Bike cranking forever to start and dies off throttle

So, this just happened today. The bike was running perfectly fine and today when i go to start it, it took forever to start, just cranked and cranked. Had to give it full throttle while i was holding the ignition button. finally started to take and start. Like a buildup of sorts, a slow creep to kicking over. Then, got it on the road and when i'd kick it down, the bike would bog down and hesitate a bit, which is new. Then, when I would stop, it would starve out and die unless i held the throttle a bit. Died one time and it took forever to get it started again. Same thing as the beginning, but worse. Finally got it going and went straight home. I just cleaned my carbs a couple hundred miles ago and synched them, so im not sure it's a carb thing, but i don't know. I'm thinking it may be the petcock or something involving gas flow, but I just want to see if anyone has heard of this and what I should look at. Thanks!

 

Did you go to Church?
Do you have gas? Seriously, try to switch the petcock to reserve. (It's happened to me. )
Do you have an inline fuel filter?
Last time petcock was rebuilt?
Gas cap vent clean? If it happens again try cracking the gas cap open and see if things change.
How old is your vacuum line? It may be collapsing.

 

^^^ @Stumplifter
Gas in crankcase, oil on air filter?

 

Can you put petcock on PRI does it run better this way or not ? Or do you have an after market petcock Non vacuum ?

 

how cold is it getting in the land of 1000 lakes?
bike starts off of the enrichment circuit when cold and choke is needed. when warm it starts off of pilot jets
cold weather or cold bike

full throttle no you should not have to touch the throttle at all. could be the enrichment circuit (choke) is clogged or clogging or not as clean as you think. are all the wells clean?
clogging or clogged pilot jets

 

It's getting in the 40s and 30s this week. The thing that sucks is I move house this weekend and I need to move it. Of course, stuff like this always happens haha. I'm going to rebuild my petcock Friday and I have some new lines. The gas cap is super dirty too, so I'll clean that as well. I don't have time to pull the carbs, so hopefully that does enough to get it down the street (mile move). If not, it'll go in the uhaul.

I was planning on flexing the new garage space this winter and do some overhauls to the bike, so this will all be stuff to add to the list.

Also, other question. What are some things when I do plan on taking the 7 month winter here to overhaul the bike that I should look into for a 36k mile bike? I saw something in valves that looks more than doable if I'm planning on doing the gasket anyway. Anything else worth doing? Thanks again everyone!

 

check wheel bearings, headstock bearings, valve clearance check . how old is the brake system good time to rebuild calipers and master cylinder shoes and pads .
check and clean alternator rings and brushes.

 

If you haven't checked your valve adjustment, you should. That always seems to be the first on any list. Out of spec valves is the root of many other mechanical evils.

http://www.xjbikes.com/forums/threads/bigfitzs-airhead-valve-adjustment-with-pics-parts-i-ii.116006/