Fixed my bike - but why did it work?

[KnightRider]

Got back from Strasbourg last night, tried to fire up the SV this morning and although it started to fire up it then just went dead on me and refused to start

Think I flooded the engine as I always give her a bit of throttle when starting cause I like the sound of the engine roaring to life!! Whilst feeling a tad sorry for myself - especially as my battery was now barely turning the engine over I remembered that I used to be able to get my old car started when it was flooded by removing the air filter.

I gave that a go and sure enough the old girl fired up as soon as I hit the start button - which was suprising as the battery was not in a good state.

I am now really just wondering why removing the air filter helps. Is it just that it allows the flooded petrol to evaporate or does the better air flow help with combustion?

[Luckypants]

I would think that the time taken to fanny about removing the air filter allowed the flooded petrol to evaporate, thus allowing the bike to start. Normal procedure for a flooded engine is to go get a cup of tea while the excess petrol evaporates......