Hi to all
My XT engine has recently been rebuilt after a good 6 months trying to source different things for it. A week after it was finished I managed to get a slipped disc in my neck so the bike has not been used for the last 3 months.

The problem I have now is that I can't start the bast**d thing, It has a bit of fuel in it, not much, and the spark plug was new 3 months ago when it was rebuilt. I have noticed that the tension on the kick start is really hard to initially move it, which means I have to stamp down repeatedly really hard in order that the kick start can be kicked, is there any way to ease the tension on the kick start as the sole of my foot is now bruised.

Apart from that is there any tips on how to kick start it after it has sat in my garage, should I put some new fuel in it? Some people advise to go through the kick process 3 times with the ignition switched off and then switch on the ignition and give it a good kick, didn't work.
Another has mentioned to lower the bike so much that fuel comes out of the carb overflow and then kick it.

Any advice on the above would be greatly appreciated as really thinking of selling up especially now i have a slipped disc in my neck and I don't want to aggrovate anymore than I should.

Was the decomp cable adjusted after the rebuild,sounds like it needs to be checked.
Regards Eric

The decomp cables are weak and break often. If you cable is ok you'll see the decomp lever move when you kick. Free play of the decomp cable is 1mm. If you have more then you will have more compression to push thru.

Proper starting is to slowly kick until you hear a loud click. Allow the kick starter to return to the top then wail it hard. Sometimes there is slight secondary click, don't use that one, wait for the loud click.

Yes, fresh fuel may help. Drain the carb bowl using a phillps screwdriver on the the drain screw.

Steve

Thanks for the replies.

Eric - I believe a new Decompression cable was fitted during the rebuild, could it be possible that the cable is too tight, and if so is it easy to adjust.

Steve - my xt hasn't got a decompression lever and when I do kick it I do not hear any click but I will drain the carb though and put some new fuel in it and give it another go this weekend.

When I say decom lever, I mean on the right side of the rocker box on top of the head, what the decomp cable hooks to. This is what is causing the clicking noise when you kick down. 1mm clearance is plenty. When you get it running, move the decomp lever slightly and you will feel the rocker arm hitting it. It should spring back and NOT touch the rocker arm with 1mm clearance.

Update on my problem.
New Fuel and new Spark Plug and first kick it was going like a dream for the whole of 3 days, now I have another problem. Opening a new topic.

Thanks for all your help