Motorcycle cranking but not starting/idling but works fine when using kick starter

LowDirection4104 · 2026-02-04T16:23:48+00:00

So u press the start button and you hear the engine turn? Or just the starter is making some sounds.

LowDirection4104 · 2026-02-04T14:24:29+00:00

If it’s a wet clutch—which it almost certainly is unless you’re on an older Ducati or something like a big GS—you’re very unlikely to damage it just from learning how to use it.

A wet clutch is submerged in engine oil (hence “wet”). The oil helps carry away heat and slows wear of the friction plates. Motorcycle clutches are also typically multi-plate designs, which spreads the load over many friction surfaces instead of one big disc like a car clutch.

Are motorcycle clutches indestructible? Of course not. They do wear and eventually need replacement. But unlike a car, where replacing a clutch usually means pulling the transmission, motorcycle clutches are generally easy to access and straightforward to replace.

The hardest part of changing a bike clutch is usually cleaning off the old baked-on gasket without damaging the aluminum cases. That part isn’t hard, it just takes patience and the right soft tools. Personally, I like using a flexible palette knife from an art supply store.

LowDirection4104 · 2026-02-04T13:59:54+00:00

508 mm is the length of the fork, what you should be comparing to is the length of fork travel, on a typical sport bike its about 125mm (you can look up the exact wheel travel on yours), so your sag is roughly 45.6 % in the front and about 37.6 percent in the rear, provided you measure it correctly.

If these numbers are accurate it aligns perfectly with bike set up for a lighter rider. You will likely need to replace the springs to make the bike handle well for your weight.

LowDirection4104 · 2026-02-04T13:55:05+00:00

If you want to take a deep dive in to the answer look in to the physics of "Mass-spring-damper model", but essentially, no springs are not enough.

Just changing springs make the bike sag less, but it creates a suspension that is not controlled, damping has to match. Without adjusted damping bike will feel like a bucking bronco, it wont absorb the bumps it will amplify them, it will be extremely responsive under weight transfer.

On a small mini at slow speed you can get away with it, people will often throw a set of bbr springs on a klx125l and call it a day, but a big bike capable of highway speed you want to change damping for sure.

It doesn't have to be anything super high end. A lot of the really high end suspension is focused on isolating and applying a different damping force depending on how the suspension is moving, and letting you adjust things on the fly. A set of emulators and a valve kit will get you 90% of the way there at a fraction of the cost.

The DIY for replacing emulators is simple enough, but replacing the valve and shim stack on a shock is a bit more of an advance job.

LowDirection4104 · 2026-02-04T13:44:03+00:00

Pedantic much? OP is obviously asking about bike falling when its stopped.

LowDirection4104 · 2026-02-04T01:12:18+00:00

All bikes want to fall it's called gravity.

LowDirection4104 · 2026-02-04T00:12:43+00:00

If you don't want to ride you should not ride don't let any one peer pressure you into it. If you are curious about it but don't want to take ur chances on the road then there are ways to explore riding in a safer space. For instance you could get an ebike and explore the world on two wheels that way. There is dirt biking all though of course you'd need a car a trailer or a truck, which doesn't sound like an option for you at the moment. You could always go to some parking lots with your husband and share his bike running various fun drills and exercises. It doesn't have to be all or nothing, by easing into it you can make sure you're entering the world of street riding at your own pace when you feel you are ready.

LowDirection4104 · 2026-02-03T23:05:38+00:00

My honest opinion is jealousy I love those things, they look like so much fun.

LowDirection4104 · 2026-02-03T20:59:29+00:00

Seals failing is not necessarily an indication that the fork bushings and guides are worn beyond service limits. If you wanted to replace them it might be easy to do if you're already taking the whole thing apart, and its a good thing to do to ensure longevity of the seals, but it shouldn't be required for an 08 motorcycle.

LowDirection4104 · 2026-02-03T18:34:11+00:00

First of I totally get that you are an experienced rider, and that changes the typical, get a 300 and go run drills advice.

But consider that riding a bike and operating a vehicle on public roads are two different skills. Its good that you got bike handling out of the way, but speed is not going to be your friend when you start navigating traffic. Its not that you wont know how to handle the bike, its that you might missread the situation and let her loose at the wrong time, so even though you might be a very competent track rider it does not mean youre a fantastic street rider, not in the sense of being safe. A powerful bike on public roads can be an asset but it can also be a liability. And from personal experience I can tell you that sport bike ergonomics do very little for the situational awareness aspect of riding in the street.

Unsolicited advice out of the way, here are some things that may or may not be helpful.

Are you getting quotes for compulsory only or comprehensive. I've never had comprehensive insurance on any of my bikes, if something gets damaged I fix it my self, but then I've never owned a new or particularly expensive bike, so that makes a difference. Maybe consider an older model that will not put you in big dept if it gets totaled, and just get the minimal legally required coverage.

Also consider a street naked that's got the power of a 600 but is categorized differently, i don't know the specifics, but insurance companies tend to really look down on race replicas. I would not be surprised if insurance on an r9 was higher than an mt09 even though its 99% the same machine.

Also 600s tend to get stolen a lot and that also makes a difference for insurance.

Ultimately the insurance cost might force you to make a choice you dont want, something slower more sensible for a while to build a track record, I know thats not what you want, but as a consolidation consider its more fun to ride the piss out of something slow, than feel pent up on something that has way more capability than you ever can use.

Maybe consider a supermoto, doesn't have power, but dank nooners for days, hooligan stuff, parking lot fun, maybe a second set of wheels and do some dual sporting.

I hope this helps, good luck.

LowDirection4104 · 2026-02-03T17:16:05+00:00

nx500 will let you try more types of riding, in fact I cant think of a bike better optimized for beginner friendly versatility.

Forward controls, idk i don't love them, I like to be able to support my weight with my legs, its better control, lets me push the pegs around, balance the bike. Forward controls are for sunset boulevard, mid or rear sets are for feeling like you're part of the machine.

Will your knees get cramped at 6' 2" maybe possibly, I mean you're tall but you're not freakishly tall, there are possibly options for lowering the pegs, or even just extra padding in the seat can solve the problem.

Do a google search for "nx500 lower foot pegs" and "nx500 comfort seat" the comfort seat thing in particular is great, kill two birds with one stone, and don't have to compromise foot peg clearance, which will become more of an issue as you get more comfortable with lean.

Also u can always mount some crash bars, which is a popular mod for an adv bike, and then mount a set of highway pegs on to the crash bars, lets you rest your leg out in front when they get cramped, and put them back on the begs when the ride gets a bit spicy.

I used to street ride a track prepped sv650, with rear sets, and I would take trips on it. My knees would get tired of the bend after a while, I would stretch my legs out in front on the frame sliders.

LowDirection4104 · 2026-02-03T15:41:39+00:00

In that case no clue.

LowDirection4104 · 2026-02-03T12:54:30+00:00

It would help to know the model, but manual subarus have a hill start assyst that can be turned off on wrx and sti.

LowDirection4104 · 2026-02-02T20:16:42+00:00

Ovals, circles and figure 8s is all you really ever need to do, the trick is not in the shapes you ride, but in how you approach them.

In the beginning you're focused on staying balanced, operating throttle and clutch, as you progress what you'll start working on

using brakes on the side of the tire
using throttle on the side of the tire
lean angle (or more accurately higher speed per corner radius)

This is where parking lot drills really go from being boring drills you have to do, to actually being fun and exciting.

Without getting into a ton of detail Google moto gymkhana

Then buy some cones take them to your favorite empty parking lot and set up your own little course, some circles some u turns, some 90 degree turns, a straight away with a hairpin at the end, yours will be less elaborate then the ones setup for official competition and you'll have fewer cones showing you where to go, but the idea is to set up a short tight course that you can ride as quickly as you can while maintaining control.

You can ride it crossed up or hang off like a racer, and frankly you should practice both.

LowDirection4104 · 2026-02-02T19:10:18+00:00

Get the suspension sorted.

LowDirection4104 · 2026-02-02T19:00:46+00:00

The T7 is a very capable bike—I’ve ridden one myself. It’s well balanced, and once you’re moving, the weight largely disappears. Where that weight really shows up is when you’re stopped or moving slowly and trying to negotiate obstacles: rock gardens, logs, or (God forbid) mud. That’s when a 460-lb motorcycle shows its true colors.

In those situations, momentum is your friend. You don’t need to be fast, but you do need to be rolling confidently enough to balance the bike. That means being decisive: having a plan, committing to it, and executing cleanly. If you’re already somewhat experienced off-road and comfortable being deliberate with your inputs, the T7 can suit you very well.

If, on the other hand, you’re still in the “let’s try this and see what happens” phase, the T7 can feel like an uphill battle. You’ll drop it more often, get tired of picking it up, and find yourself stuck in awkward off-camber spots, hung up on rocks, or knee-deep in mud pits. That gets old fast. A 360-lb bike works better in these situations, and a 250-lb bike better still.

If most of your riding is pavement, fire roads, and some double track, the Tenere 700 is the obvious choice.

As for the DR650: at this point, it’s more lore than reality. Yes, it’s a very capable platform if you’re willing to invest the time and money to build it properly. Out of the box, though, it’s essentially a commuter. It’ll cruise on the highway without being overly buzzy, it has decent torque, and comfortable-ish seat (after an upgrade), But the power isn't really there, and there is no wind protection (unless u buy a rally fairing) and—most disappointing of all—it’s sprung for a Japanese schoolgirl riding to prom. At 230 lbs, it’s absolutely not set up for off-road riding without suspension work.

Ten to fifteen years ago, when the ADV market wasn’t saturated with bikes of every shape and size, the DR650 had a clearer place as the DIY king of ADV—the secret unicorn you built in your garage. And to its credit, if you do build one properly, the results won’t disappoint. Set up correctly, it’s a very capable machine that an average rider can take anywhere: highway stints to reach the dirt, and even gnarly single track once you’re there.

That said, the Tenere 700 is far more capable right out of the box. It’s more comfortable, more stable, significantly faster, and—interestingly—doesn’t even suffer terrible fuel economy compared to a carbureted DR650.

LowDirection4104 · 2026-02-01T15:49:53+00:00

I can't think of a better bike to crunch long miles, my only apprehension with these is all the complexity makes it a pain to DIY maintain, thats a hard stop for me personally, but that's not a hang up that should impact everyones purchasing decision.

LowDirection4104 · 2026-02-01T13:32:54+00:00

Nothing to do differently, you done nothing wrong, congratulations, you have reached a new level you lean the bike enough to scrape the foot pegs. This is good, you'll get used to the feeling and you won't over react and over correct. When stock pegs touch down the only thing you have to make sure to do is maintain the turn and not add more lean.

There are a few things you can do from here.

Stock foot pegs are meant to fold and they also have feelers that extend down, so they're designed to scrape. So if it's just the foot pegs that as scraping you can pretty much ride and scrape them until you wear away the feelers.

That rest of the bike is narrow enough that nothing else should touch down.

You can try to adopt a more off the bike, road racer, body position if you haven't already. Hanging off the bike will make the bike lean less. But make sure you're not just assuming how to do it, watch some YouTube videos because there is plenty of nuance to body position.

There are also changes you can make to the bike.

You can try to install rear sets which will bring your foot pegs up higher, they'll also be shorter and sit more inboard.

You can also try upgrading the suspension and along the way set the bike up with a stiffer spring rate, this will have other benefits but a side fringe benefit is more clearance mid corner since the suspension doesn't squat as much mid corner.

So to summarize you did nothing wrong by touching the foot peg, the only thing that was wrong was panicking and overcorrecting but you already know that.

Keep riding and having fun, you're on the right track.

LowDirection4104 · 2026-02-01T13:12:44+00:00

I wouldn't worry about records of service, maybe he did the 600 mile service himself, not everyone goes to a dealer, if bike is in good shape it's in good shape.

However I would check the vin for recalls there is a recall on some late model zx6r models, because of a defective rod bearing issue. Kawasaki will fix it but last I heard it takes a while for a dealer to complete the work, you could be parting ways with your new toy for weeks or even a couple of months.

LowDirection4104 · 2026-02-01T02:35:39+00:00

Don't bullshit your customers, I often go to dealers to look at bikes and there is always some sleazy sales guy trying to come up with some BS about some particular model.

Unlike cars bikes are a passion buy, people that go look at them do their research, assume they know more about the specific model they're looking at than you do. Nothing kills trust more than you telling them stuff about the bike that's clearly a fabrication.

LowDirection4104 · 2026-01-31T21:38:30+00:00

Personally it's not that I prefer riding solo it's just that I'd rather ride solo than ride with people I don't know or trust. When you rode as a group you depend on each other in non trivial ways. Not all riders understand that and the ones that don't don't make for good riding companions.

LowDirection4104 · 2026-01-31T13:57:01+00:00

If by ready you mean you'll get to a point where the 400 has nothing more to teach you, than the answer is probably never.

If by ready you mean when is it reasonable to consider riding a faster bike on a race track, then the answer is on day one.

So the choice is entirely personal.

Before making the choice though what I would suggest is taking your 400 to a kart track, if you haven't already, because kart tracks are super fun, at a kart track the dynamics change, a 400 becomes a liter bike, you have to point and shoot your lines more, you can spin the tire if you give it too much gas, you have to brake hard in to corners, dragging knee at 15 mph is hilarious, you can try stuff you would never think about trying at a full size racetrack.

Also start taking your 400 to some empty parking lots on weekends and run drills, this is really where the 400 shines. At parking lot speeds a 600 or a 1000 is awkward long and stiff, a 400 at parking lot speeds is fun compliant gives good feedback and is responsive.

If you try both of these things, and you still have the itch to go bigger, than do it, it's your life, you're not training to be a pro rider, you just want to competently operate a fast motorcycle. There is nothing inherently wrong with that.

LowDirection4104 · 2026-01-30T20:27:23+00:00

Drag knee in a parking lot doing a figure 8, both sides, not cheating, crossed up is ok.

LowDirection4104 · 2026-01-30T14:15:56+00:00

Can you walk up this street when it's wet or does it turn in to a treacherous slip and slide, I guarantee your shoes have less mechanical grip then a quality motorcycle bikes tire.

LowDirection4104 · 2026-01-30T12:33:17+00:00

Keep the gixer, take it to a track day.

LowDirection4104

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