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GS550 - Easy to kick start?

  • Thread starter Thread starter Pendulum
  • Start date Start date
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Pendulum

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I've been kick starting my 550 almost exclusively, and it's incredibly easy to kick. It requires very little effort. Is this normal? My friends XS650 and the Harleys my dad/uncle have had all required quite a bit more power. Do I have low compression maybe?
 
Look at it this way. You have a 550 which has 4 cylinders, that equates to 137cc per piston. So you only have 137cc on compression at one time.

The 650 Yamaha is a twin which equates to 325cc on compression at one time.

Whereas the Harleys depending on their size would be even larger. Let's take a 1200cc for example and with it being a twin it would have 600cc on compression.

Probably your compression is OK, as it is always going to be easier to kick over a 4-cyl 550 compared to a 1200cc Harley. The only way to really know is to do a compression test and if it's above about 120 lb then that is fine.

Hope this helps.
 
I'm with 850 combat. If it runs and rides nice I wouldn't worry about it.

There are many factors that can affect how easy an engine is to kick start. Compression is just one factor. Size of the engine, number of cylinders, design of kick starter, condition of the engine and trans, temperature, oil type and weight... also factors of the rider comes into play. weight, strength and most importantly... technique. One that is used to kick starting dirt bikes might find a Harley difficult to start and vice versa.
 
I had one when they were new, and it was easy to kick then. Bore and stroke are only about 2 inches, so there isn't much to move at low speeds.
 
GS550 = Easy to kick. My kicks pretty easy, of course once she's warmed up. No way in hell i'm getting it on after a fews days sitting with the fuel petcock off. But when it does, it runs good, so I'm not messing with it any.
 
My 750 is fairly rough to kick.
Not super hard...but it's got some good resistance all of the way threw.
It's had a couple motor rebuilds too.

I don't ever use the kicker though...it doesn't even work right 80% of the time.
 
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Have you checked the valve clearances lately? The easy kick though is likely normal, but if you haven't check the valves you may be loosing compression due to burned valves.
 
Nessism said:
Have you checked the valve clearances lately? The easy kick though is likely normal, but if you haven't check the valves you may be loosing compression due to burned valves.
Click to expand...


Valves are next on my list, but a shim kit is like $100. Ordering that as soon as I have the cash. I wish I had a 16v, but my valve cover looks better than the 16v so at least there's a bright side, right?

Everyone else, thanks for the info! I didn't even think about the difference in displacement per cylinder. I just figured since the XS650 was so much harder to kick over, and it's only an extra 100cc, there might be an issue.

As far as "If it runs good, who cares?" mentality, the reason I care is because if I've got low compression then I'd rather not blow a ton of time and/or money on this thing. Now that I know it's supposed to be easy to kick, I won't bother going outta my way for a compression test.

Thanks again guys.
 
You don't need a shim kit. All you do is check what you have, maybe do a bit of shuffle and like as not you'll end up buying a couple of shims for a few $s. Or search out the shim club on here.
 
Pendulum said:
Valves are next on my list, but a shim kit is like $100. Ordering that as soon as I have the cash.
Click to expand...

hampshirehog said:
You don't need a shim kit. All you do is check what you have, maybe do a bit of shuffle and like as not you'll end up buying a couple of shims for a few $s. Or search out the shim club on here.
Click to expand...
I agree, you do NOT 'need' a shim kit. Like Mr. HH says, measure your clearances, take inventory of what shims you already have in the engine.
Look up some guy named "Steve", he has information in his signature
down2.gif
about a spreadsheet that will help you keep track of your clearances and what shims are in your engine.
Once you know what shims you have and have figured out what you need, look up member GhostGS1, he runs the "shim club".
There is a procedure for exchanging the shims, but you will have to ask him what all it takes.
Personally, I buy my shims to build my own collection, as I have FIVE GSes in the stable, so it's nice to have extras on-hand.

.
 
I checked and no side has a kick starter.
I checked the manual but it does not mention one either.
 
Pendulum said:
I've been kick starting my 550 almost exclusively, and it's incredibly easy to kick. It requires very little effort. Is this normal? My friends XS650 and the Harleys my dad/uncle have had all required quite a bit more power. Do I have low compression maybe?
Click to expand...

My '79 GS550 is exactly the same. Extremely easy to kickstart and typically will start first or second kick .. I'm just grateful!!!
 
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