starting

[rm]

i followed the info on starting in the tech section-started first try after a week of storage in cold weather...beautiful.

now, here's the problem, as soon as i pushed in the cold start button after about 2 min. idle the bike shut down.

how long am i supposed to idle it with the cold start engaged before disengageing it?

i fooled with the idle last week, i felt it was too low then, and i think it's set proper. i noticed while turning the idle knob that sometimes nothing happened and i would have to give it a little throttle to hear a change in the idle speed. is this normal?

also, should i turn the throttle at all while the cold start is engaged and how much should i twist after disengaging the cold start?

i'm aware of not letting it idle too long once hot but i'm not sure how long to when cold.

this bike has 2 hrs on it and is completely stock. (i'm 700 ft. above sea level)

thanks gentlemen

[Boit]

rm: actually, nothing was wrong. A cold engine won't readily idle. With the cold start(choke) pulled out, the engine will idle quite high. If you didn't turn the idle knob in about a turn before you started the engine, it will almost certainly die as soon as you push in the choke knob. To prevent this from happening, I start the engine with the choke and let it run at the fast idle for about 20 seconds...and just before I push in the choke, I turn the idle knob in about a turn...maybe a turn and a quarter which increases the idle substantially. Then, when I push in the choke it settles into a much slower idle...almost to the point of stalling. From there I increase the idle knob a little until I get a fairly fast idle. As it warms up, the idle will increase. As I begin to ride at low speeds, I start to make small idle adjustments until the bike is up to operating temperatures.

By the way, NEVER blip the throttle while the cold start button is pulled out. The engine is already running rich with this knob pulled out, so you would just be squirting in more fuel and chancing fouling the plug.

[This message has been edited by Boit (edited 03-11-2001).]

[mcarp]

" i think it's set proper. i noticed while turning the idle knob that sometimes nothing happened and i would have to give it a little throttle to hear a change in the idle speed. is this normal?"

I don't think so. The stock 42 pilot jet is probably to lean. Turn out your fuel screw a little and see if that helps. Otherwise, try a 45 pilot screw.

This is probably part of your idling woes, too. Mine did the same thing. It also had a high idle unless I under some load. We've all had to make adjustments, so may as well start ordering some jets. You may want to bump the Main jet up a little for Ohio, too.

You should get it the point where you can set it on choke for 10 seconds, then it can run on it's own without choke (yup, turning that idle up a little when cold helps to keep it spinning)