I have a Yamaha XT350 1997. Ive been trying to figure out the best way to stop the bike for a easier start next time.

So if you just parked the bike and its still running, do you turn the fuel off to drain some of it to prevent flooding it easily next time?

Does it matter if you dont turn off the fuel?

Ive seen people mention that you need to rock the bike to move the piston to the very top for quicker starts.

All in all I want to know if there is a recipe to make it easy, ot do you just need a stronger leg?

Thanks in advance for the advice

It's been so long I've forgot, try easing the lever so you feel the compression...ease it a bit further then go for it

Turn the petcock off when not using it for more than about 30 minutes. When you get back turn the choke on, give it a couple of slow priming kicks and give it a nice strong kick. Good thing Yamaha knows how to gear their kick starts. My Banshee starts with one kick every time while my friend with a LT250R takes a good 20 kicks to start.

okay, grand,

will give it a go. Think I had trouble starting it exactly because I forgot to turn off the fuel.

dont forget, little or no throttle when starting

You can clear it out by starting it WOT

I believe in always closing the petcock after bike has idled couple of seconds..but don`t let the carb run empty or it just makes next start more difficult. Never heard of rocking a bike..just move the piston past compression with the kickstart. I start my XT500 without decompression lever (as my cable is knackered) by pushing just past compression then a good solid kick always gets it going (stay away from the throttle).