Governor Lever Purpose?

[exilestudios]

Hello,

Long story short, I recently got a 89 KDX 200 off of craigs list and have been fixing it up. After rebuilding the top end I discovered issues in the bottom end and now after putting a new kick starter idler gear, water pump seal, and a whole new clutch in it she's about ready to rock n roll. However, in the process I've seemed to misplace the little governor lever. I ordered a new one last night, but wont have it until sometime next week. I am just wondering what exactly the purpose of it is. I know when the slide pushes in and out from the side of the motor it turns this lever. I'm assuming it's something to do with the power band, but I could be wrong. When I originally looked up this little lever I found something stating it had to do with the exhaust valve opening and closing or something along those lines. Though when I recently looked up the part to order a new one it was named the governor lever. This is the part number of this lever I'm talking about 13168-1371 and below is a picture of it.



I am just curious if it would do any harm riding the bike without this or is it a must. After having the bike sitting for a while as I've been working on it all winter, I am quite eager to take it riding. However, I don't want to risk screwing up anything else, so I thought I would ask about it on here where someone might know. Otherwise I'll just be waiting until sometime next week when I get my new lever for it. In the mean time I just get to enjoy the lovely smell of 2-stroke and the sound of it idling.

[royadams]

It operates the power valve. It won't cause any trouble not running it the bike will just loose top end. If it's to bad you could use zipties to open valve up a little.

[exilestudios]

Awesome, thanks!

[scheckaet]

how the hell are you going to zip tie the powervalve?

[exilestudios]

Haha. That's a good question. I was just going to ride it without it. I took it around the yard a couple times and I think I need to do some carb adjustments or something, because it sort of bogs down unless I barely get on the throttle then let out and repeat doing so quickly. Or it could just be the fact that the weather is kind of cold and I didn't give it much time to warm up. Either way I got my answer in regards to the governor lever. As long as that guy's answer about it being okay to run it without it is valid.

[Julien D]

Yes, you can run without it. It makes a huge difference in power delivery and fun factor though.

[exilestudios]

Well I don't plan on running it hard, because I still have to break in the new piston. I just wanted to do a little riding this weekend and I don't plan on winding it all the way out. Thanks for the responses! I think I'll be around this forum quite a bit from now on. It's nice to speak with other KDX lovers. I was foreign to this bike until recently, but have always been a two-stroke lover. After spending pretty much all winter working on this one I've fell in love with it. My KDX is my baby :)

[Julien D]

Great! Good to have ya. No worries about "winding it all the way out", as it will not with the powervalve in the closed position, lol. Bike looks great, btw! I actually dig the factory graphics.

[exilestudios]

Great! Good to have ya. No worries about "winding it all the way out", as it will not with the powervalve in the closed position, lol. Bike looks great, btw! I actually dig the factory graphics.

Haha alright, makes sense. Thanks :) I'll probably post the full story about my adventure of fixing up this bike soon. It was pretty gruesome and disappointing at times, but I'm nothing but proud now that I've got it all fixed. I love this bike so much it's unexplainable. I've loved two-strokes since the first Yamaha Blaster my dad got. Would like to have a Banshee, but I am entirely satisfied with my KDX. Here is a video of me starting it up this morning. It was around 27°F outside at the time and she fired up on the first kick.

[Julien D]

I know the feeling. I own an 89 as well, bought as a basket case and put a whole lot of work into it to turn it into what it is today!

[royadams]

Scheckaet pull the rod out and wrap a zip tie around the shaft,use it as a spacer.just line them up side by side to the length u want. Not that I've done it but anything that will hold the rod out will open the valve.

[canyncarvr]

It operates the power valve. It won't cause any trouble not running it the bike will just loose top end.

Not quite.

With the KIPS disconnected the various power valve pieces will not be held in any particular position. In that case, one or more of the three may be partly 'open' at low rpm. That will impact the bottom end response. Yes, there is a spring-loaded detent check ball (A/H models anyway)..but I wouldn't count on it to hold much.

By 'impact' I mean the bike may well be essentially unrideable. Taking a 220 I rode as an example, ITS power valves were messed up, partly open at lower RPM: That bike couldn't get out of its own way.

I'm not saying the bike in this thread will be the same. IF the KIPS is not functioning correctly though, NO KDX is going to run as well as it could, and it's not just the top end that can suffer.

[exilestudios]

It operates the power valve. It won't cause any trouble not running it the bike will just loose top end.

Not quite.

With the KIPS disconnected the various power valve pieces will not be held in any particular position. In that case, one or more of the three may be partly 'open' at low rpm. That will impact the bottom end response. Yes, there is a spring-loaded detent check ball (A/H models anyway)..but I wouldn't count on it to hold much.

By 'impact' I mean the bike may well be essentially unrideable. Taking a 220 I rode as an example, ITS power valves were messed up, partly open at lower RPM: That bike couldn't get out of its own way.

I'm not saying the bike in this thread will be the same. IF the KIPS is not functioning correctly though, NO KDX is going to run as well as it could, and it's not just the top end that can suffer.

Well I didn't run it much without it and it has it now so no worries. It runs amazingly :)

[canyncarvr]

You would do well to make sure it's been installed correctly AND running as it should. Seeing as you don't know the condition of the bike, assuming it's all good isn't likely the best decision.

Check the timing, check its (the KIPS) operation. The 'E' bikes like to eat the RH (I think it is) valve. It (the 'E' bike KIPS) is considerably different from the A/H models...more complicated and more prone to failure.

[exilestudios]

You would do well to make sure it's been installed correctly AND running as it should. Seeing as you don't know the condition of the bike, assuming it's all good isn't likely the best decision.

Check the timing, check its (the KIPS) operation. The 'E' bikes like to eat the RH (I think it is) valve. It (the 'E' bike KIPS) is considerably different from the A/H models...more complicated and more prone to failure.

Well I've had it torn practically all the way down, so I have a general idea the condition of the bike. I put a new piston kit in it, a new water pump seal, a new kick starter idler gear, a new but used clutch basket/pressure plate/inner clutch basket, and all new plates and springs. Also all new gaskets. Though I didn't particularly take a look at the KIPS stuff, as I was foreign to the functionality of all of that. Thanks for the information and I'll keep it all in mind.

I've worked on this bike all winter pretty much so far.

When I got the bike the guy stated it need a new top end and that was it. However, after replacing the top end I noticed the anti-freeze mixing in with the oil and it was starting to make a grinding noise. Also, we noticed that the kick starter would slip around as if it had no compression, but once it spun around it had a hell of a lot of compression. At this time I had only rode it around the yard twice without really getting on it any. I was disappointed and began tearing it down again over time. First I researched around about the problem with the milky oil and found that most that I found pointed at the water pump seal, so I replaced that. After having a hell of a time getting the clutch off we found the kick starter idler gear ate up and a clump of metal welded to the back of the clutch basket. I realized that the previous owners had ran it quite a bit with the water pump seal being worn out.

As you can see the idler gear had seen better days.


However, everything else looked practically new. My primary concern was the main bearings, but it seems to be fine so far thank god. I've already had a blast riding it the little bit I have so far since I've got it back outside and running. I paid $400 for the bike in the condition it was, which wasn't bad considering it had new tires, an FMF exhaust system, and reeds. It was worth that at least in parts. I've learned quite a bit in the process of working on the bike and I find the riding time to be priceless. I'll probably end up riding it until something major comes up again and then just fix it and keep her going. So far I've dumped around $320 into it fixing it up not including the initial $400 for the bike.

[Dekon]

E's like to eat the LH valve.