Hard to start please read
 

I know to search I searched and searched couldnt really find a answer I work 14 hour days so its hard to search in detail. ok here is my problem It takes forever for my bike to start just cranks and cranks but once it starts it runs great lots of power idles fine i can cut the bike off go into the store start bike back up fine but if it sits for bout 3 hours same thing just cranks and cranks i can roll start it some times but its just being an a$$ to start up i cleaned the carbs twice drained the gas put fresh 93 octain new plugs fuel pump and battery i checked its getting spark and gas just wont turn over after sitting thanks for reading any help will be greatly apperacited

Common prob on the carbed bikes. On mine, I have to turn the idle knob up a bit to get it to turn over, then I turn it back down. It's just a thing; no worries. Everyone's is different.

Fiddle with the throttle and the choke and the idle knob, and eventually you'll figure out what you rbikes "secret password" is to get it started. It doesn't mean anything's wrong per se, it's just how it is.


Is your biked jetted, or have aftermarket exhaust or airbox upgrades? If so, that can compound the issue. Still not a problem, just requires different fiddling.

does it start if you give it choke? does it stumble when it finally starts or just run fine? will it start if you blip the throttle when cranking?

messed with idle screw and choke i had dirt bikes and four wheelers before i know some times they are finicky but this problem seems uncommon full choke half choke no choke it doesn't matter its just a turd to start

you say it runs fine when it actually does start? thats weird. theres only a couple things needed for it to run. spark, fuel, air, and compression. we can rule out compression because if you had none, it wouldnt run at all. you said it gets spark and fuel, so that leaves air... but if it runs fine once started, then it cant be air. did you do the trick where you take youre fuel line off the carbs, and hold it into a bucket and tried to start the motor and see if it flows out at a healthy rate?

how does the exhaust smell once you get it running? rich? what rpms do you hover at at idle? once it starts, what rpms does it go to and drop down to?

A lean bike is very hard to start. You may have to turn your pilot screws out. I recently had this problem and fixed it with richening up the pilot jets a bit. She takes half a second to start up now.

Just a guess but try letting the bike sit for a moment with the ignition on. This will allow the fuel pump to get fuel to the float bowels. It definitely sounds like you are running lean. Is the bike due for some carburetor work? How many miles do you have on it?
Good luck
mikey

once it starts it idles at 1500 or so gotta adjust idle screw some but it will maintain it once started i dont know about the carb work i just bought the bike in feb. it has 26000 miles it ran great till about 3 weeks ago the wifey and i jumped on the bike took about a 200 mile ride got back the next day went to start it to go to work and thats when it all started i thank all of you for your help and ill try some of the suggestions when i get a day off

Well the bike should idle just fine at 1200 rpms so lower it using the idle screw. Idle speed wouldn't be your problem though. Once the bike does start up, what happens if you open the throttle for a second? Does it run up the RPMs or does it bog down? Does the bike take a few minutes to start running properly?

once its started the bike is fine no problems throttle response is great no hesitation drives great cruzing around or wide open the only problem i have is just getting it started

kinda odd... if it was a problem with fuel from the tank or pump, it wouldn't run at speed. Are you sure there is absolutely no difference at all between choke off starting and choke on? Even a slight difference? I am hoping choke on makes it a little harder, because perhaps you are running too rich and soaking the plugs. Hell other than that I am not sure. :(

with start up it kinda makes it harder but with it running it does the usual as having a choke on but usually only roll start

Choke on is harder to start? Not sure what you are saying. Try choke off, let it turn over and as soon as it starts shut it off and take a plug out. Let me know what it looks like.

Im having the exact same problem as u

was talking to someone at work he said his harley did the same thing was bad fuel lines was letting air in and the float bowls wasnt staying filled going to give that a try see how that goes

Try changing the spark plugs.Mine does the same thing...If i give mine choke to try to start it it flouds out.then the plugs are fouled...junk ngk plugs.try starting with just a touch of throttle after changing plugs.Let me know...Beasley

throttle open during start leans it out, choke on richens it up. If it starts better 1 way vs another, then that helps you point to your problem.

i have to put the choke on when i roll start it but its also 330 am and lil cool outside when i do it but once its start it and drive 20 miles to work i work bout 2.5 hours till my break and i can go out there and start it up fine with out the choke

Compression
 

This is a classic sign of low compression. Hard to start when cold, runs when warm. I'd lay odds that either your valves are way out of spec and therefore not closing 100%, or more likely the valves seats are worn. You can compression test #1 and #4 though the side inspection covers without pulling the tank. You're look for compression higher than 160lbs IIRC.

if it had low compression i would think it wouldnt have the same performance and if the valve seats were warn wouldnt it burn oil

I say to just turn your pilot screws out half a turn, see how that goes. Hard start is also a classic sign of running lean.

Where are the pilot screws on the carburator? My bike is running rich. I had a problem bout a month ago where my bike wouldn't start. I checked the sparkplugs and saw them black/wet. Spark plugs are new too. I cleaned them and bike started right away. Today go to turn the bike on and is doing the same thing!! Would the pilot screws solve the problem?

is there anyone in the family that maybe sits on ur bike when ur not home and pretends their riding so they WOT for countless days until they hear u come home? haha

Naa lol!! This bike has been a nightmare!

look at the carb cleaning sticky in the F2 thread... if your plugs are black and wet they may actually be so rich that it wont start either. Might need to lean them out. Might just need a whole carb cleaning too.

If your plugs are black and wet, then something is seriously wrong with your carburetor system. Pilot screw is like a last resort, "I'm positive everything else is perfect" thing to do. It requires a special tool, and the service manual says not to touch it, ever. Also, it only adjusts fuel delivery. If your problem is that you are not getting enough air or compression for combustion, then leaning the fuel out will only result in you bandaging the problem, and severely decreasing performance.

Dismantle, clean, and inspect your carbs, and tell Dissevered how grateful you are for his awesome how-to. He's single, ladies! :icon_look:

https://cbrforum.com/forum/f2-tech-93/carburetor-cleaning-tuning-101-a-96888/