05 CRF250R randomly wont kick over.

I recently purchased a CRF250R as a secondary bike. The price was excellent and the bike runs flawlessly but its hard to kick off when cold. If its cold i might as well just pullstart it cuz it'll flood before it ever pretends to start.

It will sometimes not kick off even when warm. A few times i have actually flooded it before it would kick over. It doesnt always do these things but when im on a trail and i bog out and i cant get it cranked its frustrating and dangerous if there isnt anywhere to get off to the side.

I was thinking it could be the valves coming out of spec but there are so many other things that can cause this i wasnt sure. My knowledge of bikes is pretty much that of a typical user.

Any ideas? Should i just go get the valves reshimmed anyway?

Well i changed the spark plug ( $30 dollars :bang: ) and it kicks over within a few kicks if i use the cold start. Huge change from where it was.

When warm it kicks 1st or 2nd kick every time.

I also changed the way i was trying to kick it. I was kicking from the top pretty hard, now i push down until i feel compression and then just sorta step down on it.

While i had it apart i changed the air filter which was nasty and the oil/filter which needed it as well. The valves were still within spec.

I think i just fouled the plug or it was faulty to begin with. Either way im happy. Runs flawless and kicks like a dream now.