Another little trick I learned from an old-time 4 stroker is to take the plug out and heat it up real good with a bic lighter. This helps keep the gas from depositing right away on the cold plug. It helped a lot with a tempermental YZ250F my son's friend had.
I hate my 450
- Thread starter jboomer
- Start date
OHIOMOTOXER
Member
- May 9, 2002
- 22
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I have friends that have the same problem with cold starting the CRf's. No one had addressed the issue of going richer on the slow jet, and richer on the fuel screw.
These things are super lean in that respect (especially if an aftermarket pipe is added) and going fatter will make life easier.
Winter climate fuel just plain SUCKS, going to a "race" fuel will at least do this for you: no methanol or other "winter" additives will be present.
The cost of the race fuel will FAR outweigh the time spent on kicking, driving to ride and no start AND the consistent fuel quality will make life inside the engine more happy.
We fattened them up and starting (especially dead engine hare scramble starts) are MUCH easier.
Hope this helps your situation.
These things are super lean in that respect (especially if an aftermarket pipe is added) and going fatter will make life easier.
Winter climate fuel just plain SUCKS, going to a "race" fuel will at least do this for you: no methanol or other "winter" additives will be present.
The cost of the race fuel will FAR outweigh the time spent on kicking, driving to ride and no start AND the consistent fuel quality will make life inside the engine more happy.
We fattened them up and starting (especially dead engine hare scramble starts) are MUCH easier.
Hope this helps your situation.
onetrack386
Member
- Mar 3, 2004
- 7
- 0
When you think it's flooded, turn the fuel petcock to off, then kick her over a few times and wait about a minute. Bring it up to compression, just like with the manual decompression bikes, and then kick it over. Make sure to bring it to compression each time you kick it when cold starting. These bikes, even though they have an automatic compression release do not like to be started like two-strokes. Also, make sure NOT to twist the throttle when starting the bike, that will just make the flooding worse.
I am wondering if the low compression during starting (due to the auto decompressor) makes these bikes very picky on fuel condition. If the fuel doesn't vaporize enough, the fuel will be in liquid form, make the plug wet and possibly fouled but the bike won't start. Any thoughts on this? Am I full of it?
If the fuel in the carb of my XR650L is stale, I can crank until the battery is dead and it won't start. Either a whiff of starting fluid or better yet draining the carb and letting fresh fuel in will prompt it to start immediately. This only happens in the winter time if the bike sits over a month or so.
Remember, a wet plug means it's getting gas but not neccessarilly in a form that will allow the engine to start.
In my opinion, some of the procedures mentioned in this thread such as running the gas out or draining out the float bowl just shouldn't be required on a modern $6000 bike! Something is not right.
The float level on my latest Honda 2 stroke was too high from the factory, my first clue was the way the fuel would dribble out a bit even when the bike was almost upright.
If the fuel in the carb of my XR650L is stale, I can crank until the battery is dead and it won't start. Either a whiff of starting fluid or better yet draining the carb and letting fresh fuel in will prompt it to start immediately. This only happens in the winter time if the bike sits over a month or so.
Remember, a wet plug means it's getting gas but not neccessarilly in a form that will allow the engine to start.
In my opinion, some of the procedures mentioned in this thread such as running the gas out or draining out the float bowl just shouldn't be required on a modern $6000 bike! Something is not right.
The float level on my latest Honda 2 stroke was too high from the factory, my first clue was the way the fuel would dribble out a bit even when the bike was almost upright.
i had this same problem a once, i swear i kicked for an hour straight. it came to be the plug. i was able to clean it but if you have a crack in the porceline it will not get hot enough to burn. and this can happen at anytime! id replace the plug its like 6bux.
-adam
-adam
id replace the plug its like 6bux.
-adam[/QUOTE]
I would replace the plug. It happened to me. At first I took it out and used a knife to scrape it... I then heated it with a lighter and put it back in wouldnt you know it started first kick this was after trying for half an hour or more... I then replaced the plug next ride but they are more like 11 or 12 bucks....
-adam[/QUOTE]
I would replace the plug. It happened to me. At first I took it out and used a knife to scrape it... I then heated it with a lighter and put it back in wouldnt you know it started first kick this was after trying for half an hour or more... I then replaced the plug next ride but they are more like 11 or 12 bucks....
KWJams
~SPONSOR~
- Sep 22, 2000
- 1,167
- 4
Not sure if this has been mentioned yet or not, but I learned over the years of riding Triumphs that the best drill for starting a 4 Stroke is kick over dry 4-5 times.
With the throttle open -- gas off -- kick it over -- 4-5 times to clean out the cylinders. Turn gas on tickle the Amals (that is Brit-Bike speak) find top dead center -- kick strong and keep kick starter down at the end of the stroke. Not sure if that does anything but it always seemed to help if I do not let the kicker recoil back up to the top. :thumb:
With the throttle open -- gas off -- kick it over -- 4-5 times to clean out the cylinders. Turn gas on tickle the Amals (that is Brit-Bike speak) find top dead center -- kick strong and keep kick starter down at the end of the stroke. Not sure if that does anything but it always seemed to help if I do not let the kicker recoil back up to the top. :thumb:
This may sound like a smart A$$ remark but try a different leg. I've seen guys kick for what seems like and hour only to have the next guy who swings a leg over it start it on the first try. I do advise grabbing the throttle housing and not the grip when starting. Always try to find TDC and nudge past it. You have to spin that crank around twice to get it lit. Don't slap at the lever either, steady pressure all the way through until the lever hits the footpeg. I see so many with troubles starting a bike that I can walk up to and fire in 2~3 kicks. Just because it has an automatic decompression release doesn't mean you don't have to follow the 4 stroke starting drills, especially when cold.
dirty_dangler
Member
- Mar 15, 2004
- 3
- 0
I promise u its the pilot screw, located on the bottom of the carb. I had the same prob
pmccormick
Member
- Mar 4, 2004
- 16
- 0
for what it's worth, when I have difficulty, often I will turn the gas off, lean the bike over enough to let the carb completely drain/empty out the vent hoses, right the bike, turn on the gas and start kicking/hit the button. 9 times out of 10 it starts right up
Mine wouldn`t start after about 30 min. of kicking ,so I pulled the plug ,drained the fuel etc.and still no go..so I did it all again , and it worked .. for awhile. Upon inspection I noticed little brown spots on the spark plug lead and the top of the cylinder, apparantly it was arcing through intermittently.The tank was squishing it down, so I wrapped the lead with electricians tape ,re-routed the lead and zip tied it in place and it has run great since.
while kicking don't hold on to the throttle instead hold on to the master cyl,handlebars area so you won't twist the throttle while kicking .........belive me it works... some times you dont think you are twisting the throttle while kicking but it moves just a little and in the cold when its hard to start and it needs a few kicks if you twist it a few times too many by mistake while kicking good luck starting lol
CRF450Rccrider
Member
- Apr 24, 2004
- 93
- 0
My CRF450 is the same way but i thought of somthing the other dsay when i went to start it....hey the engine might just be really cold so i went and got my mom hair dryer and heated the engine up a little bit on both sides of the bike and it started in like 4 kicks...................i dont know if it was luck or what but it seemed to work
I'll throw in 2 cents and I think somebody may have mentioned it already. On all my XRs, if it was real cold or the engine was real cold I should say, I had to turn up the idle for it to start while kicking it and then turn it down after it was up to temp. With the choke in and after you lean the bike over to get some gas in there (or squirt it with the throttle) it might start more easily. I can't explain the physics or chemistry behind it, but I could kick all day and the things wouldn't start or stay running unless the idle was way high.
tony91
~SPONSOR~
- Jan 30, 2002
- 493
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When my buddy first got his CRF, he would wear himself out kicking that thing when it was cold. I would end up kicking it too. :pissed: A guy in our club suggested putting our hand on the master cylinder when we were kicking it. He hasn't had a problem since.
Stories like these make me love my 2-stroke.....that much more. :nener: :moon:
Stories like these make me love my 2-stroke.....that much more. :nener: :moon:
- Thread starter
- #45
Wow, this post is almost a year old! Well, a year later, I don't dislike anymore. The bike has been real good to me (except for the problems I had mentioned earlier in this post). No mechanical issues and just a couple quality control problems, but nothing too serious. Fortunately I haven't had this starting problem again since last year, so either it has "magically" repaired itself, I have altered my drill ever so slightly, or I haven't ridden near as much as then (which is very possible). Anyway, thanks for the replies and hopefully (knock on wood) these starting issues won't rear their ugly heads again!
