Problem? Is my carb bowl draining itself?

[z400mayhem]

Hi, looking for some advice.. I just bought an 06 450er other day. To get the damn thing started i have to tap the throttle 3 or 4 times before trying to start. If i dont give it gas the bike will wurl over til the battery dies. I know my starter clutch isnt in mint condition because it sounds quite bad, but it still turns over. Its almost like my carb is being drained and it needs primed basically?

The bike is jetted, if that makes a difference.
thanks

[d3ktrix]

Try turning the idle up? Are you using the choke?

Tapping the throttle a few times before pressing the starter button doesn't affect how much fuel is in the carb. It makes the accelerator pump in the carb shoot fuel into the intake port which drains down into the cylinder.

What your doing is kind of the same as shooting starter fluid into an engine that won't start.

The problem is the Air/Fuel ratio in the cylinder, not how much fuel is in the float bowl.