In the mornings when I'm getting her started up for school, I pull the choke, hit the starter--rpms climb then drop back to 0. There are two ways for me to get it to work: 1, I can keep hitting the starter as as the motor warms up a little it'll idle normally and run.. or 2, I can spray some starting fluid into the air filter and she runs normally.
Once the motor is warmed up, it is fine for the rest of the trip and if it sits for under 2hrs, it'll start up just fine on a little choke (no need for fluid). It seems to only be a problem during cold starts..
What gives? Is my GS a starter fluid addict?
Pig
Have you or the PO changed the pilot jet to a 20 yet. That would help a little I imagine. Aside from that, make sure your air filter, spark plugs, and fuel are all good and I mean quality not quanity in regards to fuel. A can of carb/fuel system cleaner might not be a bad idea either. Hope this helps a little.
I'm not sure what my pilot is, but I should see if I need the 40 jet (pre 2000).. Plugs are new and fuel is fresh (I rode all throughout the winter)--I'll try cleaning the air filter to see if it helps before I mess with the carbs (they scare me)..
You might want to check compression. While not as common on gas motors, diesel motors that get too much ether tend to get cracked rings or worse (cracked pistons), and then they have crummy compression and then they are addicted to ether. You might have some other root cause, but still have low compression that needs ether to get it going until it warms up.
Side note.... When you use starter fluid, do you spray it right into the filter, or are you supposed to pull the filter off, spray the starter fluid into the carb, and put the filter back on? I just bought some but didn't want to spray it directly onto my filter for fear that it would eat through it.
Not every time, but my bike doesn't love to start either. You're getting firing off that first go - are you keeping your throttle cracked (or even held wide open) for a little bit? If I keep the engine going it goes all day, but if I miss that first chance I'm in ether world.
Peace,
syzygy
Your choke circuit is partially blocked on one or both of the carbs.
Or your spark is weak.
Or your plugs are done.
Id bet 1 and 2.
I think the fluid wont hurt the filter. I would just spray it in the filter. You cold rig a hose, so you don't have to remove anything. Kind of ghetto though.
Or, you could take the carbs apart and fix them. Its definitely broken. Rejet while in there. Mine starts from ice cold on the second or third rev and jumps right up to fast idle.
DoD#i: that sounds like some scary stuff dude--I think I'll check compression last and do the simpler stuff first.. If I have low comp--thats pretty much the end of my relationship with this bike (I'm a noob).
Syzgy: I'm not keeping the throttle cracked--but when in the past when I tried keeping it cracked open it didn't make a difference although its worth another try..
tt_four: the starterfluid is sprayed right onto the filter--at least thats how I'm doing it. No eating of the filter yet as far as I can tell.
ohgood: will the choke circuit blockage be fixed with a carb cleaning? My plugs are less than 2k old so I'm not thinkin its the plugs..
johnny ro: I think ultimately I'll need to take the carbs apart and do the rejet for my peace of mind..
I just really really hope its not a compression issue!! Thanks for the input guys! I guess I'll do some research, order up the jets and give it a go.. Its 125 main and 40 pilot right?
I think we need Buddha at this point.