Bad to worse

[mudlark]

I bought my 98 XT6e as a project to slowly kit up and do a long tour on, but I've got real doubts about that now.

Yesterday I tried to adjust my clutch in order to stop drag and subsequent gear selection problems. After one such adjustment I was testing the bike when the starter motor engaged (don't ask me how or why) and would not switch off, eventually running the battery right down.
Today got a battery charger, charged battery, deh deh deh, but the starter motor no longer works. Push starter button, nothing,just whiring of solenoid I think.

Whoever said in one of the posts here that you don't need a kickstart you can just bump it, has not tried bumping a f&*cking great single with clutch drag. And that's on tarmac, not sand!!!
I got a lot of work ahead of me I can see. First stop a kickstart as backup.

[This message has been edited by mudlark (edited 27 October 2002).]

[mika]

hi,

don´t give on the good old xt. I am riding a 1VJ Tenere around the world since 1999.

I have the same clutch problem, but I don´t see it as a problem - just the way my Tenere is.

I would not go on a big trip like mine without a kickstarter

Now its time for you to learn about your XTE

Have fun

from Bogota Colombia

MIKA

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[mudlark]

I haven't given up yet I was just pissed off yesterday with so many things going wrong and knowing I had to walk to work today.
Will have to take the starter-motor out over weekend to see whether the fault is electrical or mechanical.
Wouldn't mind a kickstart though. How easy is it to fit to a 3TB?

[This message has been edited by mudlark (edited 28 October 2002).]

[mudlark]

I've done some research--RE:Starter motor getting stuck--and it sound like the solenoid plunger somehow engaged the starter gear after I messed with the clutch cable setting.

Does anybody have a spare solenoid they are willing to sell.

Len

[DAVSATO]

one of the moderators or someone who knows for sure will have to clarify this, but if you look on the right hand side of the engine there is writing in the casting, and it actually says 'kickstarter', but the actual gubbins isnt fitted.looking at the tenere clymer manual the engines are virtually the same so i should think you could retro fit the mechanism

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dave

[KlausXT600]

to fit a kickstarter into a 98' 3TB is possible but a bit difficult.
you have to drill a 20 mm hole into the sidecover to take the kickstarter shaft and a 30 mm seat for the oil sealing.
if you don't have a milling machine and the necessary skill you should leave this work to a machinery workshop.
next problem is that it is not possible to mount the automatic decompression unit. somehow you have to mount a manual type (like on old ktm's) on the handle bar.
and then the primary ratio is 71/34 (old kick-start xt's: 74/31) which makes kick-starting a bit more difficult.
a description ( in german :-( ) and some pics (click on 'bild') you can find here:
http://www.xt600.de/xt_werkstatt/+ba...rter/index.htm

regards
klaus

[mudlark]

Thanks for the information Klaus my xte is a series 4PT does the info still apply?

[KlausXT600]

yes.
the pics connected to the link mentioned above are from a 4pt.

klaus

[POB/London]

You were bump starting in 3rd gear, weren't you? It is the only gear to use with a big single like the XT, and should work first time.

My XT was standing in the rain, shorting the battery for 2 weeks when I was on holiday and she started 1st go in Stansted car park yesterday! Push along in 3rd, choke in clutch in, let out the clutch and you're off!

I have a similar dilemma re: fitting a kick start, on my 1990 3AJ. I have decided not to. If the problem is electrical, it's normally simple to fix / bump start the bike. If it's mechanical (stripped sprag gear or starter clutch) I don't want to dun the engine anyway, with bits of metal floating abouit!!

So I'm gonna leave it how it is (I think)...

[mudlark]

The problem was that I was getting clutch drag and that made bumping alone a nightmare as I had to jump on the bike and engage gear after a run up.
All is sorted out now though. As the red face suggests my solenoid was not the prob my battery did not have sufficient power to turn the engine--even though my oximiser (charger) indicated it was charged.

[jrm]

Hello,
I have just had the same happen with my bike, the battery has been getting worse over time, initialy I thought it might be the regulator so I replaced it but that did not help. Then this morning the when I tried to start it the startor motor got stuck and the same thing happened the startor motor turned until the battery went completely flat, and could not stop it.

How did you get the bike NOT to start when connecting up the new battery? because in therory it will be in the same state when I try and replace it?


Thanks
Jason

[Geoff van de Merwe]

Yeah Lewis,
I learnt that little 3rd gear thing only recently. When I was in the Omo valley last year, my battery gave out and I was push starting the bike in second for about a week. Cost me a few bir every morning to pay a few locals for the privilege of push-starting my bike. I bet they would have appreciated me using third!!

[jrm]

Hi Guys,

I have got the bike going again
I disconnected the startor motor, then replaced the battery and once that was done when I turned the ignition to on, then I could hear the relai 'click' back into the correct position. The simply connected the new battery and she fired up straight away.

Cheers
JRM

[Mark]

Hi

I retro fitted kick starts to my 1988 3AJ Tenere and my girlfriends 1991 XT600e but didn't bother with the decompressor part, and have no problem kick starting either,but maybe being 6ft4 and 13 stone helps !

Fitting the parts was straight forward for these models, there is a blanking plus in the right hand side engine case which is easily removes and replaced with the oil seal which the kick start shaft passes through.
It appears to me that when Yamaha moved the clutch actuator to this side they stopped drilling the kick start shaft hole, hence the additional work required as detailed by Klause.

Never did get the hang of bump starting a fully loaded XT, even on tarmac.

[cuvy_]

kick starting without decompression isn't what i'd call fun, but it's not that hard once you get the hang of it. My SRX6 broke it's decomp cable once, and in the 3 weeks it took to get a replacement i got quite adept at it - to the point that when it finally arrived I lamented spending that much on a cable!.

Kick it till you get compression, then slowly apply pressure till you're just past top dead centre (resistance will drop slightly). Then let the kickstart return to the top and give it a nice solid, smooth kick with a follow through. not hard at all really.

Cheers,
Phil