it gets cold out, so x doesn't want to start??

My 85 x has generally been a cold starting baby, but as it has gotten colder, it just doesn't want to start at all. I pulled the carbs about a week ago and went through the bottom end of them (I was surprised at the amount of schtuff in the bowls). I bench synch'd them (why won't number three butterfly move at all?) to the best of my ability and put them back on. Bike will not fire. It has spark, and sure as heck smells like it's getting fuel, yet won't fire. It just runs the battery down. My buddies' vs 1400 does the same thing. I am seriously about ready to part the damn thing and be done with it which is ashame because it is a nice bike and I've got a grand into her.

 

The #3 butterfly is not adjustable. It is the static set carb that the other carbs are set to. You adjust it's butterfly opening with the idle screw to get the desired opening for bench syncing and then set all others to it.
I have cold starting problems also with my non-X bike. I do two things that allow it to crank every morning. In just a minute I will go out to the garage and plug the trickle charger into the power outlet which I wired so as to charge the battery. Then I will turn on a small ceramic heater aimed at the engine between the carbs and cylinder head. This heats the intake tract and gives me strong battery to keep a good spark.

 

First make sure that your battery has a good spark. After a few cranks, I can start mine easier push starting it, starts right up that way. Another thing is, make sure that cold start is the only issue. If it is not garaged and gets moisture on it, good luck getting it started til it dries off, if it is an issue, just throw a tarp on it at night. I learned both of these the hard way. Dont have the cold start issue, but have had starting issues due to dew/ battery getting a little drained.

 

Make sure the starting jets are not clogged, they are the ones down in the bottom of the float bowl that are active when you open the choke or enrichment lever. Also, if the pilot jets are too lean or the float level is too low it will make starting difficult. Does it pop and backfire when you are going slow and let off on the throttle? If so you need larger size pilot jets. Be sure there are no leaks in the intake rubber boots and that you are closing the throttle completely when using the choke, it won't work if the throttle is partly open due to the cable sticking or something. Just because you may smell gas doesn't mean it's getting enough into the engine, it might just be a leak in the petcock or one of the carbs.
Lastly get a spark tester and make sure you are getting a good spark on all cylinders. If the spark is weak replace the battery, spark plug wires, caps and coils as necessary to get a good spark. If necessary, get high performance coils from Accel or Dyna and you will always be able to start as long as the battery has enough power to turn the engine over.

 

Mine used to be hard to start, especially when the battery wasn't fully charged. I traced it to a weak set of coils. The tell-tale sysmptom was that it would finally start as I was releasing the starter button. Until I was able to replace the coils, I purchased a set of the iridium spark plaugs. It made a world of difference ! Started right up evey time after that. I did finally get a new set of coils but I'm not going back to the old type plugs

 

well, the carbs are coming back off today, I'm going to check the choke channels (for lack of a better word) and re bench synch them. I believe before this started, that the bike would start just as I let off the starter...

 

For my cold mornings (between -2 and 3* celcius) I realized that on my bike I jsut have to open up the joke, crack the throttle twice, and leave the throttle off and push the button. I don't give it any gas untill it picks up rpm from the 1100 it's doing. THen I turn down the choke so it sits at 2500, rev it a few times, then slowly bring it down to 1500.

But this is possible because my carbs were properly synched by a mechanic.

 

well, a bit more background on this. I left the prime on and changed the oil and filter. I've contacted the local old bike guy and he says that it more than likely needs new plugs, so I am going by tomorrow to get new plugs that fire a bit better too.

 

Art, thanks for the tip on the iridium plugs. I am about to get some new ones to change out my old ones (first time since the PO) and if they will work better as the weather keeps dropping that will help.

Jon

 

I got a plug that fires a bit hotter. The bike will be going back together here soon, if it isn't too cold this weekend...