Kick starting poor compression

[Chip Panfire]

Morning all,
Slowly trying to restore a DL125 (with limited knowledge). It's been stored for a good few months now but it was a goer. A couples of days ago I tried to fire it up with no success. On the first kick the compression seems reasonably okay but after that it's fairly weak. Should I be looking at changing the piston rings or are there other things I should be checking beforehand? The spark seems to be okay.
Many thanks for help.

[Chris in Margate]

Can you get hold of a compression tester ?
Different length kickstart, different gearing and possibly a defective clutch can also be red herrings.

[Chip Panfire]

Thanks Chris
I haven't got a compression tester but have seen many advertised for around £15, would that do or do I need something more specific?

[Chris in Margate]

£10 will get you one on ebay with the threaded adapters.

[Chip Panfire]

Brilliant thanks.

[coaster]

If it's been stood a while it could just be gummed up rings. Could also be head gasket related, if you are certain that the engine is turning with the kickstart I'd be inclined to whip the barrel off for a looksee. Compression testers can be a bit of a red herring on a 2 stroke in my experience.

[Lamaddict]

I had a DL125 with a 175 kit on. Sounds simlar to when my kit failed. As said by someone else, a simple problem like the clutch too tight is a possibility. You want about 100 PSI for the compression test. Around 80PSI and there's not enough compression to start it and it could be a bust top end....

[Scooterdude]

I'd say you want more than 100, when I first built my 175 conversion I was getting about 125 psi and once it was ran in I was getting around 140 psi.

[a.lo.v2]

agree with clutch. sometimes at rest you have the clearence with the shaft and top plate but the act of kicking over brings a new high spot into play and can
compress clutch slightly. i know i had this problem and took a while to diagnose .

[Chip Panfire]

Thanks for the replies, much appreciated help.