honda XR250 no compression

[Marilyn Mason]

Well I finally got round to it.  I took Mad Mike's suggestion and checked
the decompressor to see if it was holding the right exhaust valve open.
I pulled the other 3 valve covers.  All 4 valves were being pushed down and
springing back.  I decided to check the valve clearances.  The intakes
should be 0.002" and the exhaust 0.003".  The right intake was very tight <
0.001".  I figure this was the reason for the lack of compression. I set
them all at 0.003" (my 0.002" feeler was rusty).  After reassembling, 4
kicks and I had ignition, 6 kicks and it was running fine on high idle.  The
clutch was sticking a little as the bike had't run since January.  I thought
it was slipping when I was going up the driveway, but when I returned I
realized it was just wheel spin.
After this sucess I decided to tackle my Yamaha Wave Runner.  I'd been
having to prime it with a syringe.  I rerouted the choke cable as it was
binding and then installed a Skidoo primer between the reserve line and
carburator.  Now it is running fine and cappable of sucking down 20 gallons
(90 litres) of gas in a day of playing "silly bugger".
Well its about 29 C (83F) right now maybe i'll go play silly bugger for a
couple of hours.

Jim