I had an FL250 pullstarter that needed repairing. The rope was worn out, it was dirty, and it didn't work! The next couple of pages will hopefully help you rebuild your pullstarter without too much difficulty. This is the first one I've done in more than 5 years, but the process just requires a little time, and dexterity.
Here are the parts you will hopefully have after you take apart your pullstarter and cleaned everything with brake parts cleaner a wire brush and lots of rags. I used parts from more than one starter for this rebuild and ended up with the "X'd" out part that is not needed.
The picture on the left shows the recoil spring already wound up in the housing. It would have been impossible for me to take pictures of the process halfway! The spring can be tough to get in, but it isn't too bad if its clean, you have good light to see by, and you have nimble fingers. The pic on the right is a new rope from honda that is designed for the pullstarter. I believe its some kind of fancy diamond braid rope. Its the only thing to use. Regular nylon rope will hold up for about a dozen or so pulls then snap on you. The part number for the new rope is 28471-950-003.
This picture shows how you are supposed to tie the knots on the ends of the rope. The figure "8" makes a secure knot that won't slip or pull out.
This shows the rope threaded through the hole in the pully and tucked away inside the hub.
Wrap the rope around the pully in a COUNTER-CLOCKWISE fashion. Make sure you pull the rope fairly tightly into the pully.
I sprayed the inside of the housing with lithium grease. Lithium grease is water resistant and easy to apply out of the can!