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View Full Version : Stalling in the cold - any advice?


Kinvig
12-12-06, 07:39 AM
Right, it's getting a bit colder in the AM.

Got up this morning, started the bike & left it for 5 mins to warm up, full choke.

Bike seemed fine - but had it idling with choke at about 2-2500.

For some reason my choke even though it's on seems to disengage after having ridden the bike for a short amount of time. Really annoyngi as my bike cut out as I was traversing a junction. Um, I sort of remained calm & hit the ignition button (okay, got the wrong button & hit the horn.....!)

Adjusted my idle to 1500, but in the cold it only got to 1500 idle after I arrived at work.


Any thing I can do, to avoid the engine cutting out again: I don't want to be somewhere dangerous & have it happen again i.e. Traversing the Elephant & Castle!


Kinvig

Baph
12-12-06, 09:40 AM
I know jack about the curvies (it is a curvy you ride isn't it? choke, so I'm guessing), but thoughts:

Carb heaters and carb icing?
Loose low speed jet? Or contaminated (water?) or blocked low speed system?
Enrichment valve not seated/leaking?

If i were you, I'd strip the carbs, clean them, re-seat everything, tighten it all up properly, and see how that fairs you.

Does it definately only happen in the cold, or when the bike's warmed up as well?

Kinvig
12-12-06, 09:45 AM
Ypu curvey - just cold.

Ever since buying the bike I've started it up & used the choke for less than a minute - even in sunmer other wise it would cut out. But I figure that they all do that. But it's only now that it's cold that the little booger wants to stall. When cold the idling speed drops to 1000rpm and it stalls. Once it's warmed up then the idling goes back up to 1500 & stays there.

fizzwheel
12-12-06, 09:49 AM
It might possibly be that your choke cable or the choke plungers on both or one of the carbs is stuck / seized up.

Whats the choke lever like to move, does it move nice and freely or is it stiff and hard to move ?

Kinvig
12-12-06, 10:22 AM
Moves pretty easily - but not loose.

Noticed that if the revs dip i.e. the choke stops choking then sometimes if I rev the engine back up a bit the choke then kicks in again.

fizzwheel
12-12-06, 10:35 AM
I'm not really sure. I'm not expert about this kind of thing. But when I had problems with bad idling a while back they were closely followed by the choke sticking on all the time. Now I've fitted a new choke cable and cleaned and the choke plungers it idles properly and my idling problems have gone away.

The plungers have a little brass barrel that slides in the carb body and on my bike these were seized in the body of the carb and wouldnt slide.

It might be whats causing your problem.

Baph
12-12-06, 10:44 AM
Definately sounds like something is sticking when cold. Giving it some fist seems to temporarily unstick it. (Or that's what I'm reading anyhow).

Kinvig
12-12-06, 10:53 AM
sounds like one for the garage then.

Ta for your input!

fizzwheel
12-12-06, 10:59 AM
TBH with a Haynes Manual and some patience you could probably do it yourself.

If it is this, the screws that hold the choke plungers in though will probably be rusted up and be a total b*stard to get out.

Kinvig
12-12-06, 11:33 AM
so to clarify:

The choke shouldn't just cut out for no reason when I'm on the bike. If I stick it on, it stays on until I turn it off?

fizzwheel
12-12-06, 11:40 AM
It should stay on until you turn it off. It shoudlnt disengage for no reason.

You could have a general carb problem, which is causing the problem. Something like carbs out of balance will effect the way the bike runs. So will gunk in the carbs caused by gone off fuel if its been stood for ages.

Is it much more noticeable on the cold damp morning's we've had recently ? If so it might be carb icing thats causing the bike to run poorly. When I had carb icing last winter it wouldnt idle etc when I stopped at junctions after I'd be ridnig it.

Do you run your bike on supermarket fuel. If so try a tank of Shell Optimax or one of the other decent fuels and see if it runs any better.

Kinvig
12-12-06, 11:47 AM
Had the carbs balanced back in June (2000 miles ago) & I run it on hte cheapest unleaded that Esso has to offer.

Yup, only become apparent on these cold winter mornings!

northwind
12-12-06, 12:04 PM
Does it run alright at other revs? Just that I'd maybe suspect carb icing.

Kinvig
12-12-06, 12:12 PM
Yeah, I think looking at the advice everyone's been giving on here that it's something to do with the choke and/or choke plungers.

The bike runs fine till the revs drop.

When the bike is warm it idles at 1500 (the speed I set it at).

When cold the idle drops anywhere to 1000 at which point it stalls.

The choke should keep the revs up (till the bike is nice & warm) but it's disengaging. So that said, looks like I'm onto the garage to "sort it out".

That bike spends more time at the garage than in my driveway!

Kinvig
12-12-06, 12:52 PM
erm, the bloke down the garage said don't worry about it.

jonboy
12-12-06, 01:06 PM
I'd up the idling speed another 100 or so rpm. Won't do the bike any harm whatsoever, but might help. Try it and see. If it makes no difference then just reduce it again. I always run my bike at 1600 rpm idle, which is faster than most peeps would do, but guess what? It never stalls any more (or at least not without my help :lol: ).


.

fizzwheel
12-12-06, 03:43 PM
erm, the bloke down the garage said don't worry about it.

Well if that was me and my bike, I'd want it sorted out so that it didnt stall at junctions like you say that has potential for some nastyness.

Sounds to me like your choke just isnt working or you are suffering from carb icing. If that mechnic doesnt want your custom, then take your bike somewhere else.

TSM
12-12-06, 03:49 PM
I hardly use the choke, more because i dont want to keep the bike running outside the house, i just start and go. Yep its lumpy but by the time i reach the end of the road its starting to run a little better and i just keep on top of the revs wanting to be around 1000. I dont like riding with the choke on as when you close the throttle and braking, the engine is still being fed fuel and making the bike want to go forwards, in total your braking is messed up. Mabey london is yet not cold enough.

northwind
12-12-06, 04:25 PM
It's pretty cold up here and mine doesn't do that...

Kinvig
12-12-06, 04:36 PM
Out of curiosity - how many rpm do you set the choke to (approx.) when using it?

Duck-man
12-12-06, 04:43 PM
My tickover was a little over 1000rpm but then i have readjusted it so that when warm its at 1500rpm,

When the choke is on fully the bike sits at 3000-4000rpm

Baph
12-12-06, 04:43 PM
Out of curiosity - how many rpm do you set the choke to (approx.) when using it?
I don't have a choke, but my idle (or rather, warm idle) is set to 1200 rpm. Never had even the slightest cough.

Sorry, doesn't help your situation much does it?

jonboy
12-12-06, 05:15 PM
When the choke is on fully the bike sits at 3000-4000rpm

Sounds normal.


.

fizzwheel
12-12-06, 05:18 PM
Out of curiosity - how many rpm do you set the choke to (approx.) when using it?

Anywhere between 3500rpm - 4000rpm range.

northwind
12-12-06, 05:20 PM
I usually choke mine to 3000rpm for a short while- 20 seconds maybe, then I drop it to around 2000 until I reach the bottom of the road, then I turn it off entirely. That's mostly because I don't like leaving it running louder than I need to when I leave in the morning, though.

Kinvig
12-12-06, 05:26 PM
b**ger me, northy is that all????!

I'm thinking of having it on somewhere around 25-3000 for the full 5.5 miles into work next time it's as cold as this morning at 6.30!!!!!

northwind
12-12-06, 06:20 PM
Hmm. Now I think about it, it's possible I'm still rich at idle, I never got round to rechecking that. But not much, if I am. I don't like having the engine push on closed throttle, so I close the choke pretty fast usually.

jonboy
12-12-06, 06:32 PM
95% of the time, I don't even need the choke to start it. I just dab the starter button, it fires, I gradually increase the revs to about 3k for 30 seconds, and then let it idle. By the time I've got my gear on (no, no comments from those that know me :lol: ) it's ready to roll and I ride off.

The choke should only be on for a few seconds, a minute at the most I suggest. Best not to over-use it, as it doesn't do the engine any good.


.

Kinvig
13-12-06, 04:14 PM
FWIW, one of my mates that used t owe an sv many moons ago:

"I've heard of this before. But you should know, you shouldn't be riding with the choke on anyway. Choke is to warm it up, not to ride with. The SV tend to do that in cold weather. I wouldn't worry too much."

Baph
13-12-06, 04:25 PM
As has been said above, it's your bike, and you're ar*e.

If you're worried it's going to dump you in the middle of a busy junction with no power to move, I'd get it looked at pronto. If you're not worried about it, it's not worth the money to get it looked at properly. So are you worried? :P

Your mate is quite right though, should never need to run an engine on the choke, regardless of what's attached to it (SV, Metro, anything). Once warm, no engine should need choke.

Oh the joys of FI systems....