Tell your friends to shut the hell up you are right. On my westlake the little lever even has choke written on it.
There isn't a way to activate the decompression valve without going thru and to the clutch. If this is how yours is set up, congradulations, it's the first time I've ever heard of it not beeing totally screwed up....For some reason, pinheads always get ahold of a sachs and ruin the set up, and it runs shitty for them.
Don't take any lip, man.
swarm and destroy