QuestionWe have one of these. We rode 2 years ago for about 3 hours, then this bike just stopped. Couldn't kick start or bump start down a 200 yard grade. Gas was new, tank full, plug new.
Now it's summer again. I'll clean the gas tank and through the fuel system well.
Q1: I don't know what to do about the electrical. Can you tell me a step-by-step to make kick-starting a reliable process?
Q2: I'll go through (lube, check, etc.) each other system - suspension, chain drive, lights - but I don't know what needs to be done or checked on the top end. Can you give me advise?
Q3: Is there a good on-line set of maintenance instructions for older Hondas? If not, which book do you recommend for XR-350 (84), XR-240 (82) and this XR-200 (81).
Thanks!
AnswerHi Keith.
First thing to know is that no starting proceedure is reliable if the electrical and fuel systems are not. That's the answer to question 1.
Question 2 - Here's what you need to do;
1) Clean the carb properly. It may even need a rebuild.
2) Reseal the tank.
3) Check the electrical system for bad connections, shorts and arcing against the frame or engine.
4) Check the ignition coil against the specs that you will find in the repair manual.
5) Check the valve timing and igition timing (specs and proceedures in the repair manual.
Question 3 - And you are going to kick yourself for this one; The repair manual that you get MUST match the year/make/model/engine size of your bike. Even if it covers a number of years and engine sizes for your make/model, as long as your year and engine sizes are within the listed ones for the manual, then that should be the one you get.
If you are getting a manual that lists only one year and one engine size, then make sure they all match your bike. If they do not, then everything will be wrong for repairing your bike.
Good luck.
FALCON
