1989-2006 KDX E-start!

[billie_morini]

Kawibunga: thank you for sharing the video about the Fisch e-start. I didn't know about it. I like the design of the internal Fisch parts better than the internal Panthera parts.

Bultacobill: I like your forum name! I'm also "Bill" and had Bultaco motorcycles in my past.

SS109: sorry you were sick. Hope you are not now. When time allows, you'll finish making an interesting starter.

GOT WOODS: My take on Panthera products is most are good and it was YZ 250 starter that is problematic. There was one KDX forum member that pre-ordered the Panthera starter for KDX. After many months of waiting, the product was not shipped. The KDX forum member encountered a life change and obtained a refund. That's all I know for how close any KDX forum members came to getting a Panthera starter for KDX.

[SS109]

In case anyone is interested, I did my first prototype of the sprag adapter and learned a few things to get a workable finished part. So far I have learned that this will not be something I can mass produce as it just takes so many different machining steps that on a manual lathe it just eats up so much time and repeatability becomes an issue. Maybe, if there is enough interest down the road we can do a group buy and have a dedicated machine shop make up the adapters at a reasonable price.

BTW, if I forgot to mention it, after I get it to were it is a working and reliable setup, I will make all the info available for free here on the forum so that anyone can do it themselves. Yes, there is going to be some fairly complicated pieces that have to be made and modified but at least the info will be out there. Maybe someone will have the equipment and knowledge to offer this setup, or at least all the pieces you can't just buy off the shelf, as a kit for the KDX community.

I will keep making updates as things progress. Until then here are some pics of my prototype sprag adapter...

Sprag side... (you can see where I'll make major design change where the 3 smaller threaded holes only have about 1mm of full thread engagement. Center section will not be machined out for proper thread engagement so the starter gear will have to be ground/machined down for clearance)

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Flywheel side... (everything fits perfectly on E and H series flywheels with OEM rivets. E and H series flywheels are identical for this conversion)

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Here is the adapter installed on the flywheel with sprag installed and starter gear in place...

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[Kawibunga]

It's coming along SS109! I've not yet got anything past the idea stage....... when I was chatting with the guys at FISCH he did ask me what I thought the demand would be - and I pointed him to this thread and said he'd definitely sell some!

And yes to do this all on a manual would be bugger. I'm the Engineering Manger a big machine shop up here so understand the challenges there!

[SS109]

I also have a steel sprag adapter idea that could cut the adapter size in half, reducing stick out, but don't have the tooling to try to make one yet. Even though both designs I have been working on are rather simple by today's standards it still requires a lot of tooling and skills to make it happen. That said, I plan to continue working on it.

[KDXGarage]

THANK YOU for your efforts!

[billie_morini]

SS109, you sure possess above average skill, talent, and creativity.. Wish I had more of these traits.

[assquatch20]

I'm considering getting one of the kits when funds allow. Hopefully they don't go anywhere. Trying to make a poor man's Beta. Only got like $600 in the bike, and it's titled and looks good, but it's needing a rebuild. I think a crank seal failed after being in storage before I bought it. Didn't get many miles before it went.

The kit would be a nice way to rig up a charging system. Might be enough for a phone charger and could allow LED lighting but not sure if the headlight stays AC with the kit. I'd assume so but not sure.

[Chuck78]

I'm considering getting one of the kits when funds allow. Hopefully they don't go anywhere. Trying to make a poor man's Beta. Only got like $600 in the bike, and it's titled and looks good, but it's needing a rebuild. I think a crank seal failed after being in storage before I bought it. Didn't get many miles before it went.

The kit would be a nice way to rig up a charging system. Might be enough for a phone charger and could allow LED lighting but not sure if the headlight stays AC with the kit. I'd assume so but not sure.

No need to rig up a charging system. Float the ground on the stock lighting stator (remove it from being a chassis ground and run insulated wire to an aftermarket regulator rectifier). Add a good regulator rectifier like the ones Trail check or Baja Designs sell. Don't ground anything on the DC lighting circuit to the chass is only to the regulator rectifier. At a large capacitor or a small battery if you want the light to work strongly at low RPM. I have a smaller capacitor in the light still flickers and is damn, so I just crank up my idle speed when riding technical trails at night.

If you can adapt to having an H4 halogen type headlight socket, the SoCal Moto Gear Pathfinder LED with the heat sink cooling fins and no cooling fan is a really good one to run, I've installed this on two bikes now. I'm running a fancy supernova with a cooling fan but wish I had just gone with the Pathfinder. I've previously run Cyclops adventure sports leds, they have many socket configurations, including one that works in the stock KDX headlight housing at least the 1990 and up, not the 89 and earlier. First year of water cooled had a different headlight socket if it's still original. An inline rectifier so that you don't even need to modify your electrical system at all other than the plugs into this.
You can buy this with the Honda XR kit Cyclops sell that has the correct socket style for the original OEM KDX headlight. Note that UFO headlights look like OEM but use an oddball bulb configuration same as the Acerbis Elba and Elba 2.

I'm switching to a $10 or so Chinese eBay / Amazon aluminum housing light switch that has high beam off and low beam toggle, but currently running the more expensive Trail Tech High Low off and kill switch combo. I wish I had just gone with the Chinese one originally. The Trail Tech is much larger, not sealed, and more likely to get damaged if the bike ends up upside down or tumbling down a hillside. The Chinese one can mount below the handlebar and out of the way. Then retain your stock kill switch.
If you want lights when your engine stalls or you crash, look into the smallest for sale size lithium batteries from Antigravity Batteries. They're absolutely not cheap but they are lightweight and could not behind the left side panel where the SR models have their oil injection tank. The US models have one of the two mounting tabs for these oil reservoir tanks still, just not the one that was welded to the removable lower rear seatstay.

If you want more lighting capacity, I highly recommend a stator rewind, & doing it as a wet rewind is better. Or else the 85 watt aftermarket lighting stators. Baja Designs will also rewind yours and it will be much higher quality than the aftermarket or DIY, but it will also cost you a lot more.

[Chuck78]

This is the kit from Cyclops that works on the 1990-2006 KDX OEM headlights, advertised for Honda XR. It appears that if you want to run the light switch that I suggested instead of the trail tech, you would need to order their h6m 10.0 headlight bulb separately as well as the inline rectifier that they sell separately, otherwise you will have high beam only if you don't order the high low switch with it. According to this link:

https://www.cyclopsadventuresports.com/ ... b-kit.html

[guychriqui]

I am actually thinking of selling my e-start modded kdx200. Anyone here interested before the general folks? Located in the SF Bay.

[Kawibunga]

I am actually thinking of selling my e-start modded kdx200. Anyone here interested before the general folks? Located in the SF Bay.

Panthera Estart? Pics? How did it work for you? Not heard much for reviews for the KDX version.....

[guychriqui]

I am actually thinking of selling my e-start modded kdx200. Anyone here interested before the general folks? Located in the SF Bay.

Panthera Estart? Pics? How did it work for you? Not heard much for reviews for the KDX version.....

https://photos.app.goo.gl/r3DchjhmmeroKAAa9 pics of the kit i used. It came from brazil and I did some posts about it back then. Works great just not riding much anymore!

[Chuck78]

I am actually thinking of selling my e-start modded kdx200. Anyone here interested before the general folks? Located in the SF Bay.

Panthera Estart? Pics? How did it work for you? Not heard much for reviews for the KDX version.....

https://photos.app.goo.gl/r3DchjhmmeroKAAa9 pics of the kit i used. It came from brazil and I did some posts about it back then. Works great just not riding much anymore!

NICE LOOKING BIKE!!!

[Chuck78]

Carson Brown's KDX220 now has a Panthera e-start kit on it, as well as now having purple shrouds and updated all-purple shroud graphics to suit!

[GOT WOODS?]

Did Carson Brown do any video or review on the Panthera? I'm getting really close to pulling the trigger on something e-start wise.

[Chuck78]

He only posted it on Snapchat so far I believe, I only know because I saw someone posted a screenshot of it elsewhere.

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[Chuck78]

Did Carson Brown do any video or review on the Panthera? I'm getting really close to pulling the trigger on something e-start wise.

Oh wow... He's gotten at least a 2nd KDX! My buddy says he thinks Carson's recent social media videos on a street legal 220 were a different bike than famous KDX220 build of his that he calls his favorite bike in the stable...

So this one is a '96 KDX200 that came with '96 KX250 forks that he just built up for his first entry in the TKO Tennessee KnockOut hard enduro race! That's why he equipped it with the Panthera e-start kit and an SxS glide plate / skid plate!
My buddy Sebastian and I were speculating on him borrowing parts from his famous 220 build though, as the purple Renthal bars were a very limited run, as well as the custom purple anodized Excel Takasago rims from Dubya... Unless Carson either has some serious pull for one-off special orders or simply stocked up on thegood stuff when it was available!

See his new video with the e-start TKO-build '96 KDX200!

[billie_morini]

Chuck - thanks for sharing Carson's video. It was interesting to see a Panthera starting in an actual application. Plus, Carson's attitude is a winning attitude ("I'm going to have the most fun!")

[Kawibunga]

Thanks for posting, they also have the video via youtube on the race page. Have to fire up Red Bull's channel this weekend to see if a guy can catch any footage of it ripping!

Carson Brown KDX

[SS109]

So, he probably got the first Panthera E-start kit when people have been waiting on them for quite some time now. Hmm...

Anyway, really nice looking machine. Hope it does well at TKO.