125-200cc CR125 kickstart won't return when sparkplug is in

Hi everyone,

I have a 2004 CR125, now a 150. It's awesome, and has run great for years. The issue I'm having all of a sudden is that the kickstarter won't return all the way after being kicked during normal riding conditions anymore.

When I have the bike laid over on its side and the sparkplug out it returns really snappy, and when I take the crankcase off to inspect the kickstart mechanism, it also returns reliably and strong, but when I bolt the whole thing up to ride it it's very soft if it returns at all. It seems weird to say, but is there a way the compression of the engine with the plug in is preventing it from returning? Seems like the whole point of the kickstart mechanism is to prevent that. It's not making any weird grinding noises or kicking back or anything.

Any ideas? Maybe just buy a new spring and hope that's it?

Thanks,
Dan

I saw a similar issue on a 2004 KTM EXC300. The kick start return spring had lost its shape and was binding on itself. I replaced it and it was better but still wasn't great. It needed a little tweaking with needle nose pliers to reshape one end of the spring and then it worked fine.

If the spring looks like this...

Then bend the hook of the spring so the coils sit like this...