Kdx200 1990 kickstart mechanism

Discussion specific to the 1989 - 1994 (E Series) KDX200 model sold in the USA
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1fletch
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Kdx200 1990 kickstart mechanism

Post by 1fletch »

Anyone any ideas with this kickstart mecanism top one is what was fitted middle one the Kawasaki year specific replacement and bottom one what I changed on a 96
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Chuck78
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Re: Kdx200 1990 kickstart mechanism

Post by Chuck78 »

1fletch wrote: 03:14 am Apr 29 2026 Anyone any ideas with this kickstart mecanism top one is what was fitted middle one the Kawasaki year specific replacement and bottom one what I changed on a 96

What exactly is your question?

The top and bottom both appear to have considerably more wear than the middle. Have you ran all three of these? And all three are causing issues?
Have you replaced the spring that pushes the ratcheting halves together? They get quite weak over time and will allow the kicker to not fully engage, which instantly leads to a slipping kickstart motion. The OEM spring's stiffness is a bit weak, and leaves a bit to be desired as it ages.
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1fletch
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Re: Kdx200 1990 kickstart mechanism

Post by 1fletch »

Hi the top one is the one that was fitted and has more splines , the middle is the oem replacement I ordered for the 1990 year that runs through to 2006 , so does not fit
Is it a possibility this is off say a kx or something else
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Re: Kdx200 1990 kickstart mechanism

Post by Chuck78 »

1fletch wrote: 07:22 am Apr 29 2026 Hi the top one is the one that was fitted and has more splines , the middle is the oem replacement I ordered for the 1990 year that runs through to 2006 , so does not fit
Is it a possibility this is off say a kx or something else

So you're saying 1989 uses a different part number for this piece, and you ordered one that lists 1990 through 2006, but the one that arrived does not fit? The splines are the wrong size? I'm not quite clear on your question, please be more detailed. The one in the bottom of the photo does look slightly different but the photo angle could be misleading, as they virtually all look the same without any major distinctions or any measurements.
'97 KDX220R - purple/green! - KLX forks, Lectron, Tubliss
'97 KX125 hybrid build! - KDX220 engine, '25 KX450X suspension, titanium hardware, lots of mods purple/green!
'99 KDX220R project - '98/'01 RM125 suspension, Titanium hardware, Lectron Billetron, Tubliss
'77 Suzuki PE250 & '83 PE175 Full Floater - restomod builds
'77 Suzuki GS750-844cc, '77 GS400 & '77 GS550 big bore builds
'62 GMC 1000 Panel Truck
'88 Suzuki Samurai TDI/Toyota swap
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1fletch
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Re: Kdx200 1990 kickstart mechanism

Post by 1fletch »

Hi the one that was fitted has 15 cogs/splines that engage with the kickstart cog (top) and the the oem replacement that I ordered (middle) only has 12 same as the bottom that I replaced on my 96 which makes me think that the one top that I am looking to replace along with the mechanism or at least the Covid off something else
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Re: Kdx200 1990 kickstart mechanism

Post by JimmyB »

Could that mechanism possibly be out of a 89? The complete kickstarter mechanism does fit from 89-06 BUT the only difference is they upgraded that ratchet and gear on the 90 model year, it was a one year only ratchet/gear on the KDX and I am not sure if used on other models.
Looks like both parts for the 89 are NLA and the main spur gear for the 90-06 is NLA. Might have to source a complete mechanism from a later model or sometimes the teeth can be resurfaced to help engagement.
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