Help a Newb! 2000 300EXC will not start.

[kereams]

OK. I had a friend give me a super duper low hour 300 EXC. The bike sat for a good 5 years. We took it to the KTM dealer who gave it a thorough one over. When I got the bike back it fired up within three to four kicks.

The bike has sat for the last three months. I decided to go out today and fill it with fresh gas (50:1 Mix with Golden Spectro). Kick as I might this damn thing will not start. Choke, no choke I am getting no where!

I must admit, this is my first two stroke and my first kick start only bike. I own other KTM's but they are electric start 4 stroke. With that said maybe I am doing something wrong?? I have downloaded the owners manual and read through it, I see no mention of an "ON" switch. The only switch I see is for the headlight.

Anyways....any advice is appreciated.

Cheers,

Keith

[dirtbeater]

3 months could be long enough for the fuel to gunk up the carb. That would be my first guess, but I'm no mechanic, as far as I know there is no on switch.

[Drinkn_Buddy]

OK. I had a friend give me a super duper low hour 300 EXC. The bike sat for a good 5 years. We took it to the KTM dealer who gave it a thorough one over. When I got the bike back it fired up within three to four kicks.

The bike has sat for the last three months. I decided to go out today and fill it with fresh gas (50:1 Mix with Golden Spectro). Kick as I might this damn thing will not start. Choke, no choke I am getting no where!

I must admit, this is my first two stroke and my first kick start only bike. I own other KTM's but they are electric start 4 stroke. With that said maybe I am doing something wrong?? I have downloaded the owners manual and read through it, I see no mention of an "ON" switch. The only switch I see is for the headlight.

Anyways....any advice is appreciated.

Cheers,

Keith

If it was sitting in your garage for X number of months with gas in the carb then your probably going to have to pull the carb and clean all the gunk out of it.

If you going to let it sit for long periods of time between rides, drain the float bowl on the carb before you store it.

[kereams]

I always shut off the petcock but I do not run the carb dry (ie - run it until it dies after shutting the petcock). Would that be enough? I leave my street bikes this way ALL the time and they do not show hesitation to start. Is this a 2Stroke thing due to the oil in the fuel?

[dirtbeater]

The oil doesn't help anything, but good rule of thumb is to add sta-bil and drain the carb. Pull the float bowl off and hose everything down with carb cleaner, if ya want to pull the jets and hose them out too make sure the slide works freely. Flush the carb with good new fuel, not sure how carb cleaner would effect the crank bearings. Thats just what I do.

[biggestwiffer]

I had the same problem with my bike when I bought it 03 exc 250.

The bike sat for a few months as well, what I did was:

turn the gas off, tip the bike over to the side and let the remaining gas spill out, pull the plug, give it a half dozen hard kicks, heat the plug up with a lighter and get'er back in fast.

Kick it over 3 times and if it doesnt start give it a good push.

For me it took the bum start but after that its back to first kick..

Good luck

[dirtbiker82004]

I had the same problem with my bike when I bought it 03 exc 250.

The bike sat for a few months as well, what I did was:

turn the gas off, tip the bike over to the side and let the remaining gas spill out, pull the plug, give it a half dozen hard kicks, heat the plug up with a lighter and get'er back in fast.

Kick it over 3 times and if it doesnt start give it a good push.

For me it took the bum start but after that its back to first kick..

Good luck

My advice would be to get a buddy, put the lighter one on the bike. Put it in neutral, and push the bike down a hill. as soon as you get going at a good pushing speed, grab the clutch, shift into second, and pop the clutch out fast. if it doesn't start first try, try a couple more times, just don't wear yourself out too much

[ORrooster]

Hey kereams, what side of town are you on?

I might be able to come over tomorrow night and give you a hand if you're on the Westside.

The oil doesn't help anything, but good rule of thumb is to add sta-bil and drain the carb.

I've always thought about the opposite... the oil in the fuel does help prevent it from getting 'old'. Just as well as putting in any fuel stabilizer IMO.

I've never had a starting issue after my bike has sat for any length of time... thankfully, that time has never extended into months though. If we don't figure out anything else... I can give you a push? .

(And maybe get you onto NWDR, if you're still interested.)

[Layton]

When you have the choke on make sure you are NOT opening the throttle.

[kereams]

When you have the choke on make sure you are NOT opening the throttle.

I've tried it both ways? Makes no difference....

[farkawi]

There are many ways to store bikes. Here is what I've found over many years of Moto Madness. Always store your bike with fresh high octane race gas. I get a deal on Sunoco for $6/gallon. It's a deal compared to the hassle of carb cleaning every year on my 9 bikes, 3 weed whackers, lawnmower and chainsaws. Modern pump gas contains a lot of solids in solution which glue up carburetors in short order as the fuel evaporates during storage. If you cannot find race gas; use low lead aviation gasoline which contains little in the way of dissolved solids and contains anti-icing and other additives conducive to good flow characteristics in low temperatures. I park my Ice Racer in February and don't touch it again until the following December....It always starts in just a few kicks. Do this and worry no more. Good luck!

[kereams]

There are many ways to store bikes. Here is what I've found over many years of Moto Madness. Always store your bike with fresh high octane race gas. I get a deal on Sunoco for $6/gallon. It's a deal compared to the hassle of carb cleaning every year on my 9 bikes, 3 weed whackers, lawnmower and chainsaws. Modern pump gas contains a lot of solids in solution which glue up carburetors in short order as the fuel evaporates during storage. If you cannot find race gas; use low lead aviation gasoline which contains little in the way of dissolved solids and contains anti-icing and other additives conducive to good flow characteristics in low temperatures. I park my Ice Racer in February and don't touch it again until the following December....It always starts in just a few kicks. Do this and worry no more. Good luck!

Just be careful which race gas you use. If it is oxygenated DO NOT store it in your tank, it will rot your hoses and fuel pump and gum up way worse than unleaded. I am a racer (Track- Street bikes)...trust me on this.?

[biggestwiffer]

did you try heating the spark plug??

[kereams]

did you try heating the spark plug??

No I did not, until this thread I had never heard of that. What is the point? The plug is still below the flashpoint of gas, what does heating it do?

[biggestwiffer]

To be honest I dont know why it works, my brother in law used to race bikes and we did it to mine.. Got her going instantly..

I actually had to do it again last week, it works so well you can push start it on your own, it doesnt take much once that plug is hot.

I think you will be surprised as to how well it works!

Such a simple solution

[Mat93]

try roll start it

[wheels2]

Put a new plug in it ( br8es is only about 2 bucks). If it still won't start, pull plug and see if it's wet or dry.My guess is it will be dry. Take carb off, take the bowl off the bottom, and remove and clean jets.The pilot is probably clogged from the gas turning to varnish.

[ORrooster]

Any update kereams?

Did you get er running?

How?

[kereams]

We did some "re-organizing" at work this week which included some people losing their jobs. I was one of the fortunate people that got to deliver some of that news. I just did not have the steam in me to do it. It's on the list for tomorrow though! ?

[ORrooster]

Bummer... better to be the deliveror than the deliveree though.

Hope things at work take a turn for the better.

Let us know about the bike...