Slow Cranking After Warm Up

[KEITH KRAUSE]

Whaddaya mean "we ride"? :x I gotta mow the %#!*$@! lawn! If this light rain would stop.

[Hoomgar]

Well I am back. And that was a good thing the bike needed. A good run to see what is up with it. I put 227 miles on it only stopping for fuel and to use a bathroom at the same time. The bike ran almost flawlessly the whole time although after about 100 miles I am hearing a rattling sound in the top somewhere. Not sure if it is valve rattle, cam chain rattle or just something else loose on the bike somewhere. I couldn't narrow it down. But it didn't seem to affect the performance any. It is right between 3 to 5 grand.

But as stated earlier once warmed up on a long run like this it would not crank at all. I had to push start it so that fuel/bathroom stop was my one and only stop for the entire ride.

I am going to have some diner and let it cool down and then go out again for some more.

Sorry Keith, it is gorgeous here today brother

[argonsagas]

By all means check the commutators.....it is easy to clean them up, just use a bit of 160 emery paper.

If it is continuing to worsen, look for a bad ground wire/cable. I had one of these years ago....it would start OK when cold, but cable was dirty. It would flow ful voltage, but could not deliver the amperage draw once warm, as the connector had swelled a bit, and lost full contact.

[Hoomgar]

I am going to look that over tomorrow morning before I ride Ron. Your the second one to suggest that so it warrants a look for sure.

Thx.

[Anonymous]

Does your starter clutch start to slip after the long pause before it gets turning? When it's really cold out and I have a poor battery in my bike I get the pause. Then it starts to chug a bit and the starter starts to slip and speed up. :? In my case it would probably start if I took the headlight out.

Steve

[Hoomgar]

It cranks great when it is cold and is sluggish when it is hot but it will crank. I don't believe anything is slipping though?

[Anonymous]

Just one thing you should do before taking things apart. Make sure you are getting a good ground to the engine case. If this ground is a little sloppy or corroded, you may get higher resistance when it heats up. Always check grounds first.

[Joe Nardy]

Mark,

Isn't this the same bike that had a broken wire a while back? You might want to take a look in the area you had the break to see if there might be another damaged wire. A wire with some of the strands broken would also cause high resistance that would get worse when hot.

Does this bike allow you to turn the headlight off? If not you might want to add a relay to turn it off during cranking. This gives back 55 watts of power to the electrical system to be used by the starter. This made a noticeable difference on my GS. Also a relay to bypass the ignition switch gave me a full volt increase in the system. I'm not sure if this is an issue on the Kaw but it sure helped my GS.

I had a strange problem on my Hurricane a coouple years ago. It would turn over fairly well but would not start most of the time. It would push start instantly. When it did start using the starter it was right at the instant I let off the starter button. I read somewhere this was common if the battery was a little weak. When cranking the motor the starter dragged the voltage down enough that the ignition would not fire. When the starter button is released the momentum keeps the engine turning over momentarily, the ignition now has enough voltage to fire, and the bike starts. I know you replaced the battery but anything in the electrical system that is bringing your voltage down could cause this.

I think it would be worthwhile to go through and clean and reseat ALL the electrical connectors. I've used a product called Deoxit 5 with good results. Here's a link to buy it online or you can probably find it a local electronics store:

http://www.partsexpress.com/pe/showdetl.cfm?DID=7&PartNumber=341-200

Another thought...if you were to jump it with a car battery would it start? This would give some indication if you are fighting an electrical or fuel system problem. Again, you have replaced the battery but a car battery is obviously stronger and would be a quick easy test.


Good Luck,
Joe

[Hoomgar]

I am going to re-check grounds again. Thx for the tip on the contact cleaner Joe. If I put it on a charger it will crank better but it still sluggish.

[Hoomgar]

I know it seems weird but this problem seems to have just gone away.

I guess I wont worry about it unless it comes back.

[Anonymous]

Hey Hoomgar - what did you do just before it went away?

Did you check all your grounds?

I've got the same issue on my 82 gsx1100.

[pntrdave]

'82 gs750

if you guys figure out the slow starter i'll sure be happy. Bought a new starter, my wallet cried for a week, didn't fix the prob. after a half hour of hard riding it just won't start without an hour or more to cool off. runs great otherwise. and no problems starting .

[Hoomgar]

Hey Hoomgar - what did you do just before it went away?

Did you check all your grounds?

I've got the same issue on my 82 gsx1100.

Warmer weather only. That's all man. It will still crank slower but not like it was. It just fires up. But it is getting back to being hard to start cold again. I think it needs a real good going over so I am riding it the way it is and pushing to get my 1000 back on the road. Then I will tear it down.

[Hoomgar]

Re: '82 gs750

if you guys figure out the slow starter i'll sure be happy. Bought a new starter, my wallet cried for a week, didn't fix the prob. after a half hour of hard riding it just won't start without an hour or more to cool off. runs great otherwise. and no problems starting .

Yours is doing it with a "new" starter? Or is it new to you as in used or refurbished?

[Anonymous]

Ive had the bike about 18 months. As far as I know the starter may be the original one.

It's not that bad though. After stopping for about 5 mins it won't have any problem starting again.

Just need to find the time to work through it

Cheers,
Aaron