When it gets close to freezing or below, it is hard to start.
I want to start it once a week to save the battery and the
carbs (use gas Stabilizer btw), but it looks like it will run
my battery down more than help. Why is the bonneville
a hopeless case in cold weather?
If you think about it, the battery on a motorcycle is small and does not have a lot of excess capacity. You are creating a drain on the battery by letting it sit in the cold and when you start it, the headlight and tail light, as well as the starter are eating away at the battery. The first part of the solution is to keep a trickle charger on the battery. This will keep the battery fully charged at least till -15 degrees which it was here last night and I checked the battery.
The trick to starting is no keep your hand off the throttle and have the "choke" pulled out. It will take a few tries but should start eventually. These are cold blooded beasts and take awhile to warm up and start.
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You've never rode until you've been throwed.
My Bonnie starts hard in the freezing weather.
I tried adjusting the fuel mixture screws from 2.5 turns out (stock spec)to 3 turns out.Seemed to improve starting.
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....Confidence in the face of risk ! ....
Most people on here will advise you NOT to start your bike once a week unless you intend to ride it long enough to get the engine (and the oil) up to full operating temperature -- at least 10 or 15 miles. Starting the bike and only running it for a few minutes will leave condensation in the oil that would otherwise get cooked out once the oil's up to temp.
If the bike's going to sit all winter, you'd be better off following the typical winter procedure (oil change, remove battery and put it on a tender, etc).
And by the way, it's not just your Bonneville -- they're all hard to start in cold weather.
--mark
__________________ Bennington Triumph Bash
Bennington, VT May 30-June 1, 2008
Thanks to all who attended!
Do you keep one bullet left for yourself, for when it's all over and done?
Winterize your bike, hook up a battery tender and cover the bike. Running once a week to recharge isn't worth the effort. In addition to the condensation in the tanks, you will have condensation in your pipes if they don't get hot enough. MC batteries do not charge as quickly as car batteries.
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My Bonnie started like a donkey last cold weeks. I changed the plugs 2 days ago. It's a new bike now !
What stupid to change plugs on this bike: almost impossible to find the good length 18mm tube. Finally I had to push the tank back and up (So I need to remove the seats ! 8mm spanner needed !)
Could be the carb heaters,they activate at about 10 degrees celsius.
Never removed the element before but i assume they heat the throats of the carbs, to stop icing ,similar to aeroplanes.
Can you guys that have jetted shed any light on this subject?
:-g
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....Confidence in the face of risk ! ....
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