Predator 212 Engine won't run after govenor removal and upgraded carb

[billy kart bronco]

Hello everyone I am using this engine (predator 212) for my DIY go kart. So far I have only successfully upgraded the flywheel, and it ran fantastic. Because of this I decided for more speed! I deleted the govenor and oil pressure sensor, and I installed the Mikuni VM22 carburetor. Only issue is it doesn't start anymore! We put the stock carburetor back on, but now it only starts with starting fluid but doesn't continue running. Additionally, it sometimes kicksback and some air comes out of the intake.
Here's the things we've tested so far:
Timing - Cam and crank shaft aligned
Spark plug- sparks
Compression - it's sucking in air
Fuel - has gas, but new aftermarket hose
Valves - adjusted to be 0.003 at top center
flywheel - fine

can anyone think of anything else? Or did we blow up the motor

 

[Sparkwizard]

Is the carb full of gas?
Valves should be adjusted slightly after TDC, so the compression release is not holding the exhaust valve open.
Did your flywheel move on the crank, changing ignition timing? (check for sheared key)
Air leak between carb and head.

 

[Grizzlymi]

Sounds like an air leak to me since it was fine before changing the carb out. Double check the gaskets and make sure everything is lined up properly and nice and tight.

 

[panchothedog]

You might have the exhaust valve set incorrectly. As mentioned by Sparky in post
#2. Pull the spark plug and the rocker cover. This will allow you to turn the engine over easily and watch the valves open and close. After a few revolutions you will see that after the exhaust valve closes, there is a very small bump ( open and close ). After the bump both valves are completely closed and can be properly set. Kicking back ( as you mentioned ) is a strong indicator that the exhaust valve is not right. The small bump is the compression release and is timed on the cam to prevent kick back.

 

[billy kart bronco]

Update: It runs good now. It was the valves, and they were closed and not adujusted properly.

 

[Whitetrashrocker]

Thanks for posting the solution.
You might help someone in the future.