temp dropped to 3 last night and it was right around 8 or 9 this morning when I decided to take my bike to work. Bike eventually started but it took me like 10 attempts, the battery was fully charged so I could only assume maybe the spark plugs are a bit weak, or carbs needs a bit cleaning.

Bike starts fine in the summer when it's warm out. Are there anything I could do to help bike start a bit easier in cold weather? (a heated garage would be ideal, but I just dont have that option)

 

My bike also takes quite a bit longer in the cold to start. Not sure how much I can do about it. Lets see if anyone has any ideas.

 

glad I am not the only one.

 

How many cold cranking amps does your battery provide?

 

I don't know but I am check when I get home. It seems I will have to give gas while pushing the start button. But that's how I have to do to start the bike everytime, just in cold weather, I will have to try 6-7 times to get her fired up.

How often do you change the plugs on bikes? I know for cars is usually at 100k miles, not fure about for bikes.

 

Another thing to check is your choke. W/ choke & good quality battery, you really shouldn't have a prob.

Somewhat subjective for bikes, especially Hondas. ;-) I follow the factory service manual recommendation.

 

good point.

 

At 3 degrees, the oil and grease are going to provide a lot more resistance to the engine turning over.
You might consider going to a lighter weight oil. That can help a bit.

The battery is not going to be pushing as many amps as normal either, so that has an effect.
Bike batterys are just too small, with too little reserve, to operate as reliably as a car battery at those temperatures.

You might consider an in-line radiator hose heater, if you are going to be riding regularly,
in temperatures below zero and can't store the bike in a heated environment.

As noted above, check that your choke is working properly, and using a battery tender
may give that little extra 'oomph' for those cold starts.

While not strictly neccesary, adding stabil or seafoam can help with possible condensation
related issues from the gas-tank/float-bowls, as well.

Hope this helps, Ern

 

Thanks, I was under the impression that the spark plugs were weak, so I thought I'd change the plugs anyway. The plugs were replaced by one of the previous owners, but they were torqued to spec, the ring on the plugs were even compressed. so I did that, replacing the air filter is on my top priority now just have to order it. I added some carb cleaner in the gas tank so hopefully it will clean up the carbs a bit.

 

stick a hairdryer in the exaughst lol

i even know a guy in canada who pours boiling water over his engine in the morning.. not sure if id recommend that.. but it seems to work for him.
seems like a bit of a squid option to me..

I agree with the thinner oil, its actually a recommended thing on the back of most oil containers.. and your idea about the plugs seems sound, is she under cover? if she is in a shed, could you maybe just stick a heater in the shed on a timer?