2006 KLR 650, Hard Start in Cold Climate!


terylsdad

Member
Dec 17, 2006
4
0
Hello,

I have a new 2006 KLR 650 that has been having some trouble getting started. I live in ID and the temperature the last few days has been between 15 and 40 degrees depending on the time of day. I just got the bike home the day before yesterday from the dealer and after the bike sat in the garage over night and I tried to start it in 40 degree weather it would not start with full choke, gas on, key on and kill switch on the center ON position. I turned it over for 5-10 seconds and then letting the starter rest and trying to start again with no luck. After approximately 10-15 minutes of trying everything from shutting the fuel off and trying to start the motorcycle with full throttle, to no choke and back to full choke it finally loped along at a slow idle until something engaged and then the RPM'S finally sputtered up to about 1500. I let it warm up for about 10 minutes and when I thought it was warm enough to run without the choke I put it in gear with the clutch fully disengaged and when I put it in first gear it lurched forward and died. I hit the starter button with it back in neutral and it fired right back up. Coincidentally the bike first started right after the kick stand was put up and I thought that maybe the stand switch had something to do with it starting, but after researching the manual I realized that this was not the case. I went for a nice ride and put about 3 miles on it and then parked it back in the garage. It sat over night and the repeat happened, but this time it was 25 degrees out and took about 15-20 minutes to get it started. I thought that maybe this beast is just cold blooded and this is how it's going to be when it's cold outside. So, today rolls around and this time it's even colder, about 15 degrees and I look through the manual again for something I could have missed and found no new additional information about getting it started in cold weather, so I attempted to start it first using full choke and everything on and it cranked and cranked and it finally started after about 25 minutes of trying everything that I had been trying the two days before this. Again, the bike started and just barely loped until about 3-5 seconds later something kicked in and it ran up to a full 1500 RPM'S. Let it heat up and it performed as it should. Shut it down and let it sit for about 1 hour in the 15 degree weather and went out and it started back up after using about half choke to get it going again. I let it warm up and went for another 2 mile ride.

So, my question is what is going on here? Is there something out of adjustment that can be fixed or is this something that is common with the KLR motorcycles in cold climates? Any and all information about this subject will be greatly appreciated. Thank You in Advance!


Regards,
Winn

On another note, I noticed in the manual that it says the headlight should not be staying on with the key in the ON position and should only come on after the bike starts. This is not the case with mine, as soon as you put the key in the ON position so is the headlight. Are you other KLRers having the same experience?

Last thing, is there a schematic that shows what order those tools should go to be able to get the tool case lid shut? LOL! :)
 
Last edited:

76GMC1500

Uhhh...
Oct 19, 2006
2,142
1
Running a lighter oil will make the engine easier for the starter to spin. This may help the bike to start. It will also reduce the tendancy for the engine to stall when you put it in gear the first time. You could also give it a little rev as you click it into gear as most of us have to do.
 

terylsdad

Member
Dec 17, 2006
4
0
Thanks for the good information! This was day 4 and it failed to start all together this time. I only spent about 15-20 minutes before the battery had finally had enough. I adjusted the choke again and looked over everything real good before trying to start the bike, but it wasn't meant to be. I'm taking the bike to the dealer in the morning for them to look at it. It shows a water level for the battery, but I couldn't see anything in there and upon further inspection it looks as if the battery has been leaking some acid. It has some white corrosion at the bottom of the batt and around a few of the screws that hold the batt cover on and has dripped onto the frame and eaten the paint off. While it was cranking, I noticed that it's only cycling at about 100-200 RPM'S, so maybe the battery has been my culprit the whole time and not spinning the starter fast enough to get the beast started. I will post an update as to what I find out from the dealer.
 

terylsdad

Member
Dec 17, 2006
4
0
The bike is at the shop, I spent a little over an hour at the shop today with the mechanic and he hooked up the batt cables directly to a booster batt and it turned over a lot faster than it did before, but it had the same issues and didn't start. He put in a hotter plug and cranked it again and again and still it just would not start. After about the hour mark and the bike had warmed up it finally started so they are going to keep it over night and he was going to call the techies at Kawi and see what they recommend. He is putting a new battery in it and probably leaving the hotter plug in. He said they may recommend putting in some kind of circuit that puts out more juice to the plug if I understood him correctly. I will post updates as I get them. Thanks for all information!
 

apb

Member
Feb 1, 2005
150
0
With temperatures that low, its pretty likely you need richer jets in your carb than what came stock -- especially the pilot jet for starting issues.
 

terylsdad

Member
Dec 17, 2006
4
0
Still waiting on the mechanic to go through the bike and see if there are any real issues with the bike, I'll look into rejetting and see what he has in mind!
 

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