The kickstart of a XL 500  ( translated from Claus Martens Okt.2003)

might be a problem everyone has to face at the beginning of his XL-career. I always receive questions end cries for help about the right way to kickstart a XL.  

So here are a few tips.

Tipp Nr. from Erik Hasenäcker by ALTTEC CLASSICS (15.6.2001) 

On the first XL meeting I realized that some bikes are very hard to kickstart. After some talking I found out, that the problems increase with a hot motor. Basically the carburetor and the valve clearance must be adjusted the right way, but this is anyway necessary for a correct motor run. My experience is that the bad startup has it’s reason by the Air-Cut-Valve which is found under a small cover held by two screws on the left side of the carburetor. If this valve has only smallest rifts or damages, it has to be changed. Watch out, this part will be charged about $75.- by Honda, at ALTTEC CLASSICS it is only 17.-. If you want to demount this part, be aware of the spring and a very small O-ring mounted behind it. The R models have an acceleration pump underneath the carburetor. This device must be adjusted correct. There is small seal at the egress of the mechanics which points upwards. This part is always leaky, water runs on the pump and this causes a total deterioration of the mobile parts. This part is only available at Honda. For the R models, this part also has the function to spray petrol in the carburetor while being in the cold start phase. Before kicking, you can jerky turn the throttle grip one to three times to full throttle stop. This pump then sprays petrol in the cylinder in the motor starts up immediately. This only works on R models. To sum up, I can say that the AIR-CUT-VAVE on the left side is very important. If it is damaged you can kick yourself to dead, the motor will be drowned. These valves are different for R and S models.

Greetings

Erik (ALTTEC CLASSICS)