I have never had a problem with the LA (several .15, .40, and a couple .46). Break in is a must with these motors to "loosen" them up enough to start/run reliably. If you do end up using an electric starter, there's really no need to prime-unless you have a leak somewhere. If you stick to hand-propping it, I agree, about two flips with the carb covered(throttle full open) usually does the trick. Another neat cold weather trick is carry a thermos with really HOT water. just before the first start of the day, cover the carb and pour hot water over the cylinder head of the motor. They use this in the arctic countries pretty effectively(I lived in Iceland for 2 years - learned to fly there).