Well, we got an unusually warm day here in northern PA (50+) so I decided to get the KLR out for a spin after its winter slumber. I think I last rode it in mid-November when I filled the tank and added Stabil, so it probably has sat for 4 months give or take. The battery was on a maintainer so it was in good shape.
I opened the petcock and cranked for probably 15 seconds with no response. I let the starter cool for a few seconds and then cranked again. I was almost ready to quit again when it hit once and then started to hit every 3rd compression stroke or so and finally fired up. Probably close to 30 seconds total cranking time.
Full disclaimer, I have not owned a carbureted bike since my 1987 Voyager so I am not used to bikes that don’t start within a couple of revolutions.
My question is: Is this normal for a KLR that has sat for 4 months? Anything I should do to get it to fire faster and put less wear and tear on the starter? I don’t think my BMW starter cranks as long in total all season as my KLR did for its first start!
Just for grins, I took my daughters Ninja 300 for a short spin also as it has also sat for 4+ months. It fired up as soon as I hit the starter as though it had run yesterday. My BMW does the same. Reminded me again why I love FI. Hopefully, Kawasaki will soon release the KLR successor with all of the current good things, but with FI and switchable ABS. That would be the cat’s pajamas.
Is part of the long cranking the need to generate enough vacuum to open the petcock? Would a manual petcock help in this regard?
I opened the petcock and cranked for probably 15 seconds with no response. I let the starter cool for a few seconds and then cranked again. I was almost ready to quit again when it hit once and then started to hit every 3rd compression stroke or so and finally fired up. Probably close to 30 seconds total cranking time.
Full disclaimer, I have not owned a carbureted bike since my 1987 Voyager so I am not used to bikes that don’t start within a couple of revolutions.
My question is: Is this normal for a KLR that has sat for 4 months? Anything I should do to get it to fire faster and put less wear and tear on the starter? I don’t think my BMW starter cranks as long in total all season as my KLR did for its first start!
Just for grins, I took my daughters Ninja 300 for a short spin also as it has also sat for 4+ months. It fired up as soon as I hit the starter as though it had run yesterday. My BMW does the same. Reminded me again why I love FI. Hopefully, Kawasaki will soon release the KLR successor with all of the current good things, but with FI and switchable ABS. That would be the cat’s pajamas.
Is part of the long cranking the need to generate enough vacuum to open the petcock? Would a manual petcock help in this regard?