First Bike! Guess what it is.

[adidasguy]

I only have to use 1/2 choke, then reduce it during the first few minutes of riding. Then it idles nice at 1200. When I first got it, had to use more choke and the idle was set wrong. I adjusted it to about 1500 then the dealer set it back to 1200 on the 600 mile tune-up. Once you get used to your bike, you'll find there is a "sweet spot" for the choke that makes it start every time. Like I said, mine is happy with 1/2 choke but your bike make decide it wants the choke set somewhere else. Everyone gave good advice - CHOKE! Play with it to find what makes your bike happy. Every bike has her own personality and preference for the choke - but you got to choke her to get her going.

[Twism86]

- but you got to choke her to get her going.

No comment 

[LadySerenity]

I love this bike too!    On 7/4 I finished the MSF class.  On 7/9 I purchased this same bike with 1 mile on it. I am now up to 23 miles.  I ride around the neighborhood and have had some of the exact same problems.  I'm with Micheal in that the Owner's Manual responds to reasons for stalling and not attempting to start it after so many failed attempts.  The choke is the key for me.  Admittedly, I find a lot of my stalls may also be due to this user's error (popping the clutch, not in the right gear, and not giving it enough throttle).  In your case, I'm with you - call the dealer.  I'd be curious to know what's really go on!   

I also like the idea of removing the fairings if you are a newbie like me (on the 2nd ride I "gently" dropped mine).


Monica C~
...Be who you are, for those who matter don't mind, and those who mind don't matter -Dr. Seuss.

[Nixorrell]

 

UPDATE: I got the bike rolling fine today and was able to end up with no choke on for a nice idle (without adjusting idle speed)! Put on ~20 miles around my neighborhood and surrounding back roads.

Here's how it went, took two tries:

1) start with full choke -> 4K for about 1 min -> RPMS being finicky after about a minute (no choke adjustment) -> dropped and died after I attempted to drop the choke a tiny bit.
2) Fuel valve to Prime to start it back up -> 4K holding steady; let it sit for a good 2-3 min -> dropped choke some & let it sit at 2-3K for about 2 min; put gear on -> take off -> fun times!

My bike sat at a healthy idle after some riding and never died on me (except for the one stall I pulled at a stop sign ).

Mister's strategy did the trick, so thanks for that! 
Thanks to everyone else for the advice too!

I reckon she just needed extra time to get the life breathed in to her, being new and all. Turning her on proper is one of those personal feel things I'll nail as we spend more time together.

[romulux]

Great to hear!

Don't be afraid to adjust your idle up a bit higher than they spec it at.

The shop manual says to set it at 1200 when hot, but I set mine at 1500 or so.

A lot of people here do the same.


Also, if you feel a little bit mechanically inclined but don't know much about repairing & maintaining your bike, this is a great machine to learn on.  It's pretty simple to do all the work you'll ever need to do.  Oil & filter changes, valve adjustments, tire changes, chain adjustments, bulb replacements.  Lots to do.

You'll save a ton of money on shop bills, too.

[bmcatt]

I'm coming in late on this thread, and it's good that you've figured out the problem. I've got an '09 myself and my approach to getting the bike started is:

• full choke and start the bike up
• put on my jacket, helmet, and gloves - somewhere along the line in here, I'll hear the bike revving up and I'll slowly pull the choke out, keeping it at about 2-3K rpm
• usually, by the time I've gotten all of my gear on and I'm zipped up and strapped on, I can pull the choke the rest of the way out and then get on and I'm good to go

The trick, at least as I've found, is that the bike *really* needs to warm up. I took the MSF course as well and also got the "don't touch the choke here, but you'll probably need it later" speech. Thankfully, I had a really good dealer who made sure I understood everything about getting the bike running, including choking the hell out of it until it can run with the choke off.

[The owner of the dealer also commented that he, at times, has left the choke on and then slowly pulls it off once he's riding, but, being a new rider, I don't feel quite coordinated enough for that yet. So far, from late spring, the time that it takes me to get all my stuff on is enough time, or just about, for the bike to warm up.

[yooblonder]

Watch out for the bike struggling if you leave the choke on when it should be off.  My GS500 doesn't like that at all and lets me know about it.

Glad you've got things working better.  Enjoy the rides.

[Nixorrell]

So this might be worthy of an ultra newb scrub award, or maybe not. 

Turns out the couple of times I did get the bike running I had neglected to notice that the fuel valve was on Prime. The bike will only start and hold idle in Reserve or Prime -- "On" will cause it to run out of fuel shortly after.

So here is the ultra newb scrub part: I talked with one of the people at the dealer on the phone before the sent the driver over to pick up the bike (I talked with them about this on Friday) and he asked if I had filled it up since I got it. I said no (assumed they gave me a full tank, like when you get a car) and that there was standing fuel in the tank.
In retrospect, there is about 1/2 to 3/4 of an inch of standing fuel -- low enough to prevent the bike from running outside of Reserve? I do not know.
See, I know nothing of what a low tank or a full tank looks like. They never went over the bike with me at all, so I know virtually nothing outside of what I gained from personal inspection and what the manual had to say. I was under the assumption that what was in the tank was near to full -- which obviously wasn't the case as it was nowhere near the brim.

I'm hoping it's just a dumb error on my part and it was just low on gas, cause if not then it could be all sorts of fuel-supply-related mechanical issues, etc. and that'd be quite unfavorable.

They just picked up the bike about 20 min ago, so hopefully I'll get a call back today explaining what the issue was.
Honestly, I don't think I should feel bad -- I was never told to go get gas as soon as I got it, or anything about the bike to begin with.

Does this seem like an honest enough mistake to make? I just want to get it back and working proper so I can put some miles on it. It has 16 right now, and that's just plain awful  .

[simon79]

It happens all the time, don't worry. You're just low on gas. Fill up and ride

So when you buy a new car over there, your dealer puts a full tank in?? Sweet!

[Nixorrell]

Got a full tank when I got my Kia at Carmax back in 2003.
Guess hard ol' recession times mean they can only afford to give me a few drops of fuel now. 

EDIT: turns out the bike was indeed low on fuel. *womp womp*
I didn't know what a low tank actually looked like, and being able to see standing fuel in the tank led to believe it wasn't so low it couldn't start outside of Reserve.

Sucks that I the first day I got the bike it had like no fuel in it (hence all the pseudo-issues) and I wasn't told about it and/or to go fill it up.
Oh well, live and learn - time to put some hella miles up on that odometer!

[bmcatt]

I've discovered that if the tank sounds like it's "sloshing" when it goes onto the center stand (or comes off it) - it's time to think about getting gas.

[Toogoofy317]

Your trip meter is your friend. Folks on here get anywhere from 150-200 miles before hitting reserve. Me I have an '04 and get about 165. Start learning where that is and go from there.

Congrats on the new bike!

Mary