250-500cc wr 250, wont start

hey all, this is really starting to bug the heck out of me. ive got my 01 wr 250 setup for the street. last ride of last year i took it up the street and it stopped running on me. sounded like it was fouling a plug. barely running spitting and sputtering. parked it at a buddies and went and got a new plug. now, when you kick it over it just backfires every couple kicks. after kickin it 2 dozen times or so i would imagine it would be flooded out but never smelt fuel. pulled the plug and it was dry. noticed the carb was leaking so took it apart, cleaned it and replaced the needle and set thinking it was leaking. the carb is still leaking and the bike still wont start. any ideas on where to look next???? thanks for any and all advice.

Umm perhaps im guessing but check your reeds are
Open.
Are your vent pipes blocked on the carb?
Hows the compression? Your rings gone?
Loads upon loads of threads here and on google to
Trouble shoot and reference with.

Perhaps we should sticky a (bike wont start)
Like the jetting threads? Coffee, Could we organise this?

ive tried using the search feature and cant seem to find anyone who has experienced the same problem. its not so much a backfire as spitting out the exhaust. the top end is fresh rebuild and this problem has carried over from the previous topend, which was also in good shape. checked the reeds again and they are good. for some reason the plug seems to have more of a black oily film on it after a few kicks and doesnt smell of fuel at all. the reason i am so confused is the bike ran great on this setup and nothing has changed as far as jetting or anything else.

Mystery, have you checked for spooge in the silencer?
Ive not had a problem with it but people report odd things
When thats gummed up, if the plugs not wet then its fuel or
Your air filters clogged up beyond the point of allowing anything through.

the silencer is clear and have even gone as far as removing it while trying to start the bike. as far as the air filter goes it is clean and was also taken off and tried starting without it with no luck. i removed the carb and placed my hand over the reed intake boot to make sure it was pulling air. there is a good suction there when kicking.

But no fuel on the plug? The plot thickens..

You main jets not blocked ..
Plug sparks but signs point to float level being too high
If fuels coming out of overflow and not out of needle, still doesnt
Explain dry plug.
Get a lectron

ok so next question, where can i get a lectron and maybe someone has a known good used one they may be willing to sell?

Ch sponsers on here motorspotrz, hes called kelly
Just make sure it is carb as these are an investment.

ya found a couple prices on ebay and wow, these arent cheap. going to do a little more digging and maybe clean the carb one more time and make sure i didnt miss anything.

Try shipping one to the uk got income duties to pay
Here, sorted my bike right out am still very happy with it.

Do you have anyother bikes or a mate that has one to
Swap bits off one to see if its that.

I would lean towards it's not the carb. The backfire tells me otherwise. If you're getting a backfire, that means there is fuel in there. I would make sure something in your ignition timing didn't move.

just throwing it out there but chaffed wiring possibly. happened to me the other weekend on my 125. wiring from ignition had chaffed on frame earthing it. bastard would start for a few seconds then die when I put the tank back on(mustve pushed wiring into frame) like plug was fouling. checked fuel flow, filter, changed plugs, cleaned ignition wiring connectors but missed the wiring until I got home & looked closer. had me wild as I was all kitted up ready to ride! found damaged wire, taped up & hey presto good as new!