still cant get it to work. Spring looks to be in good condition, it is corrrectly placed in the shaft and the case. The plastic bushing is in place with the washer. Any help of info on this would be helpful. Thanks

Is there a ratchet gear in there? See if the attached diagram helps you out. It's not exactly your year, but I believe the kick start mechanism should be the same.

[coreyschaff13]

That image is the same diagram that is in my service manual. The rachet gear is fine as far as i can tell. It still manages to turn the motor over just fine. It just doesnt spring back to its home position. In the service manual it tells you to put the kickstart shaft in and lock the sping in the retainer hole in the case and then turn the shaft all the way clockwise... this is to set the preload on the spring im guessing?? I did all this about 4 times. Still doesnt work. The plastic bushing the rides in the middle of the spring doesnt want to stay centered on the shaft all the way. I push it on there as far as i can and make sure the spring is setting on it completely before i put the cover on. When i try and kick it over it stays at the botte and then when i take the cover on the engine again the bushing is not sitting on the shaft the right way.. Is there a trick to this? Im not sure that the bushing is the complete source of the problem either.

[mywifeknowseverythin]

. Spring looks to be in good condition, it is corrrectly placed in the shaft and the case.

Good morning!!!!

Was this motor running and the kicker working correctly before??? Just curious....

Anyway,,,The spring more than likely has Become weak over the yrs...(24yrs).....

If you need help finding one let me know.....Or,,,,Have you Solved this problem???

[coreyschaff13]

The kicker worked properly everytime before i tore this engine apart.. Im guessing its something that im not doing right. I havent took much time to look at it since the last post. Ive been trying to gather some info so that i know what to look for instead of just taking it apart and putting it back together the same way over and over agian with the same result

[mywifeknowseverythin]

Have you been here.....

3 WHeeLeR WoRLD-Kickin' It into High Gear

There are ALOT of T3 owners over there.....Im sure they can help you better than I can....

Just tell them that MWKE sent you....

[coreyschaff13]

Well after about 5 hours of frustrating trial and error i got the kickstarter to work. The problem was that the rachet gear and the shaft werent lined up correctly. According to manual there are a dot on the gear and the shaft and they are suppose to be lined up before assembly to make sure that the preload is set correctly once the shaft is in the case. Well in my special opinon (and dont as me why) with the dots lined up the kickstarter wouldnt work. i had to take the gear off the shaft about 10 times to get the gear placed correctly on the shaft. Works like a charm again.

My next problem is, the machine now starts and idles, but once the throttle is opened up it bogs down and eventually dies out. I have two carbs and one i have went through and cleaned completely(this carb worked perfectly before the machine was torn apart) and a new carb that i have put a new needle and seat, jet needle, needle jet, and floats. i also cleaned the main jet and pilot jet. Both carbs have the same effect on the machine. I have checked the air cleaner thinking that it wasnt getting enough air and was flooding the engine... ran without air cleaner did the same problem.. sprayed carb cleaner into the air filter engine ran the same( i would think it would rev up) and i have checked the reed valves and they are all free. Although i am not an expert on these machines, i have torn this particular one apart enough times that i thought i knew just about everything there was to know about it. I guess not.

If anyone has any suggestions or tips i would definetly appreciate it.

[coreyschaff13]

i have been doing alot of searching a reading to try and find a solution to this issue on my own, and all that comes up is carb problems (Which i highly doubt is the problem, but i could be wrong), stator/flywheel problems, or muffler problems.

When i had this motor apart the stator and flywheel seemed very good, no rust or oxidation, magnets seemed solid considering they are only glued on. I havent tested the staor with a multimeter at all.

The muffler did spit out a BUNCH of wheat when i started it up(dont remember riding through any wheat in the past) but it pretty much covered the garage floor when i started it up and let it idle. I just dont understand why this would cause the engine to run like this...I understand the concept of backpressure but...idk.

Again.. any help would be appreciate it.

[mywifeknowseverythin]

Your problem to me is either a Carb issue.....Or you need to clean out your muffler...Sounds like you blew out a Critter Nest.....

Start with the Muffler....

[coreyschaff13]

ya im going to try runnin it without the muffle and see if that helps it out at all.

To me it seems like its getting too much fuel and not enough air.. Both carbs are stock, with stock jetting. It has a stock size piston and after market silencer.

I have had many carb problems with this thing in the past, but even when it ran like crap, it still ran better than it does now. It wont even wind out enough to get it in gear. The thing starts on the first or second kick and idles good. Like i said it does the same thing with both carbs. Could there be vacuum line on this thing that is causing this?

Is there a possibility that the stator is the problem? There are slots in the stator so it can be rotated about a inch? Could this cause this thing to go from running perfect to barely running?

[DirtDemon]

Well after about 5 hours of frustrating trial and error i got the kickstarter to work. The problem was that the rachet gear and the shaft werent lined up correctly. According to manual there are a dot on the gear and the shaft and they are suppose to be lined up before assembly to make sure that the preload is set correctly once the shaft is in the case. Well in my special opinon (and dont as me why) with the dots lined up the kickstarter wouldnt work. i had to take the gear off the shaft about 10 times to get the gear placed correctly on the shaft. Works like a charm again.

My next problem is, the machine now starts and idles, but once the throttle is opened up it bogs down and eventually dies out. I have two carbs and one i have went through and cleaned completely(this carb worked perfectly before the machine was torn apart) and a new carb that i have put a new needle and seat, jet needle, needle jet, and floats. i also cleaned the main jet and pilot jet. Both carbs have the same effect on the machine. I have checked the air cleaner thinking that it wasnt getting enough air and was flooding the engine... ran without air cleaner did the same problem.. sprayed carb cleaner into the air filter engine ran the same( i would think it would rev up) and i have checked the reed valves and they are all free. Although i am not an expert on these machines, i have torn this particular one apart enough times that i thought i knew just about everything there was to know about it. I guess not.

If anyone has any suggestions or tips i would definetly appreciate it.

Shouldn't the second part of this post be the beginning of a new topic?

[Sc0tt]

It appears so. I am with MWKE I think it is carb or possibly a clog in the exhaust.