200x HARD to start. what to do

[200x_Basket]

i jsut picked up an 85 that is supposed to have a new topend on it. It will pull start and run good but i can get it to kick start. so far i have pulled the carb and cleaned it. not better. i then replaced it with a XR200 carb. more power but still cant kick start it. pulled the cdi/rotor and check the cam timing. it was dead on. retimed it and tried to start it. no luck. it did run even better though!!! :) i am down to check valve clearance and a compression test. It does not smoke at all so i am thinking the compression will be good.

any other ideas?

[250sx]

go to mcdonalds for a few weeks...more leverage. ;)

[ATCnut]

You need to run a compression check. Low compression will cause exactly what you are seeing. You can have low compression and not have any smoke at all. If the new top end was not assembled correctly (something like ring gaps all alligned) you will have low compression

[bones200x]

Check your valve clearence. Mine was the same way once. You could push it, starts fine/easy. Have to kick and kick. May start in 4 kicks or 30? I would check valves and compression. Just like ATCnut said. Sounds like low compression. Smoking is not always a sign of low compression. Smoking is a sign of something WORN out.

[Glenn]

It's your exciter coil. A sign of that thing on it's way out is being able to bump start it, but not kick it. If you do a little digging on the web, you should find them for around $30-$50.

Do you still have a 200X manual? Check the electrical section and use a multimeter to check the resistance.

How did you get the XR carb on there? Stock manifold? Did you have to modify the boot that leads from the airbox to the carb?

[200x_Basket]

no air box boot yet, this was just for testing. i will check that out, thanks

[200x_Basket]

i checked out all the electrical and it was good. I cleaned all the connections and made sure i had good contact. i then pulled the valve caps and found the problem. the intake valve had no clearance. i adjusted them to .003" and away i went!!

i tried to run a compression test but my tester does not have a fitting small enough for the 200x:wtf:

[Glenn]

Glad you figured it out! What year XR was the carb from? Did the intake boot fit right over it without an issue?

[bones200x]

NO! the stock air boot doesn't fit. I cut mine (I had a spare). Put a pvc pipe in it. Went to Carquest. Bought some truck radiator hose the same size as the carb inlet. Went to Lowes and bought a 8 foot of pipe for $3. A foot long piece was $4.25..Go figure?????
Bought some clamps and PRESTO. MODIFIED air boot. Works great. When inserting pipe to boot. Try not to go in too far. That will cause turbulance in the boot. Get as close to edge as possible.
My carb was for 87 XR200. The intake fits the same 87 XR200

[Glenn]

Great info!