cold natured trike

[hedge1988]

do any of you guys have trouble getting your bikes to run when its cold. I choke my 200m anf crank and crank and crank still doesnt want to start even try push starting it to no avail. but when the temp hits the high 40's it starts up pretty easy its got me bumfuzzled. thing im gonna rebuild the carb.maybe

[yamahaman89]

I have a little trouble with my 200x. So i spray a dab of ethor not alot i know its good for the valves. Then she will usally start right up.

[hedge1988]

I tried that maybe its not got enough compression ??? I dont know Im mechanically challenged lol

[yamahaman89]

hows the plug

[MTS]

try running a thiner weight of oil like 5w40

[hedge1988]

cleaned and regapped it bout a month ago should be good

[yamahaman89]

and put some heet in trailprotrailpro gas maybe trailprotrailpro gas line froze

[hedge1988]

ill try it I used to have a big red 200e and i dont ever remember having this much trouble starting it. of course that was in 87 lol

[rob0781]

My 185 usually runs like a champ and after reading this post i decided to go try and start it since i am trying to sell it,the thing is hard as heck to pull over and it won't start,not good my luck someones gonna call to see it now ..lol i'm gonna buy some heet at canadian tire this afternoon that should help i hope..

[hrc85250r]

my 250r can be a s.o.b., you have to be really careful with the choke when its really cold or you will easily foul a plug.....i used ether before, but i dont like to, ive seen to many stupid things happen with ether....the easiest way is to throw a salamander in the garage(if it isnt heated)along with the trike, let it warm up, and it should fire right up....also check your float bowl for any ice buildup......

[rob0781]

i know why mine won't start it's -20C here -30C with the wind and my trike is in an unheated ,uninsulated shed,my car doesn't even wanna start i have to cranck it 10 times before it runs...

[raptor]

i have the same problem. mines left outside covered as i have no shed. so the cold gets to it. im sweating before i get it started its that hard. i get hot water and soak the engine. then it starts after a few more kicks. i almost give up my leg aches that much and with boots on its a pain in the ass as it weighs your foot down!

i hold brake and clutch in when kicking over. sometimes i dont hold the clutch in. dunno. people have different ways! i can bumb it from cold but on your own its pretty useless haha :D:D:D

[Quickonstep]

hahahahaha


i have the same problem. mines left outside covered as i have no shed. so the cold gets to it. im sweating before i get it started its that hard. i get hot water and soak the engine. then it starts after a few more kicks. i almost give up my leg aches that much and with boots on its a pain in the ass as it weighs your foot down!

i hold brake and clutch in when kicking over. sometimes i dont hold the clutch in. dunno. people have different ways! i can bumb it from cold but on your own its pretty useless haha

You do realize that hot water freezes WAY faster than cold water, and by throwing hot water on your COLD head/cylinder/motor will cause quite a bit of damage...


I lived in texas in 92/93 and there was a freeze down there.. i was used to it being from virginia, but those goofy texans man.. i watched the neighbor pull that stunt... they took a pail of hot water, threw it on there windshiled of there car to "defrost it" needless to say, not only did they miss work that day, they had to buy a new windshield lol

Jesse

[raptor]

:eek: :eek: :eek: :eek: :eek: :eek:

thanks jesse! i never done good at school to know this lol :( guess ill stop doing what i do! and get a heater and stick it infront of my engine for 20-30 mins to heat up!

[hedge1988]

sounds like im not alone on my problem i guess its maybe just the price of riding 20 year ild machines lol. but i love my bike i guess ill have to live with it

[raptor]

I think theres ways around it. something to do with compression or something else. so you can get it started easy. im going to have to search the site!

think of the lucky ones with pull start and electric start!

[bigredhead]

God bless electric start !!!! LOL...

My SX needs to be left at idle for a long time before i can totally remove choke and ride it.. otherwise it will stall.

My 82 200 amazes me every time.. i fire it up once a week for the hell of it and BROMM. weird.

I cringed at the thought of water poured on a cold engine... just the fact that you are soaking it and creating ice all over it......... stick with the heater idea !!!!!

Anyone ever try a hairblower on the carb for a few minutes ? been wanting to try that some day.

thiner oil helps !!! big time ! 10w40 in cold weather is realllly thick !

[foster]

I'm sure it's quite likely that tossing hot water on a frozen engine ain't a good idea. I
'm absolutely sure, however, that hot water doesn't freeze faster than cold water.
Just for the record.
:)

[bigredhead]

I'm sure it's quite likely that tossing hot water on a frozen engine ain't a good idea. I
'm absolutely sure, however, that hot water doesn't freeze faster than cold water.
Just for the record.
:)

I agree. old wives tale.

Hot water has to loose it's heat energy, to the point of freezing.

Cold water has less energy/heat than hot water and will freeze faster !

[rob0781]

I've actually heard of hot water freezing quicker then cold in sub zero temps too may be true,have to take a glass of cold and hot water and check them in the freezer if ya wanna know for sure..

[raptor]

lol a school lession for me!
so if i run a less synthetic oil say 5w40. it wont damage anything?

[bigredhead]

http://www.straightdope.com/classics/a2_098b

interesting.

[raptor]

hmmmm very... science is a weird art



Fascinating as all this no doubt is, all it basically proves is that very hot water freezes more slowly than very VERY hot water. The ordinary fumbler in the fridge, on the other hand, is dealing with temps more like the ones I was measuring, in which case cold freezes faster than hot. I rest my case.

[hedge1988]

heck i have electric start and a pull rope and still catch hell when its cold im gonna try heating my shop see if that helps

[bigredhead]

An option ( had to do this to my snow blower a few days ago. )

remove the plug. and if it's bone dry,, take a straw, dip it in the gas tank, and put your thumb on the end.. put a few DROPS of gas directly in the cylinder, and put the plug back on.

Usually enough to make it come to life !!

if the plug is wet tho.. it's simply fouled.

[Quickonstep]

the 225 is a serious pain in the trailprotrailprotrailprotrailprotrailpro to start.. if i want to go riding and there is snow on the ground, i need a GOOD 45 minutes to an hour before i can go out riding.. becuase thats how long its gonna take me to get it running and go out...

the carb needs rebuilt.. and i am going to bet thats what 99% of yalls problems are.. or some form of jetting issue..

Jesse

[raptor]

will them kits on ebay work? the carb rebuild kits. come with a few seals and misc screws etc.

[rob0781]

hahaha i guess the cold does freeze first,hey "G" it's easier to suck the gas into your mouth and spit it into the plug hole,keeps your mouth fellin fresh all day... :)

[bigredhead]

I imagine one could " Winter Tune " a carb.

Bring the idle a bit higher and richen up the air/fuel mix a bit.

will have to experiment !!!

[Quickonstep]

i know mine needs a rebuild.. but im just too lazy to mess with it.. i dont ride that often.. about 2 hours a week tops.. so it doesnt bother me that much.. and when its warm, its nothing to start..

i know what will fix it.. sending your parts to me to powdercoat.. HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAH

god what a shamless plug that was

Jesse

[HaggLE]

Admitedly we dont get freezing temperatures in Newcastle Australia but dead of winter or middle of summer my engine is a dream to start. Its a 200S motor with an XL185 bike carb and a Uni filter. No choke, no throttle, pull it onto compression and then pull. Just like the honda advertisments "first time, everytime".

[twgranger]

My Z is hard to start sometimes when it is real cold too. I don't either bother riding it now because the snow is to deep.

[hedge1988]

well this thread has given me some very interesting options to think about. or maybe ill just day dream about a brand new three wheeler lol somthing you cant even get anymore.

[hotroddal]

well i think most trikes that are in cold garges or left autside during wintertime will be a little bit stuborn to start sometimes, i just rebuilt the entire trannsmition and top end(auto x) and carb, new valves, piston rings, gaskets, valve guides, rockers, valve springs, valve keepers, cam chain cam tentioners and the only thing i didnt replace in it was the cam, i got all these parts from one of my dad friends, this guy owns a honda atv shop and use to have honda trikes back then and had these parts on a shelff in the back room and we got a good deal for all the parts $150 for all of it, its was just luck cuz i needed a new chain and asked if he new anyone in the area who had old honda trike parts for sale and he just said hang on for a second and he came back out with a bunch of parts for a honda 200 1983(just my luck right parts and right year), and when I got the engine back together it was a few months ago, and then winter started and it would start on the 1st pull evrytime in the summertime but once winter cam strolling around the corner and it got below zero degreese outside it just wouldnt start worth a dam so then i just decided to heat it up for a while so i put a heater resting on the footpeg for about a half hour and vwala it started up on like 2 pulls so i think alot of the trikes that are out in cold will not start up right on the first try maybee a few tries, so even with a rbuild engine it just doesnt start good unless i put heat on it in the cold.

[1985 200s]

I don't have a clue as to why, but my 86 125m fires up effortlessly. I go out, stick the key in, push throttle down completely once and release then hold it on very slightly, hit the start button and vroom. It doesn't even roll a complete revolution and it fires right up. Hold the position of throttle about 1 min release and she purrs like a kitten. All this without even choking it and started it like this several times over the last week at -10 0 and +10 degrees farenheight. I hope I didn't jinx myself and hope I can get the rest starting like that. The rest being the 83 200e big red, 84 ytm225dx, 85 200s, and the (whispers) 84 trx200.

[jenndnn3]

I am curious, What is wrong with a cheap ole can of ethor/quickstart?

[bigredhead]

Ether is extreemely explosif, a little is ok, but if one was to overdo it, or have a spark ignite it outside the cylinder.. i would'nt want to be holding the can !!

[jenndnn3]

LOL Tell me how are you starting your trike with the can of quickstart still spraying? I must know about this?

[bigredhead]

You'd be amazed at what some people will do !!! LOL......

[Tri-Z Pilot]

My Z is hard to start sometimes when it is real cold too. I don't either bother riding it now because the snow is to deep.
Yeah mine takes a while to get going (something with the fuel pump), after about 20 kicks, it will start right up,good thing too, cause i'm usually out of breath,(cigarrettes).

[raptor]

if you spray that start stuff. the engine will depend on it all the time then you will have another problem

[bigredhead]

not that it will " depend " on it.

but on a 2 stroke it will tend to effect the lubrication of the cylinder, breaks down the oil. Cold start and no lube = wear.

not sure it's such a big deal on a 4 stroke tho

[raptor]

i was close..... :D

[Tri-Z Pilot]

if you spray that start stuff. the engine will depend on it all the time then you will have another problem
No, I have seen this before, it was in my diesel repair tech class, it was an old ford (I think) 555B backhoe. The thing was very stubborn and always took ether to wake it up, and the teacher said that the engine got addicted to it, go figure.

[almac16]

...as I didn't read the whole post but my 86 SX is really hard to start in the cold. I have found a trick that gets it going real fast.

I take the air cover off. Remove the air filter and put my hand over the air intake blocking off as much air going to the engine as possible. This seems to cause the engine to suck up the gas in which it always starts right up. MIght only be a trick to my bike but it works everytime.

Give it a shot.....

(Of course as soon as it fires remove your hand so it will stay going and beware that you might suck alot of gas into the carb and it will come out into your airbox on occassion, but alas the bike is running).

[Tri-Z Pilot]

...as I didn't read the whole post but my 86 SX is really hard to start in the cold. I have found a trick that gets it going real fast.

I take the air cover off. Remove the air filter and put my hand over the air intake blocking off as much air going to the engine as possible. This seems to cause the engine to suck up the gas in which it always starts right up. MIght only be a trick to my bike but it works everytime.

Give it a shot.....

(Of course as soon as it fires remove your hand so it will stay going and beware that you might suck alot of gas into the carb and it will come out into your airbox on occassion, but alas the bike is running).
I think you have a problem with your choke, when you put your hand over the intake, you are decreasing the airflow, thus richening your fuel to air mixture creating a "choke" effect.

[bigredhead]

I don't think you'r choke is working.

cuz by putting you hand over the air intake.. that's what youre doing. " Choking It "

[almac16]

You guys are right....... I forgot to mention, I have no choke! ha ha

It's been a long day....

[HaggLE]

I was thinking about this post yesterday and came up with a suggestion. Have any of you thought of running a hotter plug? If you normally run an 8 run a 7 (in NGK) you might find that it will start easier at colder temperatures and your engine will warm up quicker. This will cause your engine to run at a hotter temperature and can be lethal in warmer weather but i think if you are in negative temperatures that it wouldnt ever get to proper operating temps anyway. Let me know what you think of this idea.

[mad_max]

My SX needs to be left at idle for a long time before i can totally remove choke and ride it.. otherwise it will

Hey bigredhead, try to find a Cold Start Kit (Honda p/n 06161-HA0-305) it's been discontinued but call around and you may find a dealer that has one gathering dust on the shelf. I put one on my SX and it starts/runs great when cold. Heres a thread to look at: http://www.3wheeler.org/vb/showthread.php?s=&threadid=12569&highlight=cold+start

[bigredhead]

Hmmm.......

Gotta call the dealership tomorrow about this.

I'd be AMAZED if they had it . Cold up here ( -38c with wind chill right now !! ) and someone must have grabbed any that were left.. but i will check for sure. thank you!

I've re-charged the battery to full capacity. hopefully that will help some. ( my kicker slips.. that's next on the list of things to fix !! LOL )