KX250F Kickstarter on H-Series?

[Tyl3r]

Has anyone tried the 2006-2012 KX250F kick starter on an H-series? I saw a guy in Thumpertalk used one on his hybrid and said it fit with minimal mods. Splines were the same as KDX. I think just adding a washer to make up for a thinner knuckle and shaving some material off the arm to clear the clutch cover. I am thinking about giving it a try on my hybrid. I have a KX250 one on there now and its too tall and hits the frame. I tried a 125 one but its too short to kick with my boot, it hits the footpeg but it tucks into the frame nicely. This 250F lever looks to fit in nicely.

https://www.thumpertalk.com/forums/topi ... t-17261421

Also saw mention of a KX250F shift shaft lever swap out... first time I've heard of that

[SS109]

Yeah, I commented on that myself. I'm curious if anyone here has tried it as my OEM kicker is about shot and need a replacement.

[Tyl3r]

I have one coming in the mail any day now, anxious to see how it works

[SS109]

I have one coming in the mail any day now, anxious to see how it works

Please keep us posted.

[Tyl3r]

Well, its definitely not a direct fit, but I think its worth the effort. It folds up and sits in there nicely, better than the KX250 or KX125 arms did:

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Just a couple issues I am working though:

The nut that holds the kickstart knuckle to the shaft, is that normally a 17mm hex? I had mine fall off a while ago and replaced it with a nut I had laying around that's a 19mm hex. There isn't enough clearance around the nut to use a socket or wrench to confidently tighten the 19mm hex bolt. I need to get the right nut I think it will be fine.

Had to grind/file some of the arm down so it didn't hit the clutch cover when fully rotated. It now hits my peg first, but I still think I'd like to get a little wider footpeg on there to help it even more, gets a little close for my liking.

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Also had to do some grinding on the arm in the circled area that was hitting the frame when it went around. Its also hitting my frame guards, will need to trim those too:

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[SS109]

Yes, stock kick start nut is 17mm.

Dude, a big time thanks for sharing your experience with getting this kicker on there. This kind of info is great for the KDX community as our bikes get older and things wear out. Oh, I do agree this seems like a way better way than the KX125/250 combo everyone has been doing.

[Kawibunga]

X10!

I'll be looking for one to try the same fitment setup on my build. Great info and thanks for sharing!

[John_S]

I found a 250F kicker last night for $29 and ordered it. We’ll see if it works with an H series frame and rev pipe. I had the short kicker for a while and didn’t really like how you kick straight onto the peg with your foot. I have an OEM kickstart thats basically brand new and already starting to tweak backwards a little. My shorty used the 89 125 lever and stock boss so that one is also slanted back. It’s not like I kick the bike real hard or anything. Hoping the 250F fits and is stronger in general.

[Tyl3r]

Happy to share, I've learned a ton on this site over the years! I forgot I also had a little spacer ring behind the knuckle to space it out a little bit. I have an OEM nut on order, hope it comes soon.

Here's how the different shifters fit, if anyone is interested, keep in mind though, it is with an 05 KX125 frame:

Stock - fits good, but wears out fast, pivot is open at the top for gunk to get into:

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KX250 - fits pretty good, has a sealed pivot, like how it doesn't stick out far, but always hits the frame:

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[Tyl3r]

KX125 - doesn't really fit too well, hits the pipe and frame, foot hits the peg before it goes all the way around, has a sealed pivot. I tried really hard to force myself to like this one and I couldn't:

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KX250F - Fits nice, does not hit frame, has a sealed pivot, needs some material removal to not hit clutch cover at full rotation. This is my favorite one so far:

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[SS109]

I found a 250F kicker last night for $29 and ordered it. We’ll see if it works with an H series frame and rev pipe. I had the short kicker for a while and didn’t really like how you kick straight onto the peg with your foot. I have an OEM kickstart thats basically brand new and already starting to tweak backwards a little. My shorty used the 89 125 lever and stock boss so that one is also slanted back. It’s not like I kick the bike real hard or anything. Hoping the 250F fits and is stronger in general.

Please keep me posted how it fits! Fitment wise our bikes are the same.

Happy to share, I've learned a ton on this site over the years! I forgot I also had a little spacer ring behind the knuckle to space it out a little bit. I have an OEM nut on order, hope it comes soon.

Here's how the different shifters fit, if anyone is interested, keep in mind though, it is with an 05 KX125 frame:

Stock - fits good, but wears out fast, pivot is open at the top for gunk to get into:

That's how my kicker looks right now. Sucks when your boot is wet or muddy as it likes to slide off.

Tell me, is your foot basically in the same position with the KX250F kicker as in your foot is not significantly further away from the bike?



Man, I love this forum!

[Tyl3r]

The 250F kicker sticks out less than the stock KDX one by an inch or so I'd say. Its further out than what I've been used to the 250 kicker that I have been running. I'll have to spend the day with it on there to see what I think, but I think it will be good.

[SS109]

Cool. Please keep us updated!

[smelonas]

I bought one a while ago for our hybrid, did not fit and wasnt going to. The way we cut the stinger on our pipe and weasled the motor into the frame, it was going to be a hybrid conversion all its own! We also have PC pipes on our KDX motors which fit much different and worse than the FMF pipes. I have seen a few hyrbids with them on, yours included and they do look nice when they fit!

I have come to grips with KX250 kickstarter. Sure does make kicking a lot easier!

I have a brand new KXF kickstarter I am trying to sell if anyone wants to buy it. PM me.

[MoonStomper]

Alright so I guess I’m just weird, or a total KDX nerd, but every KDX pic I see (for sale or whatever) the first thing I look at is to see if they’ve done Nick’s KX125 kicker mod (using the KX250 knuckle).

If they still have the OEM kicker on there I start questioning the rest of the bike. Honestly, of all the many labor and research intensive things I’ve done to mine including the clutch actuator mod, the Belgian valves in my OEM forks, and even the Fredette airbox/Radvalve/Desert pipe, cylinder porting power mods, this was the best money I’ve spent.

Curious why it seems not to fit certain bikes though.

[John_S]

My 250F lever shows that it was delivered today. I'll install it tonight and see if it fits without interference on a non hybrid H series.

[smelonas]

Alright so I guess I’m just weird, or a total KDX nerd, but every KDX pic I see (for sale or whatever) the first thing I look at is to see if they’ve done Nick’s KX125 kicker mod (using the KX250 knuckle).

If they still have the OEM kicker on there I start questioning the rest of the bike. Honestly, of all the many labor and research intensive things I’ve done to mine including the clutch actuator mod, the Belgian valves in my OEM forks, and even the Fredette airbox/Radvalve/Desert pipe, cylinder porting power mods, this was the best money I’ve spent.

Curious why it seems not to fit certain bikes though.

On hybrids, it has to do with how your conversion was done. How much engine was tilted forward, how pipe was modified, what pipe was used, etc.

[MoonStomper]

Oh yeah that’s right, the hybrids are really a different beast!

[John_S]

I got my kickstart and it mounted easily but there are a lot of issues so I don’t want to be quoted as saying I recommend it for an H series frame. I’m going to end up making this work but for now it’ll go in a drawer until I feel like messing around with it for an hour or more.
It’s a shame because the curves of it fit the curves of the frame almost perfectly

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The biggest problem is that at the EXACT time when it makes it click sound it also hits the gas tank. Even while sliding it onto the splines it hits the tank early on.

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When you see how the fat part of the kickstart is proud of the frame it makes you wonder whether a fall onto a rock or root would then put enough pressure to crack the tank

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You see the pencil mark I put on it? It looks like if it cut it there it would have a chance of not hitting the tank but it’s harder to tell in person than in the pictures.
Then there are the issues that Tyler talked about. The first one being the nut. I have the factory 17mm. Even a thin walled socket gets jammed in there when you tighten it up. I had to wiggle the socket out with channel locks. It only hangs up on the upper right 11:00 position so I think I could take care of that by relieving a little of that material in the picture, or beveling a cheap socket a little. But it gets wedged really hard in there.

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The next issue is that the kdx boss is 3mm thicker than the KXF boss so you have to add a washer or two on the backside. The problem with that is that the inner diameter and outer diameter have to be almost the same size (like a metal oring type washer) in order for the kicker to go into the closed position. The point of the lever in the 11:00 position is closer to us than the boss looking at this picture so the point has to clear the spacers.

[John_S]

Like a lot of things we mess with, it’s so close and yet so far from being considered a bolt on. Tyler mentioned a couple more things and it’s the same thing on the H frame. One is that lever skims the frame when going down about 3/4 of its travel. You can see in this picture the little scrape on the lever by the Phillips screw and the paint missing on the frame. It’s so slight that a couple of slow hand kicks almost scraped enough clearance. This is a quick 5 minute job to take care of with a little slice from a cut off wheel on the lever like Tyler did. PS the nut isn’t tight in this picture.

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Then once it gets past that the a point on the lever hits the clutch cover before the lever hits the peg. This is also a quick job with a grinder.

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It sticks out from the frame the same amount as the stocker when you go to kick it. About 8”. Like I mentioned early on I’m going to get this to work someday but I’m not excited about fiddling with it. I love the slight forward angle where you put your foot and this one is well used and there are no signs of damage on the lever or the boss where they press against each other. Everything is nice and tight. If this thing sat about 1/2” lower it would’ve snuck in right under the tank and I wouldn’t have much issue with the rest (other than finding the right 3mm spacer / washer / metal oring). Here are a few more pics.

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I think if I keep 4 of the ridges for your boot to ride on the cut off the 5th one with the knob on the end it has a chance of clearing the gas tank. Hitting the tank is the one thing I can’t get accept with this set up. The last need you need is a crack in the tank right above the hot pipe.

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