hey im having trouble starting my new bike, po says it dosnt like to start when its cold, and when i try to start it i smell fuel faintly, what could i do to help this? should i clean the carbs of try something else? this is my first bike. and im more familiar with fuel injection, but i am pretty mechanicly inclined, just want some advice b4 i tear into it if i dont need to thx

 

first off use regular gas, not high test. regular burns easier and faster.

second, heres what i do. go full choke, give the throttle three full turns, they attempt to start. if it doesnt want to start still try holding the throttle open a crack while holding the start button. that and i also make sure to start the bike once every other day at the least. i usually start it for like 5 min every day.

 

Only regular gas in the winter right?
Good tips, I'll have to try when mine is done with winter upgrades

 

+1 those are good tips trippmann.

if you smell fuel.. youre getting fuel. air is ruled out really for cold starts.. id check your battery voltage as well as making sure you start the bike for a good 5 or 6 mins every other day

 

I have an '87 that I bought last fall as a basket case. I put it together and now I am starting to tune it for spring. It took a lot of cranking to get it to start. I used full choke. I let it warm up for a while but could not get it to stay running with the choke off. I will be pulling the carbs shortly. My idle circuit must be gummed up from sitting.

 

yeah thanks for the great tips, ill try that as soon as i get back out there, im living in a hotel so needless to say im storing the bike elsewhere, its supposed to get up to 41* tomarrow, so ill get out and try it then. hoping for the best

 

^fyi. if you absolutly cant get it going, you can try giving it a shot of starter fluid to help it get moving. keep it minimal though, its potent stuff lol

 

If you can't get your bike to stay running without the choke, try your idle screw with the choke on and warmed up so that it kicks your tons high enough to let off the choke. Once off the choke you can turn the idle screw back down to desired speed

 

or a bump start :P when mine didnt start when cold, a nice sprint and a clutch pop gets em going!

 

All four of the low speed jets were blocked. It wasn't getting any fuel. Now that they are clean it will idle.