Do any of the e-starts for the XR650R work?

[Kirk_Moon]

My aching 54 YO leg is telling me that its time for me to get a bike with e-start, but I love my 650R. But I have heard that both the Joe Racer and the Baja Designs units are less than perfect. Low battery capacity. Unable to turn over the engine sometimes. Whatever.

I don't want to spend a lot of money on a system that isn't going to be as reliable as a normal e-start system.

Can anyone running these systems comment on whether they actually work and are worth the money? Any help appreciated. Thanks.

[pigryder]

a few months ago dirt rider magazine did an article on the baja designs kit and they made it sound really awesome!

[RJC]

I know your knees aren't as young as they used to be Kirk, and being the same age, I've thought about the same addition. But, decided to try and dial the BRP tuning in a little better for more reliable starting-successfully. And it almost seems like sacrilege to consider an e-start for this bike (especially with added weight). Of course falling down and flooding the beast makes me pray for an e-start. But then your a far better rider than me, I'm sure. I asked JL's opinions of estart on this bike and he said "worth it". Baja Designs from my research, IMHO. Good luck.

[Fingers]

The edelbrock costs far less than an e-start and will turn your bike into a single kick starter even after its dropped or not on level ground. It also adds no weight. I also found you can kick it through slower (easier) on that single kick than you have to with the stock carb (helps in that single track, uphill, off camber hairpin that you stalled in). Before I got the carb I wanted the e-start (bad), now I wouldn't put it on if it was free.

[Old_Man_Time]

I installed both the edelbrock and the Baja Designs E-Start. I love em both and have the best of both worlds. I still kick start mine for the first start of the day. After its warm my leg never leaves the peg to start it. The Edelbrock is not always a 1 kick start. There are times when it takes 3 or 4 but most of the time it is one kick.

There are times when kicking a big bike is difficult no matter what. You know those times in the woods when you get yourself stuck in an awkward position and its hard balancing the bike upright. You sure are happy you got the button then even if ya do have an Edelbrock.

[Kirk_Moon]

Thanks for the input everyone. For the record, I already have an Edelbrock carb on the bike. I think Old Man Time's comments are pretty much where I am at. Most of the time, kick starting is no big deal. But occasionally, the bike is hard to start and/or my leg is gone and I have to work at it pretty hard. I also have a 450EXC and when I am having one of those difficult moments getting the XR started I have a tendency to be thinking about how nice it is to just push that button and go. Call me a weak old man! : ) Anyway, it sounds like the experience with the Baja Designs is good. Glad to hear it. Too bad it is so brutally ugly.

Thanks again everyone!

[MotorPsychoSport]

I have the Baja Designs E start kit as well as the EB carb and I have not had one single problem with the starter kit. In fact, now the bike starts up every single time dead cold when I use the e start. I just give the trottle 3 good twists, hold the compression release in, push the happy button, release the comp lever and I am happy ? I rarely have to turn the idle up when the bike is cold and I only really do when it's cold outside, otherwise I seem to have it tuned perfectly. The BD E-start kit is well worth the money ?

Jeff

[Bigmutha]

I have not dropped my BRP yet, so I don't know what it is like to start a flooded one. So far I think this bike is very easy to start.

[Roll_it_on]

Do any of you E-start guys care to comment on how the weight addition affected the bike? I believe it is about 15 extra pounds that it adds so was it noticeable........???

[Old_Man_Time]

Do any of you E-start guys care to comment on how the weight addition affected the bike? I believe it is about 15 extra pounds that it adds so was it noticeable........???

No, I don't notice the E-starts weight. When you have a 280 lbs bike when it is bone dry and a 4.7 gal. IMS fuel tank like I do, it's well over 300 lbs when full of fuel. The 15 lbs located down low like Baja designs kit is just doesn't matter.

Oh yeah, I couldn't agree more that it is a very ugly looking kit but it kinda grows on ya and when your pushing that button, you never had an ugly lady treat ya so good. She actually begins to look pretty (well a lot less homely). ?

[beer_studd_76]

My aching 54 YO leg is telling me that its time for me to get a bike with e-start, but I love my 650R. But I have heard that both the Joe Racer and the Baja Designs units are less than perfect. Low battery capacity. Unable to turn over the engine sometimes. Whatever.

I don't want to spend a lot of money on a system that isn't going to be as reliable as a normal e-start system.

Can anyone running these systems comment on whether they actually work and are worth the money? Any help appreciated. Thanks.

KTM puts an excellent starter on their 525s.

[BANSHEE]

Hey, I Just Joined The Site A Couple Of Weeks Ago And I Also Just Picked Up A 2000 Xr 650r....it Has Had What They Call The Hop Up Stuff Done To It, And I Must Say....i Was Very Suprised And Impressed At The Power And Acceleration Of This Thing...i Have Always Been A Two Stroke Guy, And All Yamahas To Boot. All Of Them Have Been No Smaller Than An Mx 400. I'm Pretty Sure That This Bike Would Take Em All.....so Far Soooo Good. And The Rush Of The Power Is Incredible.....but, I Have Noticed A Couple Of Things....it Did Take Me A Few Days To Figure Out The Best Way To Start It Cold, And Now That's No Problem. Usually One Or Two Kicks And She's Running. But It's A Bear To Start After It's Warmed Up...i Can Ride For 30 To 45 Minutes, Shut It Off For About 10 For A B.s Break, And That's When It's Hard To Start. I'm 6'3" And Weigh In At Around 230, And I Have To Give It All I Have To Get It Fired Up, And So Far It's Never Been One Kick...lol. Just Wondering If There's Anything I Can Do To Make This Better? The Guy I Bought It From Said He Didn't Think He Quite Had It Jetted In Yet. I Wonder If It's Too Fat On The Main Or Could It Be Too Lean...i Haven't Tried Everything Yet Like Giving The Throttle One Twist To See If It Makes A Diff. It Does Have A Hot Start Button On It, But Can't Really Notice Any Difference There....i Guess It Could Just Be The Way The Big Beast Is, But I Just Thought I Would Ask People Who Have Had One For Longer Than 5 Days. Lol

Plus I Went Riding With A Couple Of Older Guys On Their 4x4 Quads (mistake)and Climbed About A 4 Mile Incline Behind Them In First And Second Gear (took Way Too Long). When I Got To The Top, The Water Was Starting To Boil...i Had To Quick Zip Down The Road To Cool It Down...just Wondering If That's Normal In That Kind Of Situation, Or If I May Have A Cooling Problem...i Think It's Probably Norm, But Not Sure....i Know That Air Cooled Bikes Have The Fins To Help Get Rid Of The Heat, And That The Watercooled Ones Rely On The Air Flow On The Radiator To Cool Them Down, But I Was Just Wondering. And Don't Worry, I Learned My Lesson About Riding With Guys Like That....lol Never Again....

Anyway, I'm Looking Forward To Reading The Replys And Hopefully I Can Learn Some Things About This Big Red Rocket....

Thx, And I'll Talk To You Later.

Ray (baker City Or.)

[BrettJ]

Check your private message BANSHEE I sent you all the links to solve your problems, Eric's Pen and Bruce's site are brillant