How to start without killing the battery!!

[81GS1000L]

Hi All....
Getting soooo close to spring! I have yet to actually ride the bike as i bought it in november, and just put it in the heated garage for its winter sleep. THe previous owner told me that the only problem with it is that it is hard to start after it sits for a while. Have read in the forums it might be misadjusted valves. But, it did start and sounded like it ran great when i looked at it.
Just can't seem to get the right starting method down.
I pull the choke, make sure the fuel cock is in run, hit the starter button. It fires but won't stay running. I continue with the bike teasing me but i ended up killing the battery. When it was warm, there was no issues.
Have read that i start her with the pet cock in prime? Or do i turn the prime on, let it sit for a minute, then turn it to run then hit the starter button? Do i add throttle gas when it fires? Have read that is not the correct method as i should be letting the system start while the choke is pulled.
And, as stupid as it sounds, i sure would like clarification on the pet cock valve. It should be obvious, but just want to be sure. There is a little arrow on the end of valve...that is what i use to point to either the reserve or prime? Or is it opposite? Im assuming the arrow points to the desired location.
If i sound frusterated, it is true....lol.
THe battery is charging, and i want to hear her run again! I know all vehicles have their starting procedures so am anxious to get this one handled.
thx
Rick

[jabberjoe87]

is the battery weak and have no cranking power?

[tkent02]

Half choke, no throttle, petcock to prime for a minute then back to on. Blow a puff of air into both of the float bowl vents, then hit the starter. If you open the throttle at all it disables the choke, leave it alone until the bike is running a little bit.

[TheCafeKid]

Ok, you likely need to adjust the valves. But, to try and be a little more helpfull than that, you should NEVER turn the throttle while trying to start on choke. It basicly cancels the choke out, and if it doesnt catch rather soon, you'll flood it out. Also, the part of the petcock that you grab to turn should face the opposite of prime to be on prime, and vice verse. There, if you look closely, is a little arrow that is often faded out of existance. BTW, have you cleaned the carbs, checked and or replaced the petcock etc on this machine?

Back to the more basic point, hard cold starting is a clear indication of misadjusted valves. Get that taken care of, and do the other basic stuff, should take care of your issues. Not to harp, but trying to skirt around doing this stuff will only frustrate you. Believe me, I know...

[Steve]

OK, I'll toss my in here, too.

Petcock position:
If yours has the little lever (rather than a screwdriver slot), pointing FORWARD is your REServe position. Pointing DOWN is your normal RUN position, pointing BACK is PRIme.

Starting procedure:
If the bike has not been run for quite a while, it might be necessary to move the petcock to PRI for a minute or so to ensure that the float bowls are filled. Every bike has its "sweet spot" for the "choke" knob (lever), but somewhere between half and full "choke", NO throttle, press the START button. When the engine starts, modulate the engine speed with the "choke" knob (lever) to keep it about 2500 rpm or below. If everything is set and adjusted correctly, you should only need to use "choke" long enough to get your helmet and gloves on. By the time you get into second gear, you should be able to turn off the "choke". I put "choke" in quote marks because it does not choke off the intake like car carburetors did, but instead, is an enrichener system. When activated, a plunger is moved, allowing the engine to draw air and extra fuel through the enrichener ports with high vacuum. If you open the throttle at all, there is not enough vacuum to do that, so you nullify its effect.
Although tkent is fond of puffing into his vent tubes, most of us leave those tubes buried wherever they are on the bike. That procedure pressurizes the bowl, forcing a little extra gas into the carb throat, efffectively enrichening the system. If everything else is adjusted properly, this is not necessary.

Maintenance:
Note that in a paragraph above I said "If everything is set and adjusted correctly..." One of the biggest causes of hard starting when cold is ... misadjusted valves. Especially the intake valves. The valves on our bikes tend to get tighter with wear. There is precious little clearance to start with, and as that is used up, the valves will not be closing soon enough to prevent some of the mixture that was just drawn into the cylinder from being forced back into the intake tube and carb. If it makes it past the carb, it can draw a little more fuel into the mix, making it too rich now, then, when the intake valve opens again, it goes through the carb again, picking up a third dose of gas.
With properly adjusted valves, your bike will seem to start with you just thinking about pushing the starter. Yes, the difference is that dramatic.

.

[BassCliff]

Hi,

CLICK HERE for some information I've collected about my petcock and hoses. Maybe it will help.


Thank you for your indulgence,

BassCliff

[chef1366]

Valve clearance is a likely suspect but I've seen a few choke tubes and jets (actually inside the float bowl) become clogged. The choke tube can be cleaned with some fine wire and I had to cook out the choke jet with a torch. It looked like it took a poo.
To see if the choke jet is clogged put the straw from some carb cleaner in the hole inside the float bowl and see if it blows out the hole at the gasket surface.

[Nessism]

If you want your bike to run reliably all the maintenance needs to be up to date. I suggest you start with a full carb tear down and replacement of the O-rings inside and on the intake pipe boots. Cycleorings.com sells kits for very reasonable prices. Short cuts are long cuts when it comes to this type of work so follow the GSR carb rebuild tutorial on the GSR homepage – and don’t skip any steps. While the carbs are off, adjust the valves, clean the air cleaner, and make sure the airbox foam seals are in good shape (replace with weatherstrip foam as needed).

Even if you manage to get the bike to run with out doing these things, it’s just a matter of time before problems set in. Honestly, we need a sticky here at GSR about this stuff. Riding around on a 30 year old motorcycle without doing all the maintenance is Russian roulette so don’t be surprised if you break down on the road some time.