I kicked it for hours literally hours 3 to be exact and it would not ever crank
Friday it hadn't been ran in bout 3 months and I could crank it in about 5the kicks.
Oh Dear, if she won't start in 5 or so minutes I would def. start looking for other problems.
Just so I'm clear on the recent problem, the bike hadn't been run for three months or so, last Fri. it took about 5 or so kicks to get it started, it ran, but it ran poorly.
Saturday you could not get the bike to even start.
Yikes...
'81CR makes some excellent points.
Fuel will leak in the engine (over time) and as you rotate the crankshaft the raw fuel will
fill or leak into the crankcase and instead of compressing the air/fuel mixture, there is so much raw fuel in the cyl. it won't compress and actually lock-up the engine, or be very difficult to spin over the engine.
I don't think this is the case as you are able to rotate the engine with the kick start lever.
'81 also brings up the jetting issue. if the bike was running well in the warm weather, and now it's cooled down considerably, the backfire you are experiencing may well be a lean condition. It may be hard to start even with the choke on.
The cooler dense air will require richer jetting.
If the bike was just too lean I think it would probably start, but would not run very well. Popping and back/fireing etc.
You may just have a look under the flywheel cover and see if the flywheel key has been sheared.
This would give you the impression the bike wants to start, it feels like one more kick will light off the engine but it just won't start.
So...
Have a look at the key on the flywheel, if that checks out I would pull the plug and look for ignition and fuel.
You will probably need a hand kicking the bike or holding the plug to ground to check for fire while cranking.
Is the plug wet or dry, when you pull the plug initially is it wet or dry, and what color is it. Black and sooty or grey/white, etc.
If both those check out I would pull the carb for a good cleaning
(and write down what jets are in there for reference.)
While the carb is off have a look and check the reeds for cracks chips or the like.
I know it will take some time to pull the carb and check the reeds. but I don't know how else you can know for sure they are good to go.
Please hang in there with us and we should be able to get this figured out.!
Tuck\o/