Im looking at a 1990 LT250R. the guy that is selling it will do a compression check to prove the little bit he used it with the new top end. The only problem is it takes a few kicks to start it, but it runs great once it starts. He thinks it's the pilot jet. Is this a possibly serious problem? the rest of the machine is mint. What do you guys think?

ride2hard

 

how many kicks?

 

A pilot jet is a minor problem, but many other things can cause hard starting. I always do a few checks whenever I buy something new; Change the oil, drain gas, clean the carb, change the coolant, clean and oil the filter, change the spark plug and check everything else (brakes, chain, etc...). Its better to be safe than sorry. The only thing technical about these new sale checks is cleaning the carb. NEVER clean jets by sticking wire through them, they are brass and some are extremely small. Wire can distort the jet and really foul up the mixture. It wouldn't surprise me if the pilot jet was clogged if the quad sat for awhile with gas in the float bowl. Remove the jets and soak them in carb cleaner then reinstall them. If that doesn't fix the problem and you've done the other checks I suggested, check the pickup coil for corrosion.

Roscoe
85 Quadracer
94 CR250