Now that the cold weather is arriving, my CBR is hard to start.

I press the starter and the bike will turn over for about 2 or 3 seconds and then cough into life.

It will run for a second and then stall.

Keep this up for long enough and the battery is d-e-a-d.

So, I keep my finger on the starter for several seconds while it gasps and chokes and
it finally keeps going.

The colder it gets the harder it is to start.

Bike is a '93 and has 73k miles.

Although people criticize me for holding the starter button while it goes through the routine,
it seems to have no negative effect. Presumably, the starter disconnects when the engine runs
so it is just connecting and disconnecting.

When it dies, since the starter button is depressed, it kicks in again and uses the impetus of
the crank to keep going.

Sounds like a fuel/air mixture issue. I had the same exact issue. If you take the carbs off and remove the bowels you'll find 3 jets on each carb. 2 that are removable and one that is not. On mine, there is a single pin hole in the non-removable jet that leads all the way up to the top. These were all clogged on mine. Once I cleared them out, it started up on the first try.

All three jets lead from the bottom all the way to the top of the carbs. Make sure you carefully remove the needle valve before trying to clear them out. I ran a wire from a wirebrush through the jets. One from the bowel area and one from the top until the wires touched at each end. Don't use a wire of a larger diameter then the holes. You don't want to risk widening the holes. Some people will say use seafoam.

I Googled SeaFoam and ordered a can.

Worth a try for $5.99.

I'll let you know if it works. . .

Thanks