October 11, 20232 yr I don't kick any of my bikes from the very top. I always move the lever til I feel resistance Lesson from my father. But I can imagine lending it out and watching in horror as someone kicks the hell out of it.
October 12, 20232 yr 6 hours ago, manwithgun said: Yep. It was only after watching friends spastically kick at my bike that I realized how this could happen. The sound made me cringe... DO NOT start you full speed kick from the vertical 12 o'clock position. First, take up that 10-15* or so degrees of rotation until you feel engagement/pressure/resistance, then kick from this point. Nothing to worry about if you follow this guideline. I own a 20' TXT250. Actually you are wrong. You can engage it and still be at the top. That is what you need to get it to spin enough. But you are right, not everyone can do this right. I had the first 300 Raga sold. (yeah a dad from the tdn brought it to the states) I bought it from a guy that could not start it. It took me a year till I got it right. That year I let my son ride it as he could start it. Then again he is 6`5.
October 12, 20232 yr 35 minutes ago, lineaway said: Actually you are wrong. You can engage it and still be at the top. That is what you need to get it to spin enough. I'm always willing to learn. Is that achieved by rolling it back in gear? Mine still always has a dead zone. Regardless, maybe I just have a touch. Consistent 1-kick starts. Possibly 2-3 when sitting cold for a month or more; never a struggle.
October 12, 20232 yr 42 minutes ago, manwithgun said: I'm always willing to learn. Is that achieved by rolling it back in gear? Mine still always has a dead zone. Regardless, maybe I just have a touch. Consistent 1-kick starts. Possibly 2-3 when sitting cold for a month or more; never a struggle. @manwithgunWhen Adam Raga was a GasGas factory rider he just used to flick the lever out on a 300 pro and kick it into life violently without engaging the quadrant gear carefully first, but of course he was not paying the not insignificant sum of money for a new bart gear and idler gear after chipping all the teeth on them both.
October 12, 20232 yr Yeah, I have seen Adam abuse that starter in person. Right after he was screaming No fair, No fair in my face and I just pointed to the split marker on the ground he spun off with his rear tire. He was fortunate that day. He beat Bou at TTC in 2013.
October 12, 20232 yr Author Hey! I'm still alive. I had a few messed up days there. Finished out treatments so now I have my garage and play time back. I'm back in the loop here with you guys. Please keep the conversation and information coming. My next step is to try that roll back technique.
October 13, 20232 yr 14 hours ago, lineaway said: Yeah, I have seen Adam abuse that starter in person. Right after he was screaming No fair, No fair in my face and I just pointed to the split marker on the ground he spun off with his rear tire. He was fortunate that day. He beat Bou at TTC in 2013. That unfortunately is entitled competitive people for you , while you were a volunteer he was getting paid a good salary to be there , that was the bit that was not fair but Heh! . off on a tangent TTC looks like a great place for trials riders if you can get there, I only see it in the Ryan Young training videos but a lot of excellent terrain available , I wish it was on my door step..
October 13, 20232 yr 9 hours ago, Tr1AL said: That unfortunately is entitled competitive people for you , while you were a volunteer he was getting paid a good salary to be there , that was the bit that was not fair but Heh! . off on a tangent TTC looks like a great place for trials riders if you can get there, I only see it in the Ryan Young training videos but a lot of excellent terrain available , I wish it was on my door step.. Maybe another way to look at it is that Raga worked very hard to get to the level he is currently at. I'm sure he gets paid fairly well but, is probably under a lot of pressure to perform. It wouldn't surprise me to see anyone at that level stand up if they sincerely thought (rightfully or wrongfully) that they were being treated unfairly. Perhaps, after his seeing the split marker the argument ended?
October 14, 20232 yr I have seen split markers dislodged when the bike was no where near the marker. One happened when the bike hit the rock so hard the marker fell off and the bike was a good meter from the marker, the rider was Fujigas. I have seen another one dislodged by sprayed debris, mud and small rocks, and the bike again was a fair distance from the marker. Many times the marker is removed by an earlier rider and the observer places the marker back as best they can with the marker just sitting there without any adhesive or fastening at all.
October 14, 20232 yr Not to worry, Raga rode right over it everytime. Just his last loop it went flying. Did not matter that day as he won the event! We all love watching Bou, but its good to see another rider get a wn. I doubt Raga will ever get a win again. He has had a great career! Thanks for the memories Adam.
October 31, 20232 yr A few photos of the broken Bart Simpson gear we discussed earlier from the GasGas Riders FB page.
October 31, 20232 yr Scottro, What year bike was that taken from? Do you know what specifically caused the breakage?
October 31, 20232 yr I think it was a 2020. Improper/difficult kicking of the sort we've been discussing is the presumed culprit. It's a post from a GasGas FB page.
October 31, 20232 yr Some folks have said KTM fixed the problem but I do not know what they did. I use the roll back technique to start my bike. Starts pretty easy cold or hot.
Join the conversation
You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.