Hey guys I copied this from the XT 225 site, but we could certainly apply this to our bikes as well.
The topic of hard starting has been revisited several times on this board and other XT225 sites. The problem, more often than not, is attributable to extended periods of non use and less than fresh fuel in the carburetor on start up. The theory behind this problem is that the most volatile vapors escape from the fuel sitting in the carburetor bowl, leading to difficult starting(especially after extended time in storage). To prevent this, I highly recommend always running the carburetor dry after each use by shutting off the fuel at the petcock and then letting the engine run until it stops. I always use 93 Octane fuel, try to top off the tank before storing and use a fuel stabilizer during colder months. Keeping the gas tank full and using fuel stabilizer during the cycles of warm to cold temperature changes should also minimize the chance of water forming inside your tank through condensation, and may protect your tank from premature internal rust and corrosion. Water in the gas is an obvious problem. A rusty tank could lead to a clogged fuel screen or bits paint or rust blocking the passages in the carburetor.

I've followed these simple procedures and have been running my 2004 XT225 (with about 5,000 miles on it) since July 2004 without any starting issues. I have not made any carburetor mods. This bike likes regular use and fresh fuel dumped into the carburetor before starting. Once started, it likes an extended warm up period because of it's lean factory carburetor settings. Give it what it wants and it should reciprocate.


And this one is from Florida.

I have been in Florida and have not ridden the XT since Oct. 31. It was 60 deg. here today so I went for a spin. I am running a #130 main and #42.5 pilot with the fuel screw turned out 3 turns. The gas in the tank was probably 45 days old (Marathon 93 oct.). I did however, turn the fuel **** OFF when I last rode it. It started in 2 seconds worth of cranking! It did stall twice when attempting to launch. I feel the key to starting these little beasts is ALWAYS TURN THE PETCOCK OFF!! By the way, I put on the oversize foot pegs sold by our friend in PA on eBay and they are a BIG improvement.
(end quote


So what do you guys think?
I might actually try this on my wife's bike, after getting home I will shut off the petcock, let the bike run out of gas, and then park it, then the next time I want to start it I will turn on the petcock and see what happens, it couldn't hurt to try.....right? Deej

 

Deej,

I have a question for you.

I see that the XT225 uses a Mikuni carb.

Perhaps it is the small amount of fuel in the bowl that is doing this.

I'll say this, I can let me KLR650 sit for almost a month. Then set the choke, hit the started and it's running. My Concours is the same way.

My KLX is now this way.

BTW, 93 octane is harder to ignite that 87 octane. Just wanted you to know that.

 

Your right Marty
I don not buy the fact of having to drain the bowl or run it out of gas or the fuel quality is bad. "BS!"
I will gather all the info I can from my Keihin contact as soon as he returns.

 

Well there is something to the quality of gas as it sits in a small amount. I finally got my wife's bike started last night, and rode it for about 10 miles. Well this morning I started my bike, and it started right up as if it had been warmed up already. And as I was putting on my helmet I thought....I wonder if my wife's bike will start. So I go over, pull the choke and hit the button, and it started up so fast I was amazed. So did that mean that the fresher gas in the bowl from me riding it around let it start? Or is there some other force at work here? I have found that if you start and run a bike everyday it always starts. Could that be because the gas is fresher each day? Anyway I let the bike run, and turned off the gas petcock and waited for the bike to run its self out of gas. Now I will wait for a week, turn on the gas filling the bowl with fresher gas from the tank, and I mean fresher in the sense that a bigger amount of gas takes longer to change its properties for what ever reason, and then I will see if the bike starts up easier. If it does, I might start as a practice at least on her bike until I can get the jets ordered and installed start running the gas out and leaving the petcock off until the next time. I'll let you guys know what I find out. But it does sound promising.

 

I'm reading all these different theorys and don't know which one makes the most sense. But I hope that someone figures it out so that I can adjust my starting proceedures. I have struggled with this problem since my KLX was new, and it sure is a p.i.t.a!!!

 

I can safely say this without any doubt.

If you put a Mikuni TM33 on your KLX, you no longer have starting problems in cold or if the bike has set for 10 days or more.

 

Well I guess I have to try my experiment all over again. Last night I ran the gas out of the carb on her bike and was all set to see what was going to happen in a week or so, and all of the sudden I get a call from her asking why her bike won't start. It seems that since the sun made an appearance today, her and a friend of her decided to go riding for an hour or so. Well she forgot the first thing about starting that they teach you in the MSF class and that's to turn on the gas. So she ran the battery down and I had to come home and hook up the battery maintainer and then turn on the gas, and told her to try it in an hour. An hour goes by and she calls me again and says the bike started right up. While that all good and well I told her, now I would have to start my experiment all over again. Oh well, she had fun tooling around town, and that's good. Now for a weird twist. The friend of hers is the wife of the couple that stores their XT 225 over at our house. Well same story she couldn't get her bike started so she walked down the block and asked her father in law if she could ride their bike, the TW 200. Well his bike hasn't been started in over a month, and he turns the key and hits the E-start and it fires right up. He leaves the gas on all the time. So I haven't really had time to analyze all of the information yet, but I did notice that the Yamaha TW 200 and the Yamaha XT 225 have different carburetors. Almost identical motors, but the carbs are different. My wife's bike is the 2006 Xt 225 her friends is the 2003 XT 225 and the TW 200 is a 2004. I still want to conduct my experiment of waiting a week with the carb bowl empty and then turn on the gas and see what happens. I know temperatures have somewhat of a bearing on all of this, the temps here have been in the 45 degree range. I'll try this one more time and see what happens.[&:]

 

Bump!

 

I turn the petcock off, then the motor. I don't run it out. I used to have the problem before and I believe it had to do with letting the petcock on. Does that extended period of time maybe let some feul seep VERY SLOWLY into the bowl, flooding it? I don't know, but every time I forget to turn the petcock off and it sits for a week or so, it is hard to start.

I do know that the jet mods helped considerably, and at least I no longer need the choke when it's 90 degrees out.

 

Stay tuned later tonight, I figured it out!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! I'm serious, I have the answer and I have the research and data to back it up, I am going to post a new thread. But for now I have to go spend time with the wife. Look for the solution to hard or no starting bikes forever.