Reed petals are wear and tear part of every engine where they are used. If your engine splutters and is hard to start it is the sign of worn petals and that they should be renewed. The change is easy to do.
If you have to carry out this work anyway, you should think of using the petals of one of the Tuning firms. They do use much superior material for the reeds. This gives a much improved response and hence a better and smoother running engine with more power.