04 EC 300 Hard Starting

[lordfeyr]

Hey guys,


I am looking for some tips to ease starting the bike.

I went to change the oil today and following the user manual attempted to start it and warm it up to get sediment suspended in the oil. But it took waaaaay too many kicks to get it started.

After it fired up and warmed up etc... I pulled the plug to take a look. Its a dark brown/slightly wet looking in color...

The bike is stock as far as I know with no performance mods other than the fmf pipe and silence. I bought the bike as a wreck with a broken sub frame, plastics and the pipe was bent. The silencer is also damaged but I havent replaced it yet.

Recently I picked up a used FMF Fatty to put on the bike. The first time it fired up there was a TON of smoke so I am wondering if maybe the pipe may be semi plugged? I also noticed a little bit of blow by at the exhaust opening so I am wondering if the seals or springs are bad or possibly a bent pipe causing an air leak? Like I mentioned the silencer is damaged where the tip moves around freely so maybe its clogged as well? I know it doesnt mate up correctly with the pipe right now as I get blow by there as well, even with the rubber coupling.

Any tips etc... on what I can do to make her start easier? I love the bike but I dont want to look like a nerd that cant start his "exotic" bike...