[Dirt rider]

I bought an 84 Yamaha IT 200 (2-stroke) and one of the main reasons I’m not ridding it much is it takes 20-30 kicks to start the thing.
I open the petcock and let the carb fill for 2-3 mins and engage the choke before I start to kick it over.

But I have some of my own ideas on the problem too. The gas in it probably has too much oil in it ive mixed it 25:1 as suggested by the owners manual, but the Yamaha shop says that yamalube is made to work best at 40:1 and that it is much better than the stuff used in 1984. Also the previous owner had the bike jetted for 500 feet higher than where it is now I’m not sure if that makes a big difference.

any other ideas?

 

[heikkihall]

If you are running too much oil in the mixture I would not be suprised if you just fouled the plugs. But in that case I would be suprised if you could get it started at all. 40:1 sounds really odd for a 200 but I am not familiar with that bike at all.

 

[Dirt rider]

I spoke with the local yamaha dealer and they said if it was 1984 mix it 25:1 like the book says. but the yamalube formula has changed so much that I could mix it 40:1 and be fine, but im hesitant to do that because I would rather have a fouled plug tnat a seized motor.

but thats a good thoght I should take a look at that plug

Edit: plug is dry and dark brown color

 

[xlrator]

The yama lube is good stuff. I mix 32:1. If you did mix 40:1, you might have a problem with fuel fouling. Remove the plug and analyze it. There are several websites that have info on reading plugs. Tarry looking is oil fouled. Black powder is fuel fouled. Plug could need replacing as well. Is spooge leaking out of the pipe? Could be too rich.

As for jetting for altitude, there is probably a larger difference with the temperature. The colder it is, the thicker the air is and the leaner the bike will run. Warmer will result in richness and fouling.

Take the plug and clean thoroughly with carb cleaner and steel brush or just replace.

By decreasing the amount of oil in the fuel, you are effectively increasing the amount of fuel and will have a rich condition.

 

[563 740]

Not to be a downer, but a worn out engine will take a lot of kicking to get kickin'. I put off replacing the piston rings in my 125 for a couple years until it got to the point where it took infinite kicks to start (i.e. wouldn't run at all). Do you know the service history at all? A new top end (piston & rings) could do a body good. Brra-brraaaaaahpp!!

 

[bikenweed]

Dude, I got an old (1978 to be exact) Yamaha IT175 from a buddy a couple years ago, and it was also a real pain to start. It developed an air leak, and now it just suddenly lost compression. Have you checked the compression on the motor?

We put in a new piston, rings, all new oil seals, new case gasket, etc, and it never really started easily. It always took at least a solid 20 kicks. Starting fluid was our best friend.

Hope you can get it going, I found it was best to cruise down a hill, try and bump start it to build up some compression, then try kick starting it. It worked slightly better than just kicking and kicking. Fun bike, especially when the motor is going strong. My brakes don't really work, nor does the suspension, but it goes pretty well.

 

[Dirt rider]

Not to be a downer, but a worn out engine will take a lot of kicking to get kickin'. I put off replacing the piston rings in my 125 for a couple years until it got to the point where it took infinite kicks to start (i.e. wouldn't run at all). Do you know the service history at all? A new top end (piston & rings) could do a body good. Brra-brraaaaaahpp!!

Dude, I got an old (1978 to be exact) Yamaha IT175 from a buddy a couple years ago, and it was also a real pain to start. It developed an air leak, and now it just suddenly lost compression. Have you checked the compression on the motor?

We put in a new piston, rings, all new oil seals, new case gasket, etc, and it never really started easily. It always took at least a solid 20 kicks. Starting fluid was our best friend.

Hope you can get it going, I found it was best to cruise down a hill, try and bump start it to build up some compression, then try kick starting it. It worked slightly better than just kicking and kicking. Fun bike, especially when the motor is going strong. My brakes don't really work, nor does the suspension, but it goes pretty well.

I cant belive that I didnt think of a worn piston/cylinder before. I ran the bike the other day and notieced smoke comming from the base gasket. so I have a gasket set on order and I will see how worn out the piston/rings/cylinder are and posobly replace them

 

[bikenweed]

I cant belive that I didnt think of a worn piston/cylinder before. I ran the bike the other day and notieced smoke comming from the base gasket. so I have a gasket set on order and I will see how worn out the piston/rings/cylinder are and posobly replace them

Dude, I don't want to be a downer, but you might wanna just sell your bike while it still runs and get a newer machine. You'll spend easily $200 for a new top and bottom end, maybe even $300. Better to just sell it, and invest the money you make plus the motor money into something newer. With gas so expensive, right now is a great time to cheaply buy a mid-late 90's model dirt bike for really cheap. A late 90's motocross bike isn't too expensive these days:

'97 KX250/ $1900 http://www.craigslist.org/sby/mcy/158397467.html
'97 RM250/ $1990 http://www.craigslist.org/eby/mcy/157285555.html
'95 YZ250/$1590 http://www.craigslist.org/eby/mcy/159148858.html
'99 YZ125/ $1900 http://www.craigslist.org/eby/mcy/159265474.html

There's a lot of great deals right now, and the performance will be worth the $$$. As long as you can afford gas, that is. I really wish I sold my bike while it was running, a newer, faster, and registered bike would be a hell of a lot better.