1983 won't start cold.

[mkflow]

My bike that I have been working on since last fall won't start after sitting all night without some carb cleaner or starting fluid shot into the airbox, then she fires right up. Have tried everything. The carbs are Vmax carbs that I rejected with stock carb jets. Didn't want to start hot, like it was out of time until I put a new starter on it. Now she'll fire as long as there is a little heat in the motor. Would also like to thank everyone on this site for all the info. Wouldn't be this far without it.

Edited August 4, 2015 by mkflow

[camos]

After re-jetting I would assume you did a sync on the carbs?

There may be an issue with the pilot jet adjustment (base setting 2 1/2 turns out) or the choke/enricher not working properly.

[mkflow]

After re-jetting I would assume you did a sync on the carbs?

There may be an issue with the pilot jet adjustment (base setting 2 1/2 turns out) or the choke/enricher not working properly.

 

Yes I the carbs are synced. Where are the pilot jets?

[camos]

Yes I the carbs are synced. Where are the pilot jets?

I should have said pilot screws rather than pilot jets. The screws actually adjust air flow past the pilot jets. Here is a link to a notated image of the carbs courtesy of Prairiehammer.

 

http://www.venturerider.org/forum/showthread.php?101752-1983-venture-starts-w-choke-wont-idle-past-20-secs&p=906921#post906921

 

The adjustment screw may be hidden behind an anti-tamper plug. These plugs can be removed by drilling a hole then screwing in a wood screw that can be grabbed by some visegrips. The screw head is right behind the plug so when drilling don't go too deep, just enough to get the screw to grab the plug.

[mkflow]

OK. I'll give that a try. Other than the starting problem it seems fine, for a poor bike that sat outside in Michigan on a trailer for 3 years. Thanks.

[camos]

OK. I'll give that a try. Other than the starting problem it seems fine, for a poor bike that sat outside in Michigan on a trailer for 3 years. Thanks.

Since it is so often praised to distraction, I assume you have already tried dosing with Seafoam. Besides the carbs, accumulated gas crud can also affect the operation of the enricher circuit. Anytime you do a gas treatment it is a good idea to exercise the choke leaver to get some cleaning action happening in the enricher. When burning off a tankful of treated gas, leave the choke on for much longer than you normally would. Running on the highway with the choke/enricher engaged won't cause any harm, probably not even poor gas mileage, just remember to take it off when approaching civilization as it will disrupt the bikes idle and may even cause it to stall a hot engine.

 

Just came across a post which might give you something else to consider.

http://www.venturerider.org/forum/showthread.php?104512-Latest-on-my-89VR-tinkering&p=927574#post927574

Edited August 6, 2015 by camos
Added link.

[mkflow]

Yes, I have done the seafoam. These carbs were real clean, supposedly all gone through and came with the bike. Haven't tried adjusting the pilot screws yet as have been working late but did notice the tamper plugs are not there so maybe they are not adjusted right. Have a 3 day weekend this week. We'll find out. Thanks for the input and the link.

[mkflow]

Update. Come to find out it was only running on 2 cylinders. Pulled and cleaned carbs. Man, now it's a rocket.