Dave wrote on 07/10/12 at 13:46:10:In 4th or 5th gear when the engine did fire.......I could not pull the clutch in fast enough to keep the engine running at the low speed that my wife and I could push on flat ground....and all I could ever get was a single POP before things came to a sliding halt.... I felt like such a failure. If it were not for the intelock with nuetral I could have used the starter button to activate the compression release - but with the bike in gear while pushing the starter button does nothing. We finally had to get some jumper cables and start the bike that way.
It is tricky to do. One thing that may help is putting the choke on part way. Another thing is if the battery is too discharged, the CDI has insufficient voltage to generate a sufficient spark.
It doesn't hurt to periodically check the battery terminals. I once had a terminal vibrate loose, causing starting problems. Also check all grounds. Don't run the tank down to reserve then fuel, if possible.