06 Starter lock up question

[kpflyingv]

Sometimes my kick starter will act like it's stuck or locked. I put it in gear and bump it and the starter releases. I've seen a thread quite a while back concerning this. My question is whether it's ok to just bump it when it happens or should I go inside to replace something?

[grayracer513]

Depends on why it's "locking up". The starter mechanism itself will not normally do this, but it could if it had a broken tooth on one of the several gears involved. But this will usually feel somewhat different than a failure to decompress. If it's the latter, putting it in gear and bumping the bike backward will always clear the condition up. If it's a broken gear, it may, but the problem may repeat on the next successive starting attempt, as though you had not done anything.

https://www.thumpertalk.com/forum/showthread.php?p=5314979#post5314979

[kpflyingv]

Thanks, I don't think it's a broken tooth on a gear, but just to be sure I'll pull it apart to have a look. Doesn't do this very often.