Hi Fellas, while i was trying to set the timing on my AT 3 i was turning the crank with the advance/retard unit by hand to get the points to open. i noticed that turning the engine with my hand was really easy to do ? does this mean that the engine needs a rebore as the compression seems very low which may explain poor running and starting issues.any advice would be really appreciated . many thanks.  

Sorry, need to ask first, was the plug in? Dunno where you’re at with the little information posted and don’t want to assume anything if I can help it. I thought my wife was going to pick me up last weekend and here I am still waiting!

Hi , yeah the plug was in. It was running but not very well so I had a look at timing and noticed it is easy to turn over using just my fingers??

I am just a weekend mechanic myself but have messed with these bikes for awhile now. To me based on this information, there could be a couple of things; it it runs then the electrical does work. It could  be your carb needs cleaning, and yes your top end could be tired and in need of some work. The 125 is a little engine but you should feel a good deal of resistance by hand with the plug and carb in place if the top end is in good condition.
If you feel the carb is in good shape, then I would check the top end.
It has been my experience with old bikes that have been sitting, especially if they have been left outside, is that they will get kicked over by a PO and the top end will get messed up due to stuck rings, etc.
Hope this helps, good luck!

How many miles are on your bike I have a AT2 with 8,200 miles std bore runs good. It doesn’t have a ton of compression for the estart to work properly 

If it was 'that easy' to turn over it's a wonder it ran let-alone idled. Did you definitely turn it through compression--not half a turn out at bdc. Sorry--had to ask. Kick start feel is a good indication, bouncy or just slides through with little resistance.