The 200 mm slack in the starter before it catches can be made better if using a later starter Norm ,the ones that have a steel ring that holds the starter handle when retracted come out 100mm then catch the crank.
I had a standard PT the other day, the starter was 300 mm before catching the crank and it was a pig to start so I changed the starter and it was easy to start but I can see the mechanical advantage of these starters not so great. If I spin the motor over slightly to get the starter in a better position the slack in the cord goes down to 80mm.
Having the starter handle mounted on the handle bars with a longer cord might be worth trying but I would change the starter first and fit the longest cord possible with the starter handle in the normal position.
