Well this is totally against what everyone else has suggested but here it goes anyway. I had the same problem on 2 different quads in my lifetime. The first one ended up needing the valves adjusted because as the cam wears on some quads, depending on what set up cam you have, as the cam wears it actually tightens up the valve clearence between your cam and rockers. So it was loosing enough compression not to start. However when it was pushed it turned over faster and built enough compression to start. As it warmed up the metal parts expanded and the warmer it got the better it ran. On the other one something went through the intake system and put a slight bend in the valve which in turn caused almost the same problem except it lost more compression and wouldnt idle but ran ok the rest of the time. I hope this helps, but if not at least I tried.

 

The space shuttle mechanic is right. However, the fourty-two year old medic didn't say anything about this being a progressive problem. What I mean by that is, he (she?) makes it sound like this came on all of a sudden. Nothing was said by him about the quad starting harder and harder over time or that something happened while riding it and it hasn't started right since. If I am mistaken then maybe Medic42 needs to provide more information. If I am correct in my assumption that this problem came on all of a sudden, then valve maladjustment shouldn't be the cause. Valves usually come out of adjustment slowly over time and the quad slowly becomes harder to start (more cranking). A valve adjustment may be in order but, based on what you have said, I don't believe it is the main cause for your immediate problem.

BETTER EXPLANATION OF PROBLEM = BETTER EXPLANATION OF SOLUTION

 

Well I've changed the carb and the plug, cleaned the gas tank out, blown out the fuel hose and made sure gas is getting to the carb. It still does not crank without a major push off. I'm wondering about the compression, then again I'm just guessing. Any more suggestions before I send it to the shop?

 

MANY people have compression testers since a fairly accurate one can be had for little over $20. If you don't have anyone to ask to borrow one from, then a simple thumb test will have to do. Remove the sparkplug and place your thumb over the hole. Crank the motor with the starter. If your thumb doesn't get pushed with a fair amount of force, then you have an expensive problem. It is very obvious that you don't have the mechanical ability to rebuild the quad and having it fixed by a shop may not be worth it for you.

I hope I am not leading you astray of the real problem. Is there anything else you haven't mentioned? For instance, you can have a valve problem that would cause a lose of compression but, judging by what you have said so far, that doesn't seem likely.

Alot of people don't like to hear this but, when you can't work on these major problems yourself with an old atv, your best bet is to sell it cheap. Most people think they should have it repaired by a shop first but you will be paying alot for parts markup and shop time. A person with mechanical ability and a source for less expensive parts can make such repairs for a small fraction of shop cost.