idling

[shecallsmemuffins]

alright i live in alabama. i have a 2003 katana and the mornings are starting to get a little warmer. but it idles weird until it gets good and warm, i mean like take it down the road a little bit then it idles smoothly. until the engine gets cool again. is this how all bikes are when the engines are cold? this is my first bike so just wondering. thanks

and i would really like to get a set of frame sliders for it also.

[BarMatt80]

someone will chime in and answer your first question. But as far as the frame sliders, it is hard to find ones made specifically for the katana because there really isn't a good place to mount them. Some people will disagree with me and say they are great. Which if it does what they are made to that is great. However I know the traditional spot that people mount them when the bike drops it will tweak/break the frame.

If my memory serves me right about a year ago a fellow kat rider went down. He had frame sliders, and his bike slide and hit a curb, he said the bike would have been fine if it didn't have the sliders because the sliders caught the curb and flipped the bike and ripped the frame where they were mounted. Just my 2 cents. Spend the money on an msf course or book on riding techniques, or gas in the take for riding experience.

[mx916]

My 2000 Kat 750 always runs a little rough till fully warmed up. In cold weather it can take a few miles of riding till it is fully warm, then it is all good!!!

[KatanaSoldier]

She won't run as good cold as she does warm. I wouldn't wirry about it since she runs fine once warmed up.

If you want good frame sliders, PM Braunstein. He makes them and they require no drilling in the frame.

Sliders are not meant to be an unbreakable barrier to your bike, they are merely a deterrent to damage, especially for drops and minor slides. They are a good investment. That drop in the driveway with sliders will cost you nothing but pride but without them, well, scratched emblems, scratched and gouged fenders, broken brake or clutch levers, etc, etc, etc can get costly or timely if you do it yourself.

I recommend getting some.

[The CyberPoet]

Re: idling

03 katana idles weird until it gets good and warm.

There are several factors at work here:

1. Your oil is very thick and cold. Much of the power of the engine when it first starts is going into moving that very thick oil around. Obviously, as the ambient temp increases as summer approaches, this will be less of an issue.

2. The carbs themselves are cold, and as a result, the gasoline they are putting into the air isn't vaporizing as well as it will once the engine's heat gets to the carbs & they are warm. This is another issue that will be lessened as the summer approaches. Using a fuel system cleaner will also help, if there are any dried fuel residues in the smaller passages of the carbs (add 1/3rd bottle of techron at your next fill-up of gas).

3. It sounds like you are riding it a bit too soon after you start it. I suggest you get in the habit of doing the pre-ride check (start the bike, check the tire pressure, tire condition, lights & blinkers, brake fluid levels, brake caliper swipe to clean 'em, chain inspection/lube, then shut it down and check the oil level by the book). The bike can be running while you do everything except the oil level, warming up. Kill it, take the oil level reading, then start it again and it should be a lot less hesitant by that time. The bike's engine will also last a lot longer if you get in the habit of letting run a couple minutes before you pull out for the first time of the day (just like any other gasoline-powered engine).
Having the bike on the centerstand and putting it into 1st gear (so the rear wheel can spin) will help it a bit, because more oil moves around and the rotating wheel acts as part of the flywheel mass.

Cheers,
=-= The CyberPoet