Starting your bike?

[donbmw]

On my 82 R65 the choke lever will stay full open, dent in center but will stay any position. On my 80 R65 it does spring back a little in full open but will also stay in any position.

Don

[trolle]

After installing a new rectifier and regulator and the Omega ignition module, there is no need for the choker when the temp. is above 60F. Below 60 the engine starts willingly with the choker at the middle position. At freezing point the choker has to be fully opened, but can be closed after 3/4 mile.

greetings from a north where precepitating is a memory only- 50 days without rain!

trolle

[mikethebike]

My bike sleeps indoors and always starts on first position and will tick over without choke after about twenty seconds. ( Not that I let it tick over )I just ride off and switch choke off after about fifty to a hundred yards.  (I'm a fair weather rider so I can't say about winter conditions!! I'm getting too old to be bothered with all that dressing up malarky!!!)

[drewboid]

Based upon my 1984 R65 - the choke does spring back from the full on position. I use full on when strarting in cold weather. Usually the mid position will work above 60 degrees. Start with the throttle closed and open slightly when the engine fires.  Cold weather - let it spring back to the mid position after the engine starts and wait until it runs smoothly before turning the choke to full off and riding.  YMMV

[nhmaf]

Mine is similar to drewboid's - the choke tries to move itself back to the midpoint somewhat, but doesn't generally make it on its own.
I sometimes give the throttle a little blip when I am moving it the rest of the way to the mid-point - it doesn't usually stall when I am
doing this unless it is cool ( <45 F) out.

[beemer]

Mine is similar to drewboid's - the choke tries to move itself back to the midpoint somewhat, but doesn't generally make it on its own.
I sometimes give the throttle a little blip when I am moving it the rest of the way to the mid-point - it doesn't usually stall when I am
doing this unless it is cool ( <45 F) out.

Ok well youv'e answered my questions about it springing back from the full on position,thanks,i was wondering if mine was faulty,because it wouldn't stay 100% in the full on position,but it seems that's the way they seem to be,thanks to all for the reply's.

[scuba]

It's like you're afraid of choke as like it's going to blow your engine or do something nasty with it. It won't. If needed, give it a choke. If not, don't. Simple as that. Cold engine starves of petrol due to condensation of petrol from mixture in touch with cold walls of intake manifold or ways, or whatever. Choke simply adds a little more petrol to the mixture to overcome said starvation. If you can start totaly cold engine without choke, maybe (certanly) your mixture is bit rich. When engine reaches operating temperature, choke will "choke" it with too much petrol. That's why you have midpoint (mid-choke) for warm-but-not-yet-operating temperature. When riding with mid-choke, go easy on throttle and let engine to warm up slowly.

Cold vehicle needs to warm up gear oil, drive shaft oil, bearings lubricants, tyres, etc. and all that with cold engine. So, start with full choke is ok. Riding with mid-choke is ok. Best way to warm up engine (and vehicle) is by riding it slowly without high revs, for a couple of miles (or km).

Still hot engine should start with full throttle to give it a lot of air (and mixture as well). Our engines are small engines and they loose temperature quickly (as they get hot very fast). Therefore starting luke warm engine with little choke is ok. And best of all, every engine has it's soul. Some needs choke, some needs choke with little throttle, some starts cold and backfire 3 times but only after rain...

 Maybe this will help you and ease your soul in terms of choke.
p.s. operating manuals are usaully for new (baby) engines after 25+ years our bikes have souls of their own.

[beemer]

It's like you're afraid of choke as like it's going to blow your engine or do something nasty with it. It won't. If needed, give it a choke. If not, don't. Simple as that. Cold engine starves of petrol due to condensation of petrol from mixture in touch with cold walls of intake manifold or ways, or whatever. Choke simply adds a little more petrol to the mixture to overcome said starvation. If you can start totaly cold engine without choke, maybe (certanly) your mixture is bit rich. When engine reaches operating temperature, choke will "choke" it with too much petrol. That's why you have midpoint (mid-choke) for warm-but-not-yet-operating temperature. When riding with mid-choke, go easy on throttle and let engine to warm up slowly.

Cold vehicle needs to warm up gear oil, drive shaft oil, bearings lubricants, tyres, etc. and all that with cold engine. So, start with full choke is ok. Riding with mid-choke is ok. Best way to warm up engine (and vehicle) is by riding it slowly without high revs, for a couple of miles (or km).

Still hot engine should start with full throttle to give it a lot of air (and mixture as well). Our engines are small engines and they loose temperature quickly (as they get hot very fast). Therefore starting luke warm engine with little choke is ok. And best of all, every engine has it's soul. Some needs choke, some needs choke with little throttle, some starts cold and backfire 3 times but only after rain...

 Maybe this will help you and ease your soul in terms of choke.
p.s. operating manuals are usaully for new (baby) engines after 25+ years our bikes have souls of their own.

Yes i know all this,just wanted to know the different ways people need to start the bike for different weather conditions,i'm not in the USA,i'm in the UK and the weather is more damp in my area,vastley different then LA!!.

[crazy_dan]

here in northern michigan i've found that when it's cold, full choke and 3 twists on the throttle wait 5 seconds then hit the start button and she fires up first time, every time.  once the weather starts warming up (60 and above),  i don't even really need to choke at all if i use the 3 twist trick.

but i can relate with your beemer, my climate here is a lot like yours during the spring and fall.

[donbmw]

Twisting the throttle before you start does not do anything. These donot have a accelerator pump that puts some fuel in the intake. The choke systems is an enrichement valve that draws fuel in for start. This is a much better than having and butterfly chove that block the carb intake for starting. I had a Honda CX500 1979 that had the butterfly choke, warm weather it would start fine with the choke. But when cold weather below 40° you would think you would run the battery down before it would start. Before I traded it in on my R65 someone came out with add on accel pumps for Honda and other  motorcycles that did not have them.

Here is how I start all my bikes. Turn fuel on (I turn fuel valves off everytime I get off the bike). If they have been setting a day or so this give it time to fill the fuel bowls. Set choke to full open. Push start button. If it start on the first I let it idle with full choke a few seconds then go to half. If the bike does not start the first time as I start again I will crack the throtle. As it idles a few more seconds on half choke I start to take the choke lever to the normal position just to where it will idle but not die.  After I get on and put the back in gear and start moving the choke lever is moved to normal operating position.
I do not like high idle RPM's on a cold engine. This comes from my Aircraft Mechanic training and pilot training. Low RPM's until everything is at normal operating temps. I have tried to carry this on with all motors I use. This is even before you shut a motor off let temps stablize.
 
Don

[crazy_dan]

huh...thats funny, cuz if i don't give it a couple twists, it won't start.

[scottyintex]

I have to use my choke when I first start up...especially in cold weather....if I forget to use the choke, the cycle stumbles and dies. Then it takes several more tries to get it going......even with the choke on. This happens in even warm weather....but it's easier to start up once I put the choke on in warm weather.  
       If I use the choke it usually fires instantly. In warm weather I turn the choke off in about half a block....as soon as I have any kind of speed.  In cold weather I move it back to half choke and leave it there for about 5 blocks............the first stop sign for me. After the bike warms up I don’t need the choke again that day....unless it’s really cold.

[billygoat]

only in the winter for me. Mine starts fine without the choke now that it summer.

[k_enn]

A slightly different starting proceedure works best for me.  Open the petcock (and allow time for the gas to fill the carborator bowls if the bike has sat for more than 12 hours).  With bike in neutral, press the starter button, keeping the throttle closed.  At a moderate pace (approximately 1 second total), move the choke lever from no choke to full choke.  When the engine just starts to catch (which may be less than full choke, depending on ambient conditions), apply a little throttle and the engine starts the rest of the way.  Take the bike off coke as soon as engine is running with the throttle opened a bit.  (Keeping it on choke at this stage causes my engine to die.  Probably need a little adjustment of the carbs).  Ride easy until fully warmed.

In the past, it seemd that each time I adjusted the carbs, I would have to experiment to find the right choke setting for a good start (full choke, half choke, no choke).  It would also be complicated if the bike sat for a couple of hours after a ride -- it may require a different choke setting than what is used when the engine is fully hot or fully cold.  By applying choke while the starter is engage, I pretty much eliminate the trial and error guesswork of where to set the choke at a given time.  

YMMV


k_enn

[Justin B.]

Interesting procedure.  I'll try that next time I'm at the in-between temp range.  Below 70 and my 'R100 starts immediately with full choke and abve 90 with no choke, in-between is always a guessing game...