I made a video which makes things a lot easier.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mKudAKhkXvo

Any ideas?

I'm not mechanically inclined either.  If this were happening to me I would check the following, but again I'm definitly not an expert, just a process of elimination.

Since there's only 7K miles on it there shouldn't be THAT much wear and tear but who knows what the previous owner did to it.

Check your choke cable to make sure it's not stretched and it's being 'choked' all the way
Check your sparkplugs and make sure the cables are firmly attached
Check your air filter
Run Stabilizer through the engine - Sta-bil claims it cleans the carbs.

I also am not sure if checking the float bowl would help.  Mine has 14K miles and I've only balanced the carbs. Never did a float check.

Make sure you start the bike on PRI.With the heat around lately, the carbs can dry out.Starting the bike on PRI(prime) by passes the vacuum operation of the petcock ,and allows fuel to flow to the carbs.If the engine isn't running there is no vacuum to open the diaphragm inside the petcock.

Quote from: kbankovi on August 04, 2011, 09:42:30 AM


Check your choke cable to make sure it's not stretched and it's being 'choked' all the way
Check your sparkplugs and make sure the cables are firmly attached
Check your air filter
Run Stabilizer through the engine - Sta-bil claims it cleans the carbs.

I'll be sure to check the sparkplugs and air-filter. I have a service manual so it should be easy for me. 

Quote from: ben2go on August 04, 2011, 09:46:47 AM
Make sure you start the bike on PRI.With the heat around lately, the carbs can dry out.Starting the bike on PRI(prime) by passes the vacuum operation of the petcock ,and allows fuel to flow to the carbs.If the engine isn't running there is no vacuum to open the diaphragm inside the petcock.

Oh, I thought you had to put it on prime for a few seconds, then put it to on, THEN start. But I'll see if starting with it on prime makes a difference.

Is the starter cranking as fast as it did before you started having this problem? If it's cranking at a lower frequency it could be an electrical problem.

Quote from: paalak on August 04, 2011, 10:25:19 AM
Is the starter cranking as fast as it did before you started having this problem? If it's cranking at a lower frequency it could be an electrical problem.

Not really.

I mean maaaybe a little, but not noticably slow at all.

Also I'll upload a video of it tomorrow.

uploaded (bump)

I've had a similar issue like that it turned out to be a weak battery and replaced it with those tru-gel/scorpion gel batteries.

Tight valves,weak spark,or the petcock isn't flowing fuel.Is the gas fresh and clear?I recently got a tank of fuel and two weeks later it had turned brown and wouldn't run.

I also went with a trugel battery and it fires right up everytime.  The old battery was like yours, took a lot of cranking to start up. I think give the trugel battery a try.  It's a nice upgrade anyways. 

Since we are getting battery responses.I found the Scorpion Battery from battery stuff to be tops.It's an AGM battery.
$54 and free priority shipping.
http://www.batterystuff.com/powersports-batteries/sYT10L-A2.html

At 7k miles it is close for a valve check. Too tight valves = hard cold starting.

Michael

@ramen and ben and anaconda, the previous owner said he put a new battery in although I haven't really looked at it myself but i'll check,

@ben, the gas is 7-11 premium (93) gas. it's worked for me for the 800 miles i've had it so far atleast

@mister, that is definately a possibility, i'll look at that

Also sometimes the choke has a sweet spot when it wants to start. Have you tried it with half choke or 3/4?

Quote from: Twisted on August 08, 2011, 08:01:46 PM
Also sometimes the choke has a sweet spot when it wants to start. Have you tried it with half choke or 3/4?

Does this mean the choke cable (or another choke component?) is adjusted improperly? I definitely have a 'sweet spot' on my choke and really wish I knew how to fix it.

Would a valve adjustment be simple to do? I'm not very mechanically inclined so I don't wanna mess something up.

But I also don't wanna fork over $400 for a shop to do it. Is it complicated?

Here's the valve adjustment video. http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=-2015554469142545363

I tried that battery and I just installed it.

Seems like it cranks a bit faster, but it's still taking 10+ cranks to start.

Is that even normal?

):

Quote from: rayshon on August 09, 2011, 09:29:12 AM
Would a valve adjustment be simple to do? I'm not very mechanically inclined so I don't wanna mess something up.

But I also don't wanna fork over $400 for a shop to do it. Is it complicated?

follow the video that was posted.  If your unsure you can at least check the clearance without adjusting.  Then if it is tight, you'd know which direction to go.  I don't think you could do to much damage by just checking the clearance.  Also, why run premium gas?  Regular unleaded works cheaper.  Too bad the battery didn't help much

Quote from: ramennoodles on August 18, 2011, 05:44:35 PM

Quote from: rayshon on August 09, 2011, 09:29:12 AM
Would a valve adjustment be simple to do? I'm not very mechanically inclined so I don't wanna mess something up.

But I also don't wanna fork over $400 for a shop to do it. Is it complicated?

follow the video that was posted.  If your unsure you can at least check the clearance without adjusting.  Then if it is tight, you'd know which direction to go.  I don't think you could do to much damage by just checking the clearance.  Also, why run premium gas?  Regular unleaded works cheaper.  Too bad the battery didn't help much

Here,the premium fuel doesn't have ethanol/alcohol in it.Low and mid grade can have up to 15%.My bike has running issues on it,so I stick to premium.I could rejet and run the cheaper fuels but it would probably cut down on my mpg.Currently I am in the high 40 mpg and I don't wanna go any lower.I wish the gooberment would let oil refineries produce straight 89 octane without ethanol/alcohol.