cold weather starts?

[niteshade]

it's starting to get chilly here in Chicago, but I'd like to keep riding, at least until there's ice on the ground.  Problem is, bike doesn't like cold, and this morning I couldn't get her started.  Any ideas?

[gsJack]

Bikes become hard starting in cold weather very quickly, if mine have sat unused for more than a few days in the cold they are hard to start.  True of all the bikes I've used year round here in NE Ohio for 23 winters.

I crank them first and if I run it down before it starts I jump it with the car.  Always works if nothing serious is wrong with the bike.  Early last spring and again a couple weeks ago I couldn't get going on cold mornings when the wife was already gone with the car so I pulled the battery and carried it across the street from the garage to the building we live in and put it on the charger for an hour or so.  My garage has no electricity.

When I put the warmed partly charged battery back in it fired up immediately.  Small inconvenience when you need a ride fix. 

As it gets colder out the engine is harder to turn over with cold oil, the gas is less volatile, and the battery puts out less voltage for less time.  Bikes aren't really designed for year round use in the northern parts of the country, paricularly the less expensive ones.

[niteshade]

that helps.  I don't have a car to jump with, but perhaps I can bring my battery indoors for a while to warm it up, then put it in the bike and pop the clutch.  I think I'm going to retire it for the season... if the bike isn't reliable transportation, it's not much use for me, unfortunately.

thanks!

[kml.krk]

try jump starter. you can buy a good one for $30-40

I couldn't start my bike yesterday (after it sat outside for a week - the battery was drained - I have alarm system mounted) so I went home and picked my jump starter. Connected to the battery, full choke, hit start - it turns over few times and nothing...    one more try: and it starts right away. It just needed to suck the fuel into the carbs (remember? I wasn't riding for a week). Disconnect jump starter and let it idle for a while with full choke then half choke for few minutes (yeah - that long)
Then I take it off the drive way, park on the street, go home to leave jump starter, I come back, sit on her, set the mirrors, give some throttle release clutch.... damn cold blooded beeyootch stalked. Angry hit the start button... click, click, click NOTHING - the battery did not charge yet obviously, so I Repeat the process with jump starter except for full choke part and leave 1/3 choke for the first few minutes of ride. Once she warmed up well I had no further problems.

conclusion: Fuel injection would be nice... 

cheers and stay WARM

EDIT:   I have jump starter like this and it works very well:  http://www.batteriesareus.com/images/71910.bmp

[Rema1000]

If you put it on a Battery Tender every night, it should be fine.  It may still take extra time to start, but the battery is warm and fully charged.  If I'm starting it after storage, I use a car battery or "booster" battery.

That reminds me [threadjack]
when I start my GS very cold, I notice that it chugs along for 5-10 seconds, then kills.  Right when it kills, there's a "smack" sound of metal on metal (or maybe a "clunk", or just a really loud click).  Sometimes ignition doesn't kill completely, but there is still that "smack" sound, and the ignition pauses, then resumes.  It's almost like a hiccup, where the engine almost dies, then continues.  It only happens once per cold start. 
[/threadjack]

[mullethunter3]

Wow, I must be a wimp. I live in MO and I've already put the bike in the basement... btw, next bike will definitely have fuel injection. In my short experience, carbs suck.

[calamari]

what is this fruity talk about garaging the gs? 

i'm just getting ready to start riding again!!!  Rain and cold weather is the best (oh yeah, I recall riding a bit during snow season in reno nv last year)

[simon79]

that helps.  I don't have a car to jump with, but perhaps I can bring my battery indoors for a while to warm it up, then put it in the bike and pop the clutch.  I think I'm going to retire it for the season... if the bike isn't reliable transportation, it's not much use for me, unfortunately.

thanks!

This is what East German drivers used to do with their 2-stroke Trabant cars' batteries during winters...They would take the battery out in the evening, keep it warm and safe in the house overnight, and put it back on in the morning.
If there's no handy alternative for the moment, it may work.