So I had a decent running KX500 that became a "No Start" POS during a group moto trip. Here is the story: The bike was running fine. I took the bike up into the mountains for a few days of horsing around. The night I arrived it started & ran fine though too rich for the elevation. I took it out the next day in the am. Again it started & ran fine except rich. I decided to move the needle from OEM 3rd notch down one notch in before the group ride that day. I did so & took off with the group.
Two miles up the road & the bike is now running for crap. I am starting to think that the needle move F'd things up. I get to a good spot on the trail to wait for behind riders to catch up & look a little into the now crap running bike. The bike dies & refuses to start up via kick start. Luckily I was on a downhill and had the opportunity to push start the bike easily enough. The bike started thankfully though now running crappier then ever. The group went on. I rode back to camp to sort things out. The bike ran even worse on the way back. It was running flat , refused to wind out & was raggedy before dieing as it rolled into camp.
Once back in camp I swapped the needle back to 3rd notch then tried stating the bike. It refused. Long story short after wasting time screwing with the bike in camp I found the pilot jet was clogged & the spark was intermittent. I succeeded kick starting the bike only three times. It never idled. It had to be throttled to run. Also as the messing around proceeded the bike began to kick back once and a while being kicked over. When I say kick back I really mean kick back. It was painful even with riding boots when the lever would kick up. I never got it running. I returned home and brought up another bike to finish out the trip.
The trip is nos over. The POS KX500 darkens my shop. Its been a few days since the bike was messed with. I tried kicking it over today. It doesn't start. It does kick back more frequently when kicked over and yes my foot hurts. I am suspecting multiple air/fuel and ignition issues including possibly timing. I am gonna start by looking into intake, carb, reeds, crank seals, plug wire, coil, CDI, stator, pick up, flywheel key.
If anybody has input on what else to look into or has had similar experiences please post. Thanks.