my bike hates the mornings

[fireball]

just looking for general advice for my marauder

in the mornings its a total pig to start even with choke on, choke part on what ever way i try it just takes ages to fire up its to the point im worried the battery will go flat before its even started.....
but once it has started and ive let it warm up (the length of time it takes to have a smoke and gear up so 5 or so mins) chuck it in first and off i go so i think but the bike has every intention of going no where
it kind of just loses all power as i clutch out so i have to pull the cluch back and a release it again to get any for of power
not to mention the face of when it is warm its over revving and if its warm it backfires when i flick the kill switch or turn it off..

i dont have any knowledge about this kind of bike i assume its the same as all other bikes and am going to start with new sparkplug..... but hey im female i dont know about things that go vroom vroom putt putt...

any advice?

[hospitalfood]

sounds like a pain.
plugs is a good start. could be a carb problem or gas flow problem, or fuel/air mix problem.
carbs are not all that hard to take apart and clean which may help. I would also look for leaks everywhere around carbs and air filter etc, air leaks in particular. check all the rubbers between airbox/carbs/engine.
also check that the choke cable seems to be working, not to much slack etc.
if the gas has been sitting for a while top up with fresh gas.

[Daffyd]

Could be your air filter element needs cleaning.

[fireball]

cheers guys i will look into those areas

[NighthawkNZ]

I just hate the mornings... full stop.

[surfer]

sounds like a pain.
plugs is a good start. could be a carb problem or gas flow problem, or fuel/air mix problem.
carbs are not all that hard to take apart and clean which may help. I would also look for leaks everywhere around carbs and air filter etc, air leaks in particular. check all the rubbers between airbox/carbs/engine.
also check that the choke cable seems to be working, not to much slack etc.
if the gas has been sitting for a while top up with fresh gas.


Could be your air filter element needs cleaning.

Yep, ditto on this dude. Sounds like a fuel mix problem with the carb. You may have an air leak or some crap stuck somewhere in them.

[Sollyboy]

An easy thing to try is spraying the plug cap lead and coil with crc226. the problem your having could be an earthing problem of the ht electrical system , a cold or damp motor is more prone to it , a plug is definatly a good start

[inlinefour]

Had an old Honda that was an arse similar to whats described. Turned out that the timing was out and once it was sorted it ran well. However I was a kid back then and knew little about bikes at the time. Pays to look at the obvious things first and if you don't find the cause move on. Although without knowing the history of a vehicle, its hard to diagnose a problem online. Good luck with sorting it out, hope its an easy cheap fix.

[fireball]

went down to holeshot today (where i bought the bike from) they are going to have a good look over the bike check all the bits that i mentioned....

i must applaud their service they are by far the best bike shop ive been to, good customer service and they treat me like a biker not an air headed woman with out a clue! :first:

just have to deal with my backfiring until the 27th

[Max Preload]

Is it just the cool mornings, or is it always when it's cold? Is the bike garaged? Electric fuel pump or gravity feed? (Sorry - I know nothing about this model - just trying to narrow the field)

You could have a leaking float valve. Is there a distinct odour of raw fuel when it does finally start? How does it idle cold when on choke - steady or erratic?

It could simply be worn plugs but they're normally bad all the time, starting wise.

[dino3310]

My DR had the exact same problem,turns out my choke cable was seazed slightly open i got a knew one and problem was solved,different bike but it certianly sounds like an air\fuel mix problem

[fireball]

My DR had the exact same problem,turns out my choke cable was seazed slightly open i got a knew one and problem was solved,different bike but it certianly sounds like an air\fuel mix problem


yeah the guys said it had just had a new choke cable put in before i bought it guess ill just wait till i get her back and see who was right eh?!

my money is on bad plugs and air leak

[Katman]

Too many people make the mistake of starting their bike with full choke and leaving it on full choke for 5 minutes while it warms up. Then if they're only going a short distance before turning the engine off the plugs don't have time to get to a temperature where they clean themselves. Each time the bike is started in this manner the plugs get dirtier and dirtier and the problem gets worse and worse. It's a far better practise to start the bike with choke and within 20 seconds or so turn the choke off and warm the bike up at a fast idle either by holding the throttle slightly open or turning the idle screw up slightly.

[hospitalfood]

I like Rob down in the workshop in Holeshot, if I'm thinking of the right place??
Good guy.

[fireball]

I like Rob down in the workshop in Holeshot, if I'm thinking of the right place??
Good guy.

yep thats the place yeah he is a good guy...

[The Pastor]

yeah what i do it just wind up the idle a little bit, when the bike is warmed up enough you'll hear it rev up heaps, when this happens return the idle to normal and away you go :)

[dino3310]

got your bike back yet fireball,be interesting to see what the mechanic found wrong with it

[fireball]

it gets dropped in on monday night.....

i am now positive its choke/air/carb related but we will see

[fergie]

if that don't work, try running the highest octane fuel you can find, make starting easier.

[Highlander]

We had the same problem with the SRX, The guys in the shop did a Carb strip down and clean, discovered a tear in the Diaphragm, replaced that and now it goes first hit every time.

[fireball]

just got a call from Rob the verdict is in.....

the root cause of all my troubles was a blown head gasket causing troubles with the left header pipe.

[xwhatsit]

Gah, air-cooled though, right? Makes it a bit better. Hope it's not too expensive, just a bit of labour to pull the top end down I suppose and gaskets are usually cheap enough.

What's the head gasket got to do with your exhaust headers, though?

Hope the bike comes back quickly and better than ever.

[deanohit]

Hell, that don't sound good, gaskets are pretty easy to replace, it's getting to the bastards that costs so much.
Hope theres no more suprises lying in wait!

[jrandom]

Should be a piece of cake to pop the head off and reassemble with a new gasket; it's just a GN engine after all. I reckon Kat could just about do it herself...

;)

[fireball]

Should be a piece of cake to pop the head off and reassemble with a new gasket; it's just a GN engine after all. I reckon Kat could just about do it herself...

;)

yeah well i would love to learn... any excuse to get greasy grubby and more useful be handy to know how to fix bits... my knowledge extends to oil/filter change and tensioning chains!

and :Oi: its similar to a GN engine not the same :lol: ive found the bloody GN goes faster than my bike WTF?

[motorbyclist]

just got a call from Rob the verdict is in.....

the root cause of all my troubles was a blown head gasket causing troubles with the left header pipe.

lol that was unexpected

i was about to bet it would be the carbies/air filter and maybe the plugs



that said, my 400cc dirtbike is a right pig until she's been ridden for a few hundred metres, no matter how long she warms up... but once she's warm she'll keep running no matter what i throw at her (or vice versa)

[fireball]

its a shame i cant treat my bike like a dirt bike...... if i did i would go through bikes twice as fast as i do now :laugh:

[jrandom]

ive found the bloody GN goes faster than my bike WTF?

You get that with engines that have compression.

:laugh:

Ask the chaps at Holeshot what the differences are between your GZ's engine and a GN's. I'd be interested to know.

[fireball]

looks like im stuck with the GN for another week maybe two.... spoke to rob this morning while looking at LilSels next bike.... parts are getting shipped from somewhere so as soon as the new gaskets and break pads are in im all go!

must admit the GN has surprised me, not as gutless as i thought get rid of the asain front tyre and it would be alot of fun....(no Jrandom i wont buy one)

[jrandom]

parts are getting shipped from somewhere...

Yes, welcome to Suzuki Japan's engine-part-shipping hell.

I have a mental image of a little old man in a dusty warehouse in Osaka, shuffling between shelves and muttering to himself as he fumbles through a handwritten list noted down during a crackly phone call.

[fireball]

well today i have a great big smile on the face!
off to go pick up my bike! :scooter:
see you later GN :bye::Punk: now comes the how much has it cost me part i get all labour free just have to pay for parts and test out the workmanship!

anyone care for a ride?!

YEEHAAAA!:scooter::scooter: