Does anyone know why my 84 atc 250r would completely lockup, and after pushing it around in gear eventually loosens up enough to kick it again, and after many kicks it will start again? Makes no sense to me, could it be running too lean?

 

if i'm right the 250r's are 2 stroke? so yes, you could be running too much gas and not enough oil. basically lean like you said.

 

I'm not sure what you mean by locked up. Is the cylinder flooded with fuel? When it does start does it smoke pretty bad at first? When you can't kick it over, take the plug out and kick it to see if a bunch of fuel blows out the plug hole. If so you need to clean or rebuild the carb. Your float is sticking or the float valve may be worn or dirty allowing gas to leak into and eventually fill the cylinder.

Making sure you turn the fuel petcock to off when it isn't running will help too. My kid's LT80 will lock up with fuel if it sits for a few days with the petcock on.

 

84 was still air-cooled so you'll have to remove the head and check the cylinder for scores , if there's any marks you'll have to remove the carb/exhaust and remove the cylinder/piston...