Help! We were firing up machines this weekend and the Recon wouldn't start up easily so the son used the pull start. Problem is now it will not retract.

Any advice?

 

This is common on Honda's transverse engine mounted ATVs. Water and/or mud causes it to corrode or become caked with mud inside. Just remove it and clean it up along with lubing the spring. Be careful while taking it apart to not let the large spring behind the pulley unwind on you unless you want to be there a while reassembling it.
On occasion I see some so bad that the spring is so bad rusted that it will not hold tension and in those cases we just replace the entire recoil starter assembly. They aren't expensive and the one for the Recon runs about 35 bucks. Depending on what you value your time at, that may be the way you want to go anyway.

 

Many of the deep mud crowd remove the pull starter and replace it with a block off kit.

Mud/grit packed in there can chew up the oil seal, and let that grit into the motor.