Check with a Kohler technical representative to determine if: 1. the mower was designed to operate with a recoil start. 2. If not, I strongly suggest either: a. keeping the Kohler until you decide to buy a new (recoil-start) mower b. selling the Kohler immediately and buying a recoil-start. 3. If so, switching systems can be tricky, even if you were a professional mower repair person. The electric-start may have a: a. starter b. battery c. generator/alternator (which probably has a built-in coil) You certainly don't want to leave the generator/alternator in place and connected. If the "hot" wire contacts some part of the engine, the electrical system of the mower could be ruined. d. voltage regulator e. key switch and wiring f. one or more guages g. probably one or more fuses h. possibly a computer. If you combine the: a. cost of parts b. your labor, time, and aggravation to: my suggestions in paragraph 2, I once again would say: "Forget the transplant". Incidentally, I've thought of removing the recoil starter on a mower, and replacing it with the starter rope style of 50 years ago. That style had a round spool on the side of the motor with a notch in the outer edge. A rope with a knot was placed in the notch, wound on the spool, and the rope then pulled. The disadvantages: a. winding the rope before each pull b. fabricating a slotted spool, although, if one could attach a plate to the top of the recoil flywheel, which usually has: a. threaded holes which are used to "pull" the flywheel, or b. unthreaded holes which could be easily tapped. c. a slotted spool could be bolted to these holes d. the spool could be: A. homemade using a lengh of pipe and a means of bolting the pipe to the flywheel devised, or, B. machined by a hobbyist with a lathe or miller The advantages: a. no failure of rope re-wind due to: i. broken springs ii. slipped springs iii. incorrect spring tension iv. broken plastic spool v. metal tabs, which: A. must be bent rather precisely, and, B. eventually break vi. spool cover which becomes: A. bent B. filled with twigs and leaves. SUMMARY; forget the project if the mower is needed. If you wish to experiment, find a mower at the municipal landfill, or that someone will give you, and then think of it as a playtime project. If you finish, or as you work, have a mechanic take a look to check your work.