[alanmcorcoran]

I'm the anti-mechanic on here (or whatever you call someone with zero mechanical knowlege) but I wanted to note: you will develop the very symptoms you describe if you don't "put a lot of miles" on the bike. The GZ is very susceptible to getting gunked up with disuse. If you don't ride it at least once a week, and every once in a while put eighty or so miles on it, it will gradually fall into a state of sluggish to piss-poor performance. Although I think the chief culprit here is the carburetor, some of the other parts (emission canister, valves, overfilled oil, etc.) can contribute. About a year ago mine was screwed up enough that it would stall at nearly every light and got to the point where it was unrideable. Took three trips to the dealer to get it set right and it's been running well every since. Although I can't say for sure what fixed it, I believe that it was mostly cloggage of the carb. Since then, I have been conscientious about taking it out for a decent ride at least every couple weeks and it has continued to run like it did when new.

I also always start with near full choke unless I am restarting after having already ridden it somewhere. I back mine off to nothing after about 3-4 miles.