Hard Start
 

Now that I have the bike on the road, time to tackle another problem. Starting the bike is a PITA. If I'm lucky it will start before it kills the battery. Here how it goes...

Ignition, kill switch, choke, hit the starter...turns for about 20 seconds...nothing.

Starter....turns for about 20 seconds and pops on turns, but will not run on its own....nothing.

Starter....turns for about 20 seconds and pops on turns, but will not run on its own...nothing. Turn off choke as it doesn't seem to be helping.

Starter....turns for about 15 seconds and pops like it wants to run...let off starter and nothing.

Starter....turns for about 20 seconds and pops like it wants to run...will run for about 5 seconds at idle then dies.

If the battery isn't dying yet, starter....turns for about 20 seconds and pops like it wants to run...will run for about 5 seconds at idle then dies.

If the battery isn't dead yet, starter...turns for about 10 seconds and starts. Will run at idle for maybe as long as I want it to, but if I touch the throttle it dies.

Start it again while giving it a little throttle and it will start and rev...can still be touchy giving it throttle off idle. After running a few minutes it is usually happy to run and do its thing.

Sorry for that drawn out description, but want to be as clear as I can in text... ;)

I did a search and found a thread that went through several things. Thought I would start a thread for my bike as i go through the process and to ask questions where needed (the first ones here will be here).

As posted in my previous thread I have cleaned the carbs quite thoroughly, but you just never know. However, I'm going to start with the assumption that mine are as clean as they need to be.... (please not ANOTHER carb tear down!).

So, here is my list of things to do:

1. I will need to check the TPS and adjust it if needed.
2. I will need to sync the carbs, but I think I need a part for that so I can get a vacuum line on the front cylinder. Will look that up and order it. May try to make the sync tool as all of the professional ones seem to be $90-$110.
3. My fuel mixture screws are out 2.5 turns after the last carb work. They were out about 6 turns when I first got the bike. Should I adjust these at all?

Sound like I'm on the right track? Any other thoughts?

Part number for the "Boost Joint" is 16214-MB0-000. It cost me $3.51 last summer at the local Honda shop. That is the vac fitting for the front that you'll need. Good luck.

Leave the TPS alone for now, it has absolutely nothing to do with starting the bike, so that's just adding unneccesary variables...

Second if it hasn't occured to you yet, leave the throttle alone... The "choke" isn't really a choke, it's an enrichment circuit, if you play with the throttle and have the choke engaged it only makes the bike harder to start/makes it sputter & die...

When the bike is running as normal on a cold start, you pull the choke, start it and when you can push the choke in it's time to ride off using the throttle, up to that point you leave the throttle alone...

What RPM is your idle at now? If the bike is misbehaving right now, turning it up a bit is useful to be able to run it and set other things... Once you have the parts, carb sync and idle drop is the next logical step...

Are you absolutely sure your battery is in a high state of charge? Do you regularly use a Battery Tender to ensure that it's fully charged? Large displacement twins of any configuration (V, opposed,parallel) put a lot of stress on the starting cicuit. The original YTX12BS in my '98 SH always struggled on cold starts. Replacing it with a YTX14BS has it lighting off at a touch of the button. The choke/enrichner is functioning correctly I assume?

Once it's running at idle it is just under 1k RPM. Will get the part ordered so I can sync the carbs.

Battery is brand new and as I have been working on getting the bike running I charge it up as needed. The charger also has a starter mode, which I have to use when the battery decides to give up before the bike it running. I'll have to look into a stronger battery if I can't get it figured out.

The choke should be functioning correctly. I just fixed one of the plastic threaded collars, so it's all setup correctly.

I also have a new problem...now it seems that the coolant has stopped leaking, but now I have a fuel leak...very slow it seems...that runs down the kickstand. One thing after another...sigh.

I think I tracked down the fuel leak to the petcock. Seems all the fluttering that it must do while trying to start has worn the diaphrams down. It looked to be dripping from that nipple at the bottom that so many people are apt to put the vacuum line on...

Just an update for you guys...

I rebuilt the petcock and that took care of the fuel leak. I also got a new rear tire installed so I've been able to take it out on the road a bit.

Finally got the vacuum part ordered for syncing the carbs. I have also order the coolant hoses that attach to the thermostat housing so that I can bypass the carbs. Not critical, but trying to get the hoses loose proved to be too risky and I'd rather just replace them than risk damaging one and having to wait for the part come in.

As for starting...I found that just barely twisting the throttle resulted in the bike starting much easier. I've upped the idle (so I don't have to touch the throttle) and it starts on the second or third time. So I have a functional bike while I wait for parts.

I also have a slight leak from the clutch master cylinder. 0-rings ordered for that as well.

Slowly but surely getting this bike in shape and enjoy riding it. Thanks again for all the help so far. No doubt I will have more questions before it's done. Like this one...

What do you guys think about this for doing the sync? Seems like the best cost option (over putting something together).

http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/Carbu...mZ390284199293

1K is a really low idle! 12-1300 is where mine is, and that's what the knowledgable people here recommended.

Why do you want to bypass the coolant lines? There is no benefit to be gained by doing it.

I want to bypass the carb lines because they have a slight leak, even after attempting to fix the leak. I've ordered the other hoses to the thermostat housing, so will get that done soon.

Also, by bypassing them I won't have to drain the coolant everytime I pull the carbs, and it seems the carbs are going to need some more work on them before I am done...

Well a leak should be easy to fix and there is no need to drain the coolant to pull the carbs. I never have and have never had any issues what so ever.