I have hardly rode it due to work commitments this year .but the problem started last fall .It used to start [usually] the the second kick with the choke on,then it was four or five kicks and gradually more than ten kicks.now the only way too start it is towing until it fires up and runs perfectly. Any ideas?
I am away from home working right now ,so it will be a couple of weeks before I look at it again.The carb has been cleaned numerous times this year ,even had a friend clean it in case I happen to overlook something.I quickly help my son start it before leaving to work last weekend and now I see the choke lever has been broken off.[was on in early summer].
planning on buying a new carb for it now .new piston and rings 2 years ago and it does not smoke.Fuel flows freely into bowl.
Possible carb problem or am I not looking deep enough

 

I had the same starting problem with an lt250s. Could kick it all you wanted, no start. Give it a push and it would fire up and run fine. The problem was the valves were improperly adjusted by the previous owner. I would start by making sure your valves are at the proper adjustment.

 

Hard starting is commonly valves out of adjustment. The fact that it has been gradually getting worse also points that direction.

 

my neighbor's got one doing the same thing! what's the spec supposed to be on the valves?

 

thanks for the advice .when I get home will check

 

The lash settings for the 230 are as follows:
.003-.005 - Exhaust
.001-.003 - Intake

 

well I finally got home from work after 2 months .I adjusted the valves today and first kick it fired up after sitting for nearly 3 months.thanks for the advice

 

how do you set the valves? i know how to pull the caps off,but how can you get an exact adjust? must be a tool i dont have lol

 

I had an older gauge that the numbers were worn off and picked the ones that I thought were the correct size. I had to bend them to get the gauge in,as it was a very tight space.I found that I had no free play in the valves .Once I adjusted the valves I had a little freeplay and assumed that the adjustment was right .It started first kick
Do a general search [yahoo,google] for - LT230S VAULT - and you will bring up a great web site that gives you a tutorial on how to repair your quadsport with pics

good luck