hard cold starting

[Trader]

My 88 starts very easily once warmed up but it sure won't first thing in the morning! I HAVE RESORTED TO USING EITHER

Even on warm days I almost kill the battery trying to get it fired up

I've tried lots of choke...no choke...1/2 choke...giving it a twist while cranking... or not...

HELP

 

at this rate I'm going to burn out my starter

 

I a seafoam pretty regularly

[Neil86]

Spark plugs in good shape?

[camos]

I wonder if the choke enrichment circuit is plugged. I had a situation last winter with the Virago where the choke didn't seem to be working very well. I ride all year round so when I occasionally added Seafoam to the tank I would start the bike and leave the choke on for about 10 km so the treated gas would go through the choke system. It seemed to make a difference.

[Venturous Randy]

When you turn the ignition on, are you hearing the clicks of the fuel pump? If you cycle the kill switch on and off, how many times can you cycle it before the pumps slows down to a couple of clicks or stops clicking?

RandyA

[Trader]

The pump is working as it should

 

Plugs might be it. I have done a couple of heavy doses of seafoam

[Venturous Randy]

The pump is working as it should

 

Plugs might be it. I have done a couple of heavy doses of seafoam

 

You may be right, these bikes are real sensitive to plugs. You can get Autolites at Advance Auto for less than $2 a plug and they work good.

RandyA

[Neil86]

Another thing to consider is the state of charge of the battery on your first start of the day.

 

If its not fully recharged from the previous cold cranking episode your ignition voltage while cranking may be getting too low.

[Snaggletooth]

Being a daily rider here in the midwest I had only two things that really caused me fits on cold starts.

 

Poor diaphragm condition and spark plugs. Since I replaced the diaphragms after dealing with new pinholes that took care of that. Fresh plugs every season was the final touch. I would go out on a morning in near zero temps and the bike would start better than most the cars in the area.

 

After adding Dingys TCI upgrade unit, well that was just icing on the cake. It's about was close to "instant on" as it's going to ever be in any temp conditions.

[bongobobny]

There is also the possibility that it is time for a valve adjustment...

[Pete1952]

What is Dingys' TCI upgrade?

[Marcarl]

It should start just fine, hot or cold. Try some new plugs, NGK for my preference, tried others but never had any better luck.

My 85 was developing starting issues, so I rebuilt the carbs. It thanked me in more ways than one. As time goes on the passages in the carbs will become less clean than when new and they weren't designed to be half clean, so clean them up,,, good idea and it gives you something to do. It's not nearly as problematic as you might think. Pretty easy and straight forward.