Odd cold start issue past two days

[Shifty]

2000 Katana, 6000 miles.

I have ridden this bike about 1200 miles in the course of the past month with no problems, and I have the cold start method on this particular bike down to a science. I had never had an issue until yesterday...

I opened the choke to full, started the bike. As the revs came up, I decreased the choke to about 1/4 or less - this usually results in a 2k idle. Well lately the revs are staying up, and if I cut the choke completely, they still don't drop. Now, I obviously went straight for the "lube choke cable" theory (which I'm still going to do), but here's the weird part:

If I shut the bike down and restart it once or twice, idle returns to 1k and runs fine.

Yeah this is probably something stupid, and I did search for about 1/2 hour but didn't see anyone having the same issue. Help a mechanically braindead guy out here.

[DreKat]

Fallow the choke cable from the handle bars to the carbs, its possible that the chock cable is getting hungup on something or it needs a little oil poured down the inside of the cable.

[Psycho1]

you could also look and reach in through the left side fairing and make sure the choke is shutting off completely. The cable pulls the choke slide to the left (out towards the fairing) if the cable is hanging up you should be able to see/feel it. My cable isn't even connected anymore, I just reach in and pull the slide with my finger to start it.

[Shifty]

you could also look and reach in through the left side fairing and make sure the choke is shutting off completely. The cable pulls the choke slide to the left (out towards the fairing) if the cable is hanging up you should be able to see/feel it. My cable isn't even connected anymore, I just reach in and pull the slide with my finger to start it.

Ah great, this is what I was wondering. I wasn't sure if I could get to the linkage without taking a fairing off. I'll check it out before I leave work today and let you know what I find. Thanks guys.

Alright, it does look like the choke is hanging up just a bit. Now the question is, will a new (or better yet, lubed) cable fix this problem or should I do some more exploratory surgery on the choke while I'm in there?

[Enjay386]

My bike is the opposite, if I try to turn it off and restart it before it's ran for a few minutes, it's not starting up again. Hm. I wonder why the Kat's hate the cold SO much. Most people I ride with, with different types of bikes, don't have these sort of issues it seems... or so they say.

[eviilil0ne]

this is the start of my bikes 3rd winter .. and iver never had a problem .. i should prolly get some lube inside though .. since it stays outside and i ride rain or sun

[Shifty]

My bike is the opposite, if I try to turn it off and restart it before it's ran for a few minutes, it's not starting up again. Hm. I wonder why the Kat's hate the cold SO much. Most people I ride with, with different types of bikes, don't have these sort of issues it seems... or so they say.

I hear most carb'd Suzukis are cold-natured for whatever reason. Not sure why though?

[IndyGunner]

My bike is the opposite, if I try to turn it off and restart it before it's ran for a few minutes, it's not starting up again. Hm. I wonder why the Kat's hate the cold SO much. Most people I ride with, with different types of bikes, don't have these sort of issues it seems... or so they say.

Well dear, to keep it simple... carbs have jets that spray gas in an adequate mixture with air which combusts and makes your bike go vroom vroom...

what happens in cold is the fuel sprayed out the jets isnt warm enough to fully atomize so what you get is a sort of 'drip' if you will instead of a 'spray'

thus your kat dosnt wana start until its warm. and thus why every carb engine has a choke.

[The CyberPoet]

Alright, it does look like the choke is hanging up just a bit. Now the question is, will a new (or better yet, lubed) cable fix this problem or should I do some more exploratory surgery on the choke while I'm in there?

Cable is cheap, I have the replacement on my shelf ready to ship, you could have it at your mailbox Thursday or Friday (check your PM's for the quote -- virtually guaranteed to be cheaper than your local dealer and he probably doesn't have any in stock anyway).

I hear most carb'd Suzukis are cold-natured for whatever reason. Not sure why though?

All carb'd bikes that don't have some form of carb-heater built in (yes, Virginia, some manufacturers offered heated-carb bikes) tend to have this same issue when the weather drops too far. The leaner the bike's fueling to start with, the more prevalent the problem. Ed hit the basic reason perfectly -- how well the gas evaporates and atomizes as it enters the venturi formed by the carbs and gets thrown into the in-rushing air.

Cheers,
=-= The CyberPoet

______________________
CyberPoet's KR Specials
Suzuki Stratosphere - 6 Cylinders, the new Katana?
The Best Motorcycle Metal Billet Tire Valves in the World, plus lots of motorcycle & Katana (GSX600F / GSX750F) specific help files.

[md86]

Easy test ,disconnet the cable and operate the slide by hand and see what happens . A wire tie wrapped around the end of is helpful . I went about one year like that .

[legacycycles]

When i bought mine it had a shower hook attached to choke.The cable wound up being froze,all i did was lube it up real good and kept working it back n forth and i finally got it free.I would defintly try lubing first,if thay dosent work replace it.Also dont forget to lube the linkage.

[hardlydangerous]

You should be lubing all the cables at least every couple months anyway.
Invest in a cable luber and wd-40 to free up the sticky cable

[The CyberPoet]

Might also want to read about how routing can damage it in the sheath, here:

http://katriders.com/vb/showthread.php?t=49485

Cheers,
=-= The CyberPoet

______________________
CyberPoet's KR Specials
Suzuki Stratosphere - 6 Cylinders, the new Katana?
The Best Motorcycle Metal Billet Tire Valves in the World, plus lots of motorcycle & Katana (GSX600F / GSX750F) specific help files.

[Enjay386]

Well dear, to keep it simple... carbs have jets that spray gas in an adequate mixture with air which combusts and makes your bike go vroom vroom...

what happens in cold is the fuel sprayed out the jets isnt warm enough to fully atomize so what you get is a sort of 'drip' if you will instead of a 'spray'

thus your kat dosnt wana start until its warm. and thus why every carb engine has a choke.

The phrase "dear" and "keep it simple" didn't sit well with me.

[Shifty]

Might also want to read about how routing can damage it in the sheath, here:

http://katriders.com/vb/showthread.php?t=49485

Thanks for the PM Cyber. If the lube doesn't seem to help I will definitely buy from you.