Cold weather starting

[jawntybull]

When it's a "cold" morning here in Sydney (I know, we're not tough like you guys in the northern hemi - cold to us is 5 deg celsius), my bike starts ok but there are a couple of strange things that I would like to check...

If I try to start it in gear with the clutch in (my normal method), the battery can't turn the engine over. If I put it in neutral, it starts fine. When I then put it in gear, I get quite a jolt on the bike.

My guess is that the cold oil between the clutch plates is thick and makes the engine too hard to turn over, so when it's in neutral this is no longer a problem. This would also explain the jolt when I put it in gear. Once I move forward and start it again (I go through my gates, stop the bike, close the gates then start it again) the problem is gone.

Any comments fellow GSers? Is this normal, or does my clutch need adjusting? Could I have oil with the wrong viscosity? (bought the bike two months ago second hand, oil levels are fine, but haven't changed the oil yet myself)

[yamahonkawazuki]

yeah more than likely. id suggest, starting in neutral, and letting her warm up before you put it into gear 

[Cal Price]

Yeah, start in neutral with choke and no accelerator, let the revs build to about 3000 then ease off the choke when the bike responds to a blip on the throttle she is ready - this works well for me around zero and slightly sub zero.

[ben2go]

YEP!You could check your clutch adjustment and clutch cable adjustment.Oils thicker than 10-40 will cause that problem in cold weather.

Here is how to adjust your clutch.Close to the left foot peg,on the engine, there is a small cover held on with 2 phillips head screws.Remove it.There is a flat blade screw with a lock nut.Loosen the lock nut and gently turn the screw until you feel it lightly bottom out.Next,back the screw off 1/4 turn and lock it down with the lock nut.Reinstall the cover.Then adjust your cable at the engine until you have 4mm play in the lever.If the cable is stretched or fraying,you may have to adjust it at the lever.You should be set.

[the mole]

Jawnty, that is normal behaviour (for most bikes, not just GS) but will be worse if the oil is the wrong grade. You could try pushing it a couple of meters in gear with the clutch pulled in, to 'break' the sticky plates apart but hardly worth the bother. It will go into gear easier as it warms up. Its good to make a habit of starting in neutral as there is less drag and therefore less load on the starter and battery.
Its different with a car or a BMW twin as the clutch doesn't run in oil  so its not an issue.

Or move up here!

[jawntybull]

postmortem - I don't like starting in neutral as you get a clunk when you shift into first unless you wait a while for the bike to warm up... so my solution (proven now over several days of around 5 degree morning starts) - park the bike in first gear overnight. In the morning, pull in the clutch and roll the bike forward or back a foot or so - this feels like it lubes the clutch plates and frees everything up - you can then start in first with the clutch pulled in, no problem.

[Eric_in_OR]

+1 for starting in neutral and warming up. I ride in temps down to the high teens with no problems, that would be about 8 below in centigrade. I also use 5w-40, which does seem to make the startups a little smoother in cold temperatures.

[LOUiE]

i ride - unfortunately quite often - in sub 0 temps... (prob pushing -10C) ...

Running 10w40 full synthetic... I start her in neutral and et it warm up for 3-4 mins and I don't get any abnormal 'clunks' when putting it into gear.

(I need to remember this when it comes time to give my boys the 'birds n bees' talk... this post has huge potential  )