Running lean with sooty plugs

[badeaslava]

So i put the bike in for storage for the winter, I checked the clearances in the middle of the summer though and bought some shims to get them within spec, they should be good.

On a somewhat unrelated note, maybe someone can shed some light on this issue. My bike seems to start much easier when i do a rolling start than when i use the starter. Why is that? I jump started the bike from my car's batter one time and it just didn't want to fire, while when i roll started it, it fired up much easier. I did have my car running when i was jumping it which i NOW know i'm not supposed to do.

I'm just curious on this issue since i don't understand the mechanism why that should happen.

[Steve]

On a somewhat unrelated note, maybe someone can shed some light on this issue. My bike seems to start much easier when i do a rolling start than when i use the starter. Why is that?

I'm just curious on this issue since i don't understand the mechanism why that should happen.

When you push the starter button, the starter requires a LOT of current from the battery. If the battery is not quite 'up to snuff', there will simply not be enough left over for the coils to fire the plugs. When you bump-start the bike, you do not have the draw of the starter pulling the voltage down in the system. Put a voltmeter across the battery terminals, note the voltage, it should be in the 12.6-12.8 volt range, depending on the type of battery you have. Turn the key ON (but don't do anything else yet), the voltage should stay above 12.0, and will be dropping slowly. Push the starter button, ideally, voltage will not go below 11.0. If it goes below 10.0, it's time for a new battery.

You should also note that with properly-adjusted valves and carbs, it should not take more than one second of button-pushing to get the bike running.

[Grimly]

You should also note that with properly-adjusted valves and carbs, it should not take more than one second of button-pushing to get the bike running.

When mine starts to get near a second to catch, I'll start to look at things to find out why. Immediately after I did the shims and sorted out the carb at that point, it was starting first touch of the button, but has gradually fallen away from that. However, knowing how good it can be, is a useful benchmark.
Latest hassle was a starter with stuck brushes, and the temporary one in there at the moment is a little bit of a slow performer, so totally rebuilt starter is on the cards.
Another thread topic...