QuestionI just bought a 03 kfx400 a couple of weeks ago. Everything was fine with it until today...When it is in Neutral it starts fine, idol,s and compression sound good...as soon as you try to put it in first it slightly jumps forward and then shuts off. Won;t start in 1st, just hear the starter trying to work. Had it out the same day and it ran fine until this happened..any advice, thanks a lot if you hsve any ideas.
AnswerJohn, not exactly a vintage Honda question... I have very little to go on with modern MX thumpers. You might check with a dealer to see if there are any service bulletins on these things. I imagine that they are fairly high-strung, so no power off the bottom end.
From your description, it could be a clutch issue... not releasing all the way, which causes it to grab a gear and then stall out. See if the clutch adjustment is correct before you dig too deep inside. You should have just about 1/8" play at the clutch lever. Clutches do drag, especially when cold, but once they have been used a few times and the motor warms up, then it should release properly. Cable can come apart internally, stretching and causing release issues, but most modern parts are fairly bulletproof about that.
Race bikes are quirky and there could be more going on inside the trans or shift selector parts, too.
Not much else to say... not my brand/model/vintage to give further advice..
Bill Silver
www.vintagehonda.com
