Back in the 80's, I had a Suzuki TS400 enduro two stroke. I got so confident in my ability to kick start it, that I decided to do it bare footed once. It rarely kicked back, but that one time it did. Just like in your video. It took a big chunk of skin off the bottom of my foot. I learned my lesson.
Tut gut endlich wieder mal ne 500er XT zu sehn. War meine erste Maschine mit 18 (1985). War damals schon ein Klassiker. Wir haben viel Blödsinn damit gemacht und viele Wetten damit gewonnen (Ankicken usw.)! Hab diese Maschine in mein Herz geschlossen und da bleibt sie auch bis ich tot bin!!! Liebe Grüße aus Bayern.
@@deborahchesser7375 for sure Deb , it's amazing to think I was embarrassed in 1985 to admit to my mates, Ii- actually owned an Xt500- because they were old bikes back then!, and considered really behind the times!- (I was 21 at the time, young an full of beans and rode a 'cool' plastic Mx bike too) The Xt is built like a tank- but can Go good off road wish I had never sold it!👍
Tsk, tsk, tsk.... . You rush the drill, you gets bit..!! The thumbs up at the end, oh, yeah, that says it good. I had one I picked up rust-seized for $40 and it was a quick fix and on the road to enjoy. Sold it to a dealer, wish sometimes I had it back but impractical now.
I had a 81 dr 500. Lol. Loved how hard that pulled ! Yea. Kicked me too. Lol. Had compression release. I bought it & rebuilt top end. Nice bike 4 sure !!
Mounted a rifle holder to the handlebars, strapped on my bow and used it for hunting for years. You wouldent believe some of the places I rode that bike! I never had any issues with kick back when starting? Been in storage for 15 years, still in perfect shape. Maybe this spring I'll fire it up!
Two of my friends Dads had TT 500 in the 70's. When we would go riding they would tell us "you can ride it if you can start it". Yep I know about squeezing the decompression lever and kicking until the little silver thing shows on the right side of the head!
Yeah. The ‘82 has automatic comp release. Never ever kick back. Only thing is bad cdi unit that year. Pull like train. Guy didn’t shift out of second gear. Need to hold on tight. Love my ‘82. Will own it till I die. Rocks it’s Supertrap
I like the xt 500 but where we rode it was to heavy. It was a sod to start when it was hot. The dt 175 was better for the tracks we rode. But for gravle roads and road work the xt was good
My first real motorcycle was an XT 500 in 1979. I learned to start it with the Kickstarter by hand. It is the easiest big single to start. Don‘t believe the myth of hard men kicking their bikes. Try to kickstart a twinshock KTM 420 twostroke, that is at least a little difficult 😂
Somebody stole my xt 500 and they painted over the indicator and when I finally found my bike in some ones back yard I knocked on there door and the guy limped outside and I knew he was the guy because mine would kick the shit out of you if you didnt use the indicator lol
You mean the wimp indicator, right Paul? If you know you're bike as well as you should, you wouldn't need to look at any marker, you'd know by feeling alone, and you really do get to a point where you can start it first kick every time without looking - assuming you know what you're doing, and the bike isn't out of tune.
I once filled my air intake with butane gas then kicked it over (timing was out). There was a flash bang and small nuclear explosion and my knee whistled past my forehead. It could've killed me. My foot was bruised through the shoe. Never do this.
I would suspect your stop block is broken if she kicks back in the lowest position. Easy to repair. www.xt500parts.com/kickstarter-anschlagblech-set-oem-vergleichs-nummern-434-15668-00-583-15674-00-363-15686-00.html?___store=kedo_xt_en&___from_store=kedo_xt_de
That might be the case. But she only kicks back 1 in 10 tries or so, could that still be the problem? Maybe order these parts when I order the missing side covers from Kedo.
@@Playandride : The stop block does not prevent the piston to kick back, but it decouples the lever from the shaft. So, in case it kicks back, your lever stays in place in the low position and your foot can remain on it.
@@Playandride sorry, those days are over. I had a tt500 that I rode the hell out off. My picture sitting on it was in a japanese mens magazine back in the 70s. I never had an issue cranking it. Never got a kickback. The way to do it is to tdc it, then push the crank all the way down and hold it there. The ratcheting mechanism will work then and not be able to kick back at you. Try it. I still have my 80s sr500. Unfortunately back in 2000 I was taken out by a truck making a left turn right in front of me. Almost killed me and the wife. Was riding my 96 r1100gs at the time. I'm now a paraplegic or I would show you on my sr.
It seems that you don't know how to kick it. The kickstart ( and the leg) must stay at the lowest point while the engine is starting. That's how you avoid nasty kickbacks.
Looking at the video again, i'm shure that would not help a bit. Kicks back right after hitting the lowest point. Lower playback speed if you can't see it.
@@Playandride Mine tends to kick back only if i blip the throttle before kicking it. Try to start her without touching the throttle and see if she still kicks?
@@BAPJ yeah, they do not like that, and either flood or kick at the first sign of throttle. Trick is to kick it so that it snaps out of compression, not into it, that retarded timing (the bike's) causes it to fire before it reaches TDC, and then it kicks back. What I do: Ignition off, full rotation of the engine decomp as needed. After priming, slow kick till it stops due to compression, decompress, ignition on, kick. Easiest way, no kickback, learned that process the hard way... I've got an '80 just like the G in this video, love it.
