Reading through the manuals of a couple of recent purchases (yes, I sometimes read the manuals) it mentions fuel must be less than a couple of months old.
I've had BSA Bantams, Lambrettas, Villiers engined bikes & mowers plus all the usual chainsaws, whippersnippers etc. also my Mum had a Wartburg (2-stroke car) for a while. Most have been reliable starting except one highly tuned Lambretta but I was running a 32mm Amal carby. It couldn't suck in enough fuel to initially fire up but lay it on it's side, tip neat petrol down the inlet and away she went.
A hedge trimmer purchased a couple of years ago stated the fuel must be less than 2/3 months old and if not being used for some time empty the tank and run it till most of the fuel in the carby has been used.
Most 2-stroke small motors are often used infrequently so modern fuel may partly be the problem or maybe the motors have got smaller so they are highly tuned to get the power output needed ? I read somewhere that you must not use ethanol blend fuels in fire fighting pumps. Only called on to work once in a blue moon and the bloody thing won't start due to stale fuel or phase separation.
Also the coil packs can be an issue. I have a chainsaw (Homelite) that I've used for about 15 years, starts OK from cold but hot it now will not start so I have to replace the coilpack because on checking there was no spark. Let it cool down and it starts OK.
There was a 4-stroke Chinese mower on the market where the coil packs failed after a very short time. I was given one and its a fantastic copy of a Honda OHV motor starts, runs for a while then stops. Like my chainsaw it will only re-start when cold again.
Colin
'56 Series 1 with homemade welder
'65 Series IIa Dormobile
'70 SIIa GS
'76 SIII 88" (Isuzu C240)
'81 SIII FFR
'95 Defender Tanami
'58 Series II (sold)
Motorcycles :-
Vincent Rapide, Panther M100, Norton BIG4, Electra & Navigator, Matchless G80C
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