Choke Issue 1977 GS550

[PAGS550]

bike running excellent...EXCEPT..... Cold start....lift choke lever...no throttle....starts excellent, goes to high idle....then dies...hit starter..wont start....wait about 15 seconds...same thing, goes to high idle then dies..if i try to give it throttle when it starts on choke it stalls..wont stay running on choke and too cold to start without choke.... can leave choke off completely, hit it with a shot of starting spray and it starts right up...and can keep it running with throttle and runs fine.. wat can cause the choke to function well for a brief period then die??

[tkent02]

It's emptying the well it gets it's fuel from would be my guess. The passage to it may be partly blocked. It runs until it uses all of the fuel in the well, then stops, and for some reason it takes time to refill. Could also be something interfering with the float bowl filling up, partial clog somewhere or something. If this was it the engine would probably not like to run wide open for very long, either. I would also guess you haven't done the complete carburetor cleaning that's recommended in Cliff's welcome?

[Dave8338]

Think you're spot on, Tom.

Also, to rule out the petcock starving the bowls, pull the fuel line at carb #2 and see what the flow looks like.

[Steve]

And whatever you do, . . . THROW THE STARTING FLUID AWAY.

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