cold start trouble

[montmil]

Here's the link I have you, if ever needed:

http://www.euromotoelectrics.com/category-s/47.htm

Good source for BMW bits.

[Dizerens5]

Here's a curious sideline. My 79 used to start and run up instantly with no choke at all, even in cold weather. And fuel consumption was slightly high. After a couple of years I cleaned out the flat-top carbs and found that a PO (it's always a PO, isn't it?) had bent down the float tabs which raise the needle on both. So raising the fuel level in the float bowls. I fitted new floats, pivots and needles - result better fuel consumption but starting rather like aarm's complaint. The engine will start quickly but only with idle screws about 2 turns out, and will not run up for about 30 seconds - before that, opening the throttle causes it to die. On the road, it's fine. I suppose the PO was worried about starting.

[Dizerens5]

~By the way I was in Galveston, Texas last week. Good to see quite a few bikes around. Not so good that they were all Harley-Davies, real or fake. No BMs.

[Barry]

Shame our Bings don't have old fashioned ticklers so we could flood the carbs simulating constellations high fuel level. Except for the smelly finger syndrome it wasn't a bad way of providing enrichment that automatically reduced it's effect once the bike was under way.

There are a couple of things I do in intermediate conditions when full choke is too much but the temperature is cool enough to need some enrichment:-

I turn the fuel on before taking the bike off the centre stand. I figure the floats have some inertia and have got to bounce when the bike hits the ground and let in a little extra fuel which will raise the level slightly.  It's a small thing but it does seem to help. Perhaps because it ensures that any evaporation losses from the bike being stood are made up.  If you think about it the floats can't possibly maintain the same level in the float bowl when it's stood still as when it's bouncing down the road. So you could have a slightly low level due to evaporation losses without the floats letting in any more fuel.

Another technique is to apply full choke and just fleetingly press the start button. This will pull some extra fuel through the carbs. I then turn the choke off and start as normal.

[Dizerens5]

Right Barry, the Amal tickler was one of the few features of the old Brit bikes that I still miss badly. It was a simple, brilliant starting aid and it meant that with all my old old Brits (1956 on) I never once had to use the choke for starting. (We called it the air slide.) A quick push on the tickler did it all, and no need to turn it off.

[montmil]

~By the way I was in Galveston, Texas last week. Good to see quite a few bikes around. Not so good that they were all Harley-Davies, real or fake. No BMs.

Wish I knew about your trip. Got a good motorcycle friend -former resident of my village- in Galveston I could've hooked you up with. Knows plenty of good eating joints that aren't so tourist pricey.

You have family on the island?

[Dizerens5]

Close by. My brother-in-law, retired process engineer in oil industry, lives in Houston. He has a daughter lives with her family in Austin and they just bought a small house in Galveston, 2 mins. walk from Seawall. Holiday home, or maybe for rental, they don't know yet. But went there with the whole crowd for 3 days. It was very warm at that time! House still almost empty, lot of sleeping on airbeds etc. If you know the city, it's on Avenue T.

[Dizerens5]

Quite a hike to get to Texas. Houston is a 9-hour flight from London. Squished into economy class seat apparently designed for midgets, and I'm 6 ft 4 ins.