ETZ 251 kickback

[cambrider]

Hi all,

You may have seen my introduction in the main lobby. I've been reconditioning a 251 and am having problems with kickback. The bike's almost ready but this is stopping me from using it.
When I picked the bike up I the kickstart wouldn't turn the engine over. I later found this to be the mechanism (pawl?) not returning. The usual slap with a hammer sorted it. Now the bike has been put back together it's much better, but but still happens now and again. However, about 50% of the time I kick the bike over it kicks back. I've done the usual things like checking the gaps and the timing. Everything is spot on.
There are only two candidates I can think of, mixture too weak/lean or the kickstart pawl dragging on the splines. If it was dragging it would explain both the kickback and the mechanism sticking. Has anyone experienced this before, or has any ideas? The bike has only done 8,000 miles so I'd be surprised if it has worn this quick. I also mention the mixture as I found the idle speed control screw setting to be quite far out from what's in the Haynes manual.

Thanks in advance

[Puffs]

Removed

[Chris W]

My ETZ 251 used to kick back. In my case, the solution was as simple as making sure I was operating the kickstart correctly. Its important that when you kick the kickstart down, you must keep your foot on the kickstart at the bottom of the travel for a second or two. In other words, dont let the kickstart immediately return to the top of its travel. No kick back since I started this, and I suspect less premature wear of the mechanism. Hope it helps !

[Blurredman]

As the others have said-

A good and firm kick is what is needed, and a strong leg at the bottom of the stroke just as much as the start. But I find with these bikes at least that you need to be engaged with the engine otherwise you can kick down and there is nothing there! Slowly pushing your foot down to make sure the ratchet is engaged removes this problem.

I can't say much about the sticking in the downwards position. But if it seems to be getting better with use, maybe it is a problem that it hasn't been used in a long long time? I seem to recall my own 251 did this for a little while after I stated using it (hadn't been on the road for 13 years, and an abused item at that), but I don't recall it being a problem for many years now.

[cambrider]

Thanks for the replies everyone!
I had a chance to look over the bike today and believe I have it sorted. To check the timing I used a dial gauge indicator and a dwell meter across the the condenser. When turning the crank I did not have a clean on/off signal coming from the meter. I gave the points a good douse of brake cleaner and sanded them flat. After that the meter readings looked great and I easily started the bike a dozen or so times, and it only kicked back once when I gave it a pathetic kick!
I also gave the pilot screw an adjustment using the Haynes manual as a guide. The manual says the setting should be 2.5 turns out for the pilot screw, and 4 for the air mixture screw. I found the best idle at 1.5 and 3.5 turns out. Not too different from the manual so I'll leave it for now.
Hopefully that's all I need to do for the moment, and I'll try to get it through an MOT before the new year.

Thanks again everyone