using choke too long is bad?

I was just talking with my co-workers and one of them said that using the choke for too long is bad for the bike. Is that true?

I usually have to choke the bike in the morning and I leave it choked while I put on my helmet, gloves, glasses etc. Mabye 2-3 minutes total. Is that a bad idea? Should I be turning down the choke asap?

mikeg

 

On our bikes, as far as I understand it, the only thing you're risking running w/ the 'choke' on is fouling your plugs from too rich a mixture.

Now, with a "regular" choke, I honestly don't know.

 

Although on our bikes it's not a real "choke" but a fuel enrichment circuit in the carbs, the effect is the same -- pushing up the fuel to air mix for more fuel.

2-3 minutes isn't doing any harm, especially if it's cool out. The general rule is that if the bike responds to throttle normally, you don't need the 'choke' anymore. Much longer than that and you're just going to foul plugs.

 

My general routine is the same as yours; fire up the bike; get "situated" with jacket/helmet/gloves, constantly turning the choke down a bit every few seconds so the motor doesn't over-rev cold; and then ride away once ready. On a cold morning it may take a few blocks to respond to throttle without choke; warmer days it's ready almost immediately.

 

Your coworkers are correct, using a choke for too long is bad. The over-rich mixture tends to wash the cylinder walls of lubricating oil and this leads to galling.
However, using it for cold start-up is not a bad thing. Once the bike reaches operating temperatures (should be 3 to 5 minutes depending upon ambient temperature), secure the choke.

 

So, now I have a question, once the bike is warmed up, should the choke lever be pushed all the way over to the right or shoud it be somewhere in the middle? My bike only idles when the choke is in the middle position.

 

Noffy, You have aclassic case of dirty carbs. Your pilot circuits are plugged. Time to clean up those carbs and make it run right.