should you be able to crank the bike without the choke on
in the morning when i get on my bike to go to work i have to choke it for about 5 mins and even when off work i have to choke it for a few mins is that normal
my '01 needs about half choke for 30 seconds to warm up then i put on my gear, turn it off and go.
It's normal for me.
Full choke in the mornings, idles around 3k for a minute, completely shut off choke and ride.
In the afternoon, full choke for about 5 seconds and then when the rpm's go to 4k, turn down the choke a little at a time til about 3.5k, and keep it around 3-3.5k for a minute, shut off the choke and ride home.
unless the engine is hot/warm then yes, it is carbed that is the way they are, if it was EFI then no start and go
MMmm Texas heat. Turn the bike on, clutch in, hit the starter, idle for 10 seconds, good to go.
My wife's 1991 GS500E with 8400 miles on it has no choke cable due to the old one being frozen.
Thus far I've never had problems cranking the bike and letting it warm up for 10 mins or so before heading out. Even in the winter time here it cranked up easily, but I did have to manually hold the revs up for 2-3 minutes before it settled into a nice idle to warm up on its own.
:) I will say that these bikes run like absolute crapola when cold though. :)
Oh yeah and to answer the original question:
Yes the bike should still be able to crank without the choke on, although you may need to hold the gas manually for a bit until the base idle stays solid.
Maybe your base idle is already set too low?