I got the book out. Pretty much spot on with float height- 22.9mm or .90 inches.

Unfortunately, if "cleaning" doesn't work replacement is likely needed.

I filled the bowl and floats floated.
Didnt think to hook to fuel and press valve shut. Shit.
Ya always shut off fuel when parked or it will literally pour out the overflow

I do this all the time,I always make sure the fuel tap is shut off when I park the bike. the fuel is supposed to be turned off when not running the bike.

the fuel system on these bikes rely on gravity feed from the tank to the carb. it is not like a car or a fuel injected bike that has either a mechanical or electric fuel pump,key off engine off,the fuel flow is off itself.

on a gravity feed fuel system like on our bikes,unless the tap is turned off,fuel continues to flow and eventually it starts leaking past the needle and seat in the carb,it overflows the float bowl and it leaks outside of the vent on the carb and in some cases it enters the engine.

when the engine itself fills up with fuel,it creates a hydra lock situation and if you try kicking it over,it can bend a connecting rod.

it can also blow out crankshaft seals on a 2 stroke.

Ya, ive always shut duel off when parked on any bike without a vacuum controlled petcock. Just seems excessive

That could explain why it was running alright, still jo power but no surging. For a bit. If it did partially fill the crank case then blow out the crank seals.
I havent gotten my parts yet so havent opened up to see what the seals look like yet

the type of blow out on the crankshaft seals,there would be fuel/oil present behind the stator plate nearby the crankshaft seal on the magneto and on the primary side,it would allow fuel to enter the transmission side of the crank case. and it would likely run away if the engine was started.

if it starts and idles fine then I think the crankshaft seals are fine.

a run away on a 2 stroke is when the engine suddenly begins screaming with the throttle closed and it would quickly get hot enough to run,even with the ignition turned off.

on lack of power,I would bet the exhaust system is plugged up,especially the silencer part. they need to be cleaned and there is many ways to do it. I use a torch to burn out the pipe and non rebuildable factory silencer on a 2 stroke.

the baffle on the silencer can be removed to clean it separately

you can pull the baffle out,fire it up and take it for a short ride.if the power improves with the baffle removed,the exhaust needs to be removed and cleaned then after cleaning up the silencer and baffle,the baffle can be reinstalled.

Ok. Ya i tryed that yesterday. Put the torch in and some compressed air for a while. I can't get the spark arrester out of the silencer. Should i just do the torch and air trick to that too? If so in what direction is best?

I didnt see any oil in the stator so thats good. I do have a countershaft seal leaking though but i think thats unrelated.

PO had overfilled the transmission. What kind of problems could this cause?

yeah,I would do the torch and air trick to the silencer too.

Burned out the silencer today. Made it noticibly lighter so that was a good suggestion! Thanks!
Also reajusted float height and stopped float needle leak!
Like an idiot i forgot i hadn't removed the bowl gasket! Ive left it in place because i dont have a new one and dont want to damage it. Moved it a wee bit higher, closer to 23mm. All is well!