srx4 decompressor

[born to be mild]

Can anybody help with what is maybe a dumb question? My SRX4 seems to take forever for me to find compression on the kickstart, I wonder if the decompressor mechanism is duff as its clicks at least once with every full travel of the kickstart lever,sometimes twice so that I end up turning it over with the kickstart several times before I get what feels like the compression stroke.maybe this is normal,Ive not had the bike long.but it seems to me that its maybe opening the valve when it shouldnt.If anyone can let me know how their bike acts by way of comparison I'd be grateful.
Its not been a great starter since Ive had it, [got it going again tonight after leaving reddex in the starter carb ] , but now the cold weather is here its worse so Im looking to improve anything that I can before I rupture something !

[Steve Lake]

Hi. The decopressor is actuated from a cam on the hick start spindle.....so it will operate every time the kick start is depressed. The kick start needs to be allowed to come back completelt to the top for the decompressor to reset. if you push the decompressor lever on the engine backwards against its spring (the way the cable would pull it) there should be approx 1/8" travel before it comes up against the valve, you'll notice this, because to push it any further (i.e. open the valve, is pretty hard) i will check that tolerance in my manual.
I usually find compression, after maybe 2-3 strokes of the lever (remembering to let the lever come right back up) about half way through the stroke, then let the lever all the way up and then, NOT TOO VIGOURESLY, boot it all the way.....if the engine is cold, (and on standard carbs) then use full choke, and NO throttle.....my srx on standard carbs seems th work best that way.....but will run maybe for a couple of power strokes then stop, maybe twice, then get going ok....it's always done this.......every one seems to have it's little quirks....thats what we like about them. But do check your plug....and the wiring round the coil area for cleanliness...

[born to be mild]

Thanks a lot Steve,  it sounds as though the decompressor on mine is functioning normally but I'll check the free play as suggested, thanks also for the tip re the coils, that hadnt occurred to me [DOH!] , the plug is new and correctly gapped so maybe the bike just doesnt like the cold, which is ok-ish as Im not so fond of it myself. I take your point about them all being different, thats why I chose it in a sense, because theyre pretty unusual so I suppose that I shouldnt mind it having the odd quirk,,well,up to a point !.
Regards,
Andy.

[Steve Lake]

The decompression adjustment should be done after the valve clearance settings have been done.
the engine need to be at top dead center on the compression stroke, the free play on the decompression lever needs to be 3-5 mm, adjustment is carried out on the in-line cable adjuster.

As the ignition is self generating....there is no need to have a fully charged (or any) battery for the bike to start., and if the bike runs well after it's started....then it's probably just down to the vagaries of the srx.

but it is worth giving the carbs a good clean and make sure the tank is clean (allow half a day for a carb service, buggers to work on)

S

[born to be mild]

That sounds like excellent advice thanks Steve, I will psyche myself up to re doing the bloody-impossilble- to- get- at-then-adjust tappets again this weekend then check/adjust the decompressor. I think that youre probably right about the vagaries of the SRX.  Im going to try to avoid carb removal, I halfheartedly tried the other night but they are too damned fiddly, so for now Im keeping my fingers crossed that all of the blackish gunk that I drained from the starter carb was the culprit and go no further. Incidently  I had a high speed fuel starvation problem in the summer which was cured with a good dose of petseal if anyone else is suffering THAT particular problem. Anyway after the decompressor has been dealt with  its engine oil/filer change, adjust the chain and wait for the Spring.
By the way, do you or anyone else know if the SRX6 cush drive rubbers will fit my SRX4 twinshock ?, the bikes only done 5000  kilometres but Im thinking that in  20 years the rubber will have hardened.

All the best.
Andy Saville, bon viveur and racconteur extroadinaire

[Steve Lake]

yes, the cush rubbers are the same in the SRX6 and SRX4 twinshocks

[born to be mild]

Brilliant ,Steve, thanks so much for the good advice.
Andy