Starting

[MaltaBike]

I'm wondering if you had recently put a different exhaust on it..

I was told by the previous owner that the stock muffler had been changed, but I have no idea what's on it. Can you tell from the above videos?

What a changed muffler need different jets?

[xtrider]

Well that is quite a difference. You exhust was on it all the time you've own it and this starting issue just recently started? Then that's probably not the issue.
I would say something like no gas in the carb till the motor turns over and the vacume sucks it in. Your compression is great so no problems there. My first guess would be no choke working. Can you squirt some gas into the carb( air filter side) just before starting, and see if it starts up quicker? Even some down the plug hole. If it fires right up and then shuts off, you have no usable choke or gas in the carb bowl till the engine turns over for a bit.
I haven't heard any of these motors starting with a e-start but all of my other engines turn over faster than yours did. Can you hook up a car battery to see if the starter is weak and just not cranking fast enough or have another starter to try.

[MaltaBike]

a photo of my baby

This is a beautiful looking machine

[MaltaBike]

Well that is quite a difference. You exhust was on it all the time you've own it and this starting issue just recently started? Then that's probably not the issue.
I would say something like no gas in the carb till the motor turns over and the vacume sucks it in. Your compression is great so no problems there. My first guess would be no choke working. Can you squirt some gas into the carb( air filter side) just before starting, and see if it starts up quicker? Even some down the plug hole. If it fires right up and then shuts off, you have no usable choke or gas in the carb bowl till the engine turns over for a bit.
I haven't heard any of these motors starting with a e-start but all of my other engines turn over faster than yours did. Can you hook up a car battery to see if the starter is weak and just not cranking fast enough or have another starter to try.

Hello XTRIDER,

I am very grateful for your interest in this. You gave me quite a lot of things to check to keep me busy for quite a while , seeing that I'm mostly doing preparations during the week and only get to work on the bike on Saturdays

I will be keeping you posted.

[MaltaBike]

I disassembled the starter motor and cleaned the commutator and brushes. I found a lot of brush dust in the housing.

Since to get the starter motor out you need to remove the carbs, I cleaned them again. There might have been some dirt in one of the jets.

I put it all together again, after about 3 weeks being disassembled and it started after barely 2 secs of cranking.

So that's a good thing, right??

I left it for some more days in the garage and then ... back to not starting immediately

Now I removed the fuel pump from the system ... and seeing its internal condition, I almost suspect it was messing with the vaccuum/fuel mixture at the inlet to the engine. I'll write back in a couple days with an update.

[xtrider]

So you had the carbs out and put them back in (empty of fuel) then it started up in a couple seconds ? Try draining the carbs completely again, let sit , then restart it like you did that time, See if it starts quick again.




.

[AlexD]

I've had this on my bike on two different sets of carbs for years, if I leave the bike for any length of time I have to drain the fuel out of the float bowl before starting. Works every time. I don't know what causes it, I just assumed they all did it!

[steveloomis]

Do you drain the carbs just before starting? Or when you park it?

[xtrider]

I'm going to give this a try with my '89. It starts fine when I ride it steady but when it sits for two weeks it'll take 8-10 kicks.

[AlexD]

I drain it just before starting, I assume the fuel goes off in the float bowl but it could be a air bubble or something similar I suppose.