good old two strokes.
simplest engines to fault find in.
first, try a new plug. if that doesnt do much, next step.
rip off the carb. rip off the exhaust. pour some fuel down the intake port. it should start. then rev its tits off for a second or two, then die. if it does...check that the exhaust isnt clogged up...old oil and mud wasps are the biggest issues. if you cant blow through it easily, its clogged, needs burning out. you heat it up with a blowtorch tril its smoking, and point an air gun inside it. it makes a LOT of smoke! and sparks! its sort of fun to do
so, it started, and the exhaust isnt blocked? tear the carb apart, make sure the jets are clean, and give it a soak in something like acetone for a day or two, blow every single hole out well! after removing jets, air screw, etc. often bikes are left sitting with a bowl full of fuel which turns to hard yukky stuff and blocks them up. theres a lot of tiny little holes that need clearing out, occasionally with the help of a guitar string (.010 or so). be careful not to damage anything when poking wire through.
if it DIDNT start...then theres still a few things to check.
crank seals. if the crankcase doesnt seal, the air/fuel cant get up to the cylinder properly. two strokes should have TWO compressions, one as the piston goes up, and a weak one as the piston goes down. the downstroke one should be there whether the plug is in or not. oil streaks behind the magneto are a sure sign, its a bit harder to tell if its the one behind the clutch, other than a lot of oil getting into the crankcase...
magneto...not sure what year the bike is, but if its an old girl with points, you have to refer to a manual and set the points. that can be a right pain in the rear to do. give them a file, clean them up, set the dwell, gap, and opening point...fun
also, theres always the possibilty that someone has pulled the flywheel off before, failed to get the key in place, and while its making spark...it isnt doing it at the right time. pop the nut off the flywheel and make sure the key is in the slot.
and then, with getting a new plug...if the old one is black and oil soaked, try using one thats a few numbers down in the heat range(assuming you get NGK which is the ONLY plug to use, ha ha). plugs clean themselves from the heat of combustion... if they idle, they dont get hot and tend to foul up, so get a hotter plug. if you ride full throttle, they get HOT, so get a colder plug.
make sure the coil is well grounded, so pull it off, give the mounts a sand, bolt it back on. you dont want any rust or paint between the coil and the frame.
just because it has spark when you test it with the plug out, doesnt mean it has spark under compression. the beauty of CDI ignition... powerful sparks
