Bike starting habits?

[Breed777]

Im guessing when bikes are new that they start each and everytime you press the starter no matter how cold? or do bikes need choke even if new?


I love my bike, my only gripe is, on cold mornings, even with full choke...it take 10 goes to get her started.... i.e the bike turns over and slowly idles down and dies.... does this 10 or so times and then finally she is away.... I have to ride off with the choke on.... which i dont like cause being a newbie makes it harder to pull away nicely cause the revs are all screwy.

Have to use full choke to start it when I finish work at 3 also. Is it normal to ve such a difficult cold start? what can I do to improve it? my carbs are clean, my plugs are fine, the battery is sweet....can anything be dont to make sure it starts after only a couple of goes? I was thinking raising the idle might help? (It is kinda low but have no idea how to change it)

Let me know your thoughts as we roll into colder and colder mornings....
:eek:

[Danae]

I dunno about your predicament as I don't even own a bike (yet)

But it's been so frekkin cold lately my scooter won't start at all, I have to kickstart it. :laugh: Works every time tho

[YellowDog]

Manual chokes need a knack to get them to do thier job.

This is what I used to do (pre-auto choke): Start with full choke and push it in slowly until it fires. If you find it fires at about half way in, try the next day with the choke at just over half.

Trial and error will show you the best way to start your bike.

Good luck.

[Devil]

Most new bikes dont have chokes (or manual fast idles).

You could get your carbs reset by a mechanic. They can be fiddly at best. Some are easy to start some aren't.

[Mully]

A lot of new bikes are injected and have an autochoke.

With the RF, when it's cold, I need full choke and NO throttle. Generally takes a couple of seconds to catch. Then it's half choke (till idle revs are about 3kish while I finish putting on my gear. Usually once I start moving, I can turn the choke off as I go down the road.

[slimjim]

yup a idle above 1000 should still warm it up...surpised that even at 3pm you still gota use full choke...however old things take more time to warm up lol how ever long it takes.. could be also them old days where the zap to the plugs aren't as good as these newer bikes electrical systems

[3L4NS1R]

Once I was told to rock the bike side to side to help the bike get going.
This apparently helps do something to the fuel in the carburetor.

I take no responsibility for the accuracy of this advice. Or even it's relevance to this issue.

Actually your best bet is probably to ignore this post.

[Breed777]

I give it full choke.... and it starts but dies with in seconds.... each time i try it idles a bit longer then dies.... finally when i have tried about 10 times i give it just a little throttle and it finally jumps into life. if I take choke off it dies so I ride off with it on. But I put her in first and its reving quite hard so makes taking off a little strange....

Do you guys need to use the choke when you finish worK and come home etc? or just first thing in the morning?.....

oh and a little off topic but.... my fuel gauge can vary by 1/4 of a tank depending if the bike is upright or on the sidestand. i.e say I have half a tank on the gauge when im riding.... I finish my ride and leave the bike, it drops to 1/4 of a tank. ride again later and after 3 mins of riding it rises back to halk a tank again. which do you think is the closest to the real fuel level....upright and riding or after 20mins on side stand?

[XP@]

Remind your self you are lucky to have a push button. You could be jumping up and down on a kick start!

:first: You could get a hot chick to warm up your motor before you ride

:second: Or you could get one of these... http://www.reiffpreheat.com/Motorcycle.htm

:third: Throw a cover over it, it will be a couple of degrees warmer.

[crazyhorse]

Im guessing when bikes are new that they start each and everytime you press the starter no matter how cold? or do bikes need choke even if new?


I love my bike, my only gripe is, on cold mornings, even with full choke...it take 10 goes to get her started.... i.e the bike turns over and slowly idles down and dies.... does this 10 or so times and then finally she is away.... I have to ride off with the choke on.... which i dont like cause being a newbie makes it harder to pull away nicely cause the revs are all screwy.

Have to use full choke to start it when I finish work at 3 also. Is it normal to ve such a difficult cold start? what can I do to improve it? my carbs are clean, my plugs are fine, the battery is sweet....can anything be dont to make sure it starts after only a couple of goes? I was thinking raising the idle might help? (It is kinda low but have no idea how to change it)

Let me know your thoughts as we roll into colder and colder mornings....
:eek:

As you have an older bike - I would wonder if you have it serviced lately. Perhaps that would help. And as it is not fuel injected - I would think it obvious that you would need to use the choke. That's like getting into an old car and trying to start it when cold. And I hope that when you do get the bike started on half to full choke (depending on the temp and situation) - that you let it idle and warm up prior to jumping on it and riding off......? My bike, although newer than yours, lives outside and is no trouble to start - without the choke - although in a frost, I would put the choke on ever so slightly. Good luck

[Breed777]

Remind your self you are lucky to have a push button. You could be jumping up and down on a kick start!

:first: You could get a hot chick to warm up your motor before you ride

:second: Or you could get one of these... http://www.reiffpreheat.com/Motorcycle.htm

:third: Throw a cover over it, it will be a couple of degrees warmer.

Id like to order the first option please....:eek:

[macros87]

yeah it is a bit more difficult to start cold mornings, i have to turn my lights off and give it full choke then take it down to about half way to take off otherwise it dies on me. it is weird riding with the choke, but i dnt have to for very long before she decides to work fine again. when it isnt cold/ not morning it starts with lights on and a third choke.

on your other question. YOU HAVE A FUEL GAUGE!? thats fancy equipment right there..

[BOGAR]

If you wont to play with the idle only do it when the bike is warm (even better is to have gone for a little ride). If you adjust it when it is cold, then as the bike warms up the revs will get faster and faster causing other problems. But having said that I like the idea of option 1 too, :clap:so try that first. Good luck on these (ever increasingly)cold days.

[Breed777]

on your other question. YOU HAVE A FUEL GAUGE!? thats fancy equipment right there..

Yeah...read more like a Temp gauge...up...down...up...down...

So how long do you warm up a bike? Once I ride off I can take choke off pretty quickly. My Temp Guage only move from C to H after about 10 mins of riding.

(Oh and I had it serviced 2 weeks ago)

Cheers

[Ragingrob]

You say it starts on full choke then dies, well when it start see if you can blip the throttle just to give the revs a kick and then the choke should kick in and will hold the revs up high.

[Indiana_Jones]

My Triumph has auto choke, normally starts on the 2nd/3rd go if not the 1st.

My old CBR250 was a different story lol

Putting the choke on seemed to do nothing, so I had to give it gas while pressing the starter button.

If it was cold enough, i'd fuck my battery after doing that for 5 mins. So then I had to bump start it lol

ahwell, no longer a problem!

-Indy

[macros87]

Yeah...read more like a Temp gauge...up...down...up...down...

So how long do you warm up a bike? Once I ride off I can take choke off pretty quickly. My Temp Guage only move from C to H after about 10 mins of riding.

(Oh and I had it serviced 2 weeks ago)

Cheers

well whenever i need to leave i always seem to be cutting it close time wise, so im running to the bike everything in hand, fire it up and i then start putting on jacket, helmet, gloves,(and lately a scarf i have early morning lectures and 7 am work starts, it stops air from getting in my helmet freazing my nose and making my eyes water) gloves (i have the quasi sps ones, brilliant gloves but particularly tedious to put on). while im putting my stuff on the bike is warming... i would guess between 4 and five minutes altogether... im not sure but i think its sufficient, its also not good for the bike to let warm for too long i hear... its ridiculous so many rules to learn with bikes..

[avgas]

So your temp gauge goes all the way to Hot?
Check you water and your oil.....as i suspect one of them is low or your sensor is fouled up.

back on the choke starting - pretty much every bike i have owned has has a sweet spot on the choke between 1/4 and 1/2.
Put it somewhere between there, turn the bike over, then try and start - should start first pop.

You learn these tricks when you have to kick the bloody thing into life.......and if its nasty enough you have given up kicking after the 8th attempt

[tigertim20]

I have around 25+ bikes (mostly offroad) but I have found, each bike is individual, some require a 'knack' to get them started. On my CBR I pull choke to about 2/3 or 3/4 so not quite full, and she fires up, leave it idling, after about 2 mins, she goes from 1400rpm up to 3-4000, then I take choke off completely and she sits at 12-1400 rpm.
I would suggest a thermal cover for your bike wouldnt go astray, low cost, and aside from making starting easier, it will protect it a bit more from the elements.

[tigertim20]

haha should read HAVE HAD, lol

[Breed777]

haha should read HAVE HAD, lol

I was gonna say! thats nearly a different bike for each day of the week...per month!


Oh and I meant takes 10 mins of riding to get the temp gauge to move not get to H :)

So you guys are saying somethere along the spectrum of the choke I should be able to get it to fire first time?

[tigertim20]

well first or second time, yes, but bikes can be extremely tempermental. Can be affected by poor maintenance in its life etc, I would play with the choke when it comes to starting, pick a point, and each day, move it back a little, untill you eventually find a point where it most consistently fires. Otherwise, getting carbs cleaned and balanced, and fuel lines etc cleaned, and changing plugs are a simple and cheap way to maintain your bike, do that as well and see what difference it makes, should run alot better

[Danae]

And don't forget to blip the throttle

[Mom]

I give it full choke.... and it starts but dies with in seconds....

Use less choke. You have an old girl there and she needs special care and attention to do what you want her to ;)

Just experiment a little as others have said, no two bikes are the same, mine even likes to change her mind sometimes too. I use the same choke settings that I have for months and she is no go!



oh and a little off topic but.... my fuel gauge can vary by 1/4 of a tank depending if the bike is upright or on the sidestand. i.e say I have half a tank on the gauge when im riding.... I finish my ride and leave the bike, it drops to 1/4 of a tank. ride again later and after 3 mins of riding it rises back to halk a tank again.

Fuel guage? What is this fancy thing you speak of? A quick and easy way to feel safe in the amount of gas you have on board, is to set your trip meter to zero when you next fill up. Ride your bike till it runs out of gas and needs to be turned to reserve, check how far you have travelled. Then all you have to do is reset your trip meter each time you fill and you know how much distance you have till you need more gas. You will get variations a little depending on how you ride any given day but that is the only way I have to indicate how much fuel I have left.

[Breed777]

And don't forget to blip the throttle

I find If I turn the throttle just a little and hold it there for like 10 seconds you can hear it 'thinking' about starting and then it finally starts and all is well.... but without that mm of throttle it wont start.

Will continue to experiment with the choke

Does that mean if a bike with an auto-choke doesnt start then you have nothing you can do? i,e no sweet spot or choke you can adjust? or do Auto choke bikes start pretty much everytime?

[Headbanger]

I give it full choke.... and it starts but dies with in seconds.... each time i try it idles a bit longer then dies.... finally when i have tried about 10 times i give it just a little throttle and it finally jumps into life.

It just means there is a knack to starting your bike, In earlier times this was a fashionable accessory.

Anyhow, try a few things, mix it up a bit.

To start with try

Full choke until she fires, Then when she dies 1/3 choke and a handful of revs.

[The Pastor]

I clap 3 times, turn around once anitclockwise, 3 star jumps and sacrifice a baby goat before i go on a ride.

on a commute i just do the claps.

[Ixion]

Im guessing when bikes are new that they start each and everytime you press the starter no matter how cold? or do bikes need choke even if new?




No the choke is purely ornamental, the mnaufacturers just fit them because they look so nice.

Try tickling it instead. Works for me.

[varminter]

I clap 3 times, turn around once anitclockwise, 3 star jumps and sacrifice a baby goat before i go on a ride.

on a commute i just do the claps.

So you do that too, I thought I was the only one. The bleating annoys the neighbours and the blood, well we won't go there.

[CookMySock]

Most carbed bikes will require full-choke on a cold winters' first start of the day. Maybe your spark-plug gap is set too wide.

Even if you don't need "choke", the choke lever will hold the revs up a bit for you while you are trying to manage your slow-speed balance.. much better than the engine flubbering about at 1,100rpm just about to stall - makes the throttle hard to manage.

Steve

[short-circuit]

I clap 3 times, turn around once anitclockwise, 3 star jumps and sacrifice a baby goat before i go on a ride.

on a commute i just do the claps.

Yes but you've also got to put your mouthguard in and turn your eye lids inside out before draining the oil sump and revving the tits off it cold

[rocketman1]

Got a 86 GSXR does exactly what you mention.
I been told full choke to start her, dont touch the throttle, it runs, sort of, but very hesitantly, ANY throttle at all at this stage and it dies.
I just keep starting it no throttle after about six attempts, its away.
Once warm no problems at all.
When you find the secret please let me know.

[Breed777]

I give it just a touch of throttle with full choke. But only the smallest amount. Too much and she dies. I really wanna raise the idle but for the life of me I can't find where to do it. Any ideas?

[rocketman1]

depends on the model, if you have, I have knurled nut right side of bike (when sitting on it) behind and between 1 st and 2 nd carb, but my manual shows an alternative Carb idle adjustment knurled nut in front,/ below the outside carb on the left hand side. take your pick