tricky starting
Posted: Sun May 22, 2011 7:19 pm
Hi, Intrepid Listers,
Hoping you can help me with a starting challenge. My trusty '95 KLR used to start and run great. I would engage the choke / enrichner, press the button, and away we'd go. I'd leave the enrichner open about halfway, and the engine would idle at a higher-than-normal speed. If it was cold, I'd leave it there for a few minutes while I'd ride. If not, I'd turn it all the way off and drive away.
When the engine started running roughly, I discovered a hole in the carb diaphragm. I replaced the diaphragm, drilled the slide, and did the 22-cent mod. Once I put everything back together, the engine was difficult to start, and was noticeably slow to return to idle after I released the throttle. I undid the 22 cent mod and fiddled with the pilot screw. This alleviated the slow-return-to-idle problem, but did nothing about the hard starting.
Having owned the bike for two years without checking the valves, I decided perhaps now was as good a time as any to check them. It turned out the exhaust valves were very tight, so I brought them back into spec with different shims. While this was a very satisfying and educational project, it did nothing to help the starting problem.
The way I start the bike now is that I engage the enrichner, press the start button, and when the engine begins to turn over on it's own, immediately turn the enrichner all the way off. If I do it precisely this way, the engine will usually start and run fine. However, if I do it any other way, or fail to back off the enrichner quickly enough, or if it doesn't start the first time, then it won't start at all. After 30 minutes or so, I can come back and try again, and chances are it will roar to life as long as I follow the procedure.
Any ideas as to what's going on and how I can fix it? The weather here in Oklahoma is beautiful right now, and I'm eager to go exploring. Thanks in advance for your help!
Kevin