[doesitmatter]

My '02 450r has always ran a little rich, using up quite a bit more gas than everyone else. One morning it just wouldn't start, so I decided that I need to stop being lazy and lean it out a bit. So I dropped the needle in the carb down by one pin, and cleaned out the main and the pilot jet (main is a 175 I believe). Got it running again, but when it's cold it needs the hot start, a bit of gas and a lot of kicking. When it's hot, its running on the first kick with just the hot start. Once it's running, it runs like a champ though. The spark plug was fouled everywhere except for the arm that the spark sparks to (cathode, right?), where it seems to be a very nice light brown colour. I'm pretty useless when it comes to these things, so any rough idea what the problem sounds like in getting it started would be awesome, thanks!

[Dirtclod]

I'd check your valve clearances.