gas hose, left choke in on.

[goodoboy]

Hello,

When I filling gas on my kdx 220 for the first time, I notice the under end of the hose popped out. Where does it go? I put it in a hole on the handle bars. Not sure why the other end of hose goes.

Also, I made a silly mistake and left my Choke in ON position for about 1 hour while riding. I notice it was in the ON position when the bike stopped due to no gas. When I switch to RESERVE position, i notice the Choke position had been in ON since I started riding.

When i filled with gas, I started in while Choke in ON, and switch back to OFF. I rode off and the bike stopped on me. Put back in ON position, it restarted, put back in OFF, rode for about 1-2 min and it stopped again.

If I leave in in ON position it rides fine with no problem

I damn sure hope I didn't screw nothing up with this silly mistake. My first day riding the bike since purchased and now this. I am back home now and have not tried to ride it yet, maybe the problem went away.

Any help would be nice. Thank you

[jerry malbeck]

The hose goes from point a being the top of the gas cap to point b being the hole in the stem nut on your front fork tripple tree. That being said there is a big nut right under your handle bars in the very middle that is where the loose end of the hose goes . that hose is a VENT and must be open on the end that goes to the hole in the tripple tree IF you plug it off it will cause the gas tank to not allow the fuel to get to the carb, sounds like this could possibly be your problem .
Now for the choke problem . It sounds as if you may have the fuel petcock in the wrong position . there is on = straight down when turning toward the front of the bike . off is straight horizontal with the ground ,or in a backwards L position pointing at the front wheel . and reserve in straight up toward the bottom of the tank . if the choke has to be on there is a problem with the carb . If the bike ran fine before this happened I would have to say you are misunderstanding the choke on and off position . the black choke knob must be DOWN when the choke is NOT on . pulling the knob up will turn choke on . about the only thing you could have done to the bike from what you stated you have done would be foul a plug . keep us posted !!!

[goodoboy]

The hose goes from point a being the top of the gas cap to point b being the hole in the stem nut on your front fork tripple tree. That being said there is a big nut right under your handle bars in the very middle that is where the loose end of the hose goes . that hose is a VENT and must be open on the end that goes to the hole in the tripple tree IF you plug it off it will cause the gas tank to not allow the fuel to get to the carb, sounds like this could possibly be your problem .
Now for the choke problem . It sounds as if you may have the fuel petcock in the wrong position . there is on = straight down when turning toward the front of the bike . off is straight horizontal with the ground ,or in a backwards L position pointing at the front wheel . and reserve in straight up toward the bottom of the tank . if the choke has to be on there is a problem with the carb . If the bike ran fine before this happened I would have to say you are misunderstanding the choke on and off position . the black choke knob must be DOWN when the choke is NOT on . pulling the knob up will turn choke on . about the only thing you could have done to the bike from what you stated you have done would be foul a plug . keep us posted !!!

Thank you for responding.

Help me understand, I just went look at the bike and did notice the black knob and it was down.

What is the knob for and how do I use the choke? From my understanding, the choke is only need to be in the ON position if the bike has been sitting for awhile (weeks) and needed for cold start-up. How does the knob work?

Correct me if I am wrong.

[pumpguy]

When you lift the choke knob on your carburetor, this uncovers an extra starting jet to allow more fuel to mix with the incoming air stream, thus providing a rich mixture for starting. When you lower the knob, this covers the starting jet and the rest of the fuel metering hardware in the carburetor takes over.

[goodoboy]

When you lift the choke knob on your carburetor, this uncovers an extra starting jet to allow more fuel to mix with the incoming air stream, thus providing a rich mixture for starting. When you lower the knob, this covers the starting jet and the rest of the fuel metering hardware in the carburetor takes over.

Excuse my ignorance, but when do I use the Choke and choke knob and when do I not use it. I need to know when to use them and when to not use them.

[Joshmcmillan]

When you lift the choke knob on your carburetor, this uncovers an extra starting jet to allow more fuel to mix with the incoming air stream, thus providing a rich mixture for starting. When you lower the knob, this covers the starting jet and the rest of the fuel metering hardware in the carburetor takes over.

Excuse my ignorance, but when do I use the Choke and choke knob and when do I not use it. I need to know when to use them and when to not use them.

I put the chocke into the ON position (which is pulled up) when starting the bike. I then immediately put it into the OFF position (pushed down). It makes starting the bike when cold easier, once the bike is warm, I never use it.

The metal lever you've refereed to, is simply the fuel ON/OFF lever. If it is off, your bike will run out of fuel. I turn mine off when travelling, or if the bike is going to be sitting for a while. It has reserve so that if you are getting low on fuel in the bush somewhere, it runs out and you can put it onto reserve fuel to make it home.

As mentioned, the pipe from the top of the gas tap is just a pressure release, just shove it in the nicest, most convenient location but it DOES NOT plug into anything. You'll see a hole in directly in front of it that you can shove it down into.

[goodoboy]

Thank you all, now I know what I did wrong. First off all I was calling the petcock the choke. Which was misunderstanding on my part.

Now that I know the difference. Lets try this again.

I never lift the choke at all today and the petcock was ON until I ran out of gas. I placed in RESERVE and road to get gas. That's when after starting I place the petcock in OFF for some reason I don't know why. And that's when it started stopping on me. I would start in ON position, then flip to off, then it would start and stop again 1-2 min later. When I left in ON, it ran without stopping.

Now I know what to do from now on. I plan to never open the choke unless been sitting for weeks and not starting while in ON position after about 6-8 kicks.

Do i need to check the plugs?

Did I mess up the carburetor from this today?

Thanks

[TN Dirtrider]

Nothing you did would have messed up the plug or the carb, you just ran it out of gas by turning the petcock to off. No big deal.

[bufftester]

Just use the choke to start when the engine is cold. Should never take 6-8 kicks. Mine starts by 3rd kick even after weeks of sitting.

[GOT WOODS?]

Whenever the bike has not been ridden for a day, lift the choke. Your bike should start in 2-3 kicks when it is cold (not been ridden for 6+ hours) when you use the choke when the engine is cold. After the bike has been started and is warm, you won't need the choke again until the bike sits and cools down to ambient temperature (maybe 6 hours or so??).

You should Google dirt bike clubs in your area and join a club. You'll meet a bunch of new friends and learn where the great riding is. Plus you'll have a bunch of seasoned guys who can really help get you up to speed in real time with your riding and mechanical skills.

[pumpguy]

I would also recommend you get copies of the Owners Manual and Service Manual for this bike. I've seen Owners Manuals come up on Ebay quite often. The Service Manual is invaluable and tells you just about everything you need to know about your KDX.

[bufftester]

You can download the owner's manual for free 220 Owners Manual. Service manuals on Ebay or through Cyclepedia.

[6 Riders]

On my 95 I raely use the choke, generally after not being ridden for a couple days, or if it's below 50°F. My 94 was different, it needed choke after about 5hrs of not being ridden or if it's below 65°F......every bike is different......of course I'm in the middle of a rebuild on my 94, it may be like the 95 and not need choke very often when starting.....
I say, 3 kicks and if it doesn't start, choke it. If it doesn't start after 4-5 kicks, you should check your plug.

[jerry malbeck]

Glad you figured it out , Kinda had me scratching my head LOL. A month from now youll look back at this and smile , Have fun with the new KDX my friend !!!! Keep asking questions thats what we are all here for .

[goodoboy]

On my 95 I raely use the choke, generally after not being ridden for a couple days, or if it's below 50°F. My 94 was different, it needed choke after about 5hrs of not being ridden or if it's below 65°F......every bike is different......of course I'm in the middle of a rebuild on my 94, it may be like the 95 and not need choke very often when starting.....
I say, 3 kicks and if it doesn't start, choke it. If it doesn't start after 4-5 kicks, you should check your plug.

Thank you 6 riders. Will a foul plug stop the bike from starting.

[goodoboy]

I would also recommend you get copies of the Owners Manual and Service Manual for this bike. I've seen Owners Manuals come up on Ebay quite often. The Service Manual is invaluable and tells you just about everything you need to know about your KDX.

Thank you, I have it. And read it some night before bed. Thanks

[jerry malbeck]

Yes a fouled plug can stop a bike from starting .

[Joshmcmillan]

Yes, you should always carry a spare brand new spark plug and spark plug spanner (or 13/18th inch spanner) with you when riding. Spark plugs can and will foul, and leave you stuck if you don't have a spare to slap on (takes 2 minutes). IF jetted correctly, it may never foul, but I wouldn't risk going for a ride without one.

[diymirage]

Yes, you should always carry a spare brand new spark plug and spark plug spanner.

just last Friday I was on my way to work on the KDX and my plug died on me
the bike would not rev out, started to stutter and eventually died

had to push the bike back home which took about 20 minutes...pretty decent workout

then when I got home I got the spark plug spanner (this side of the pond we call that a wrench) out of the FENDERBAG and a brank spanking new plug from a shelf in my garage it really did only take 2 minutes


funny story on the petcock (fueltap) the bike that I had before the KDX had the petcock set up in a manner where the handle would cover what it was on, instead of point to it
so the first 2 weeks I ran the bike dry every single time because I thought it was in the "on" position while in fact it was on reserve

[Joshmcmillan]

Haha yep! My first KDX (94) was my first 2-stroke, and the first time it fouled a plug I spent an hour trying to run start it down in a paddock..

Funnily enough, it also had the petcock on backwards, I switched it around eventually.