Too long to start

[teddyB]

When starting with electric start it takes a very long time to fire. Once it begins to fire it starts easily. However, if I give it throttle before it fires it'll try to flood out. When engine is warm it purrs like a kitten and idols very nicely.

Any thoughts? Should I pull the plug and reset? I always burn 93 octane and it runs very nicely.

Don't want to kill the battery or the starter

[teddyB]

The only problem is when it's a cold start. Warm starts are fine

[GrumpyUnk]

I take it that you keep your mitts off the throttle when starting. That's the right thing to do.
You can do one thing to perhaps speed up the process. Twist the throttle from closed to full open several timnes. Each time you should be squirting a jot of fuel into the intake from the accelerator pump. That will 'prime' the intake with a small amount of fuel that will make the initial air:fuel mix pulled into the cylinder richer than it would normally be. THAT may help startup.
A second possibility is that your float bowl is emptying itself out while the bike is sitting. I have one that uses a pump to get fuel from an under-foot tank to the carb. If not ridden for a few days, it needs cranking for several minutes to get enough fuel to start, and then does fine. If you have that problem, the above throttle twisting might make it quicker to start also. I have not taken the float bowl off to verify the lack of fuel after sitting for several days, but it surely acts as if it has no fuel, and will start every time(so far) if cranked enough.
If I understand, if you open the throttle WHILE cranking, it won't start. Opening the throttle while cranking offsets the 'byvalve' and makes it less effective. My suggestion is to open and CLOSE the throttle several times, before cranking. That leaves the choke(byvalve) operative, but also may add a jigger for fuel for the engine to use immediately and fire off.
tom

[teddyB]

What I decided the best approach to cold starting was to press the start button which initiates the fuel pump. Immediately upon initiating the ignition switch I give full throttle once or twice briefly then release which seems to inject fuel into the carb. The scooter begins to fire much faster than before. Once the scooter begins to fire then I can add a little bit more throttle and the scooter begins running immediately.
I appreciate your advice.

[pinkscoot]

Is this a 2t or 4t? What carb do you have? Have you tested your enricher?

[GrumpyUnk]

You don't have to do anything with the ignition switch nor starter button to prime the carb. Just twist the throttle control from closed to open, release, and do it again. The fuel pumped is totally mechanical built into the carb, so the ignition or starter have nothing to do with it.
I will do a couple times, or even more if the machine has been sitting without running for several days.
tom

[Petro]

Oct 13, 2020 7:52:48 GMT -5 teddyB said:

The only problem is when it's a cold start. Warm starts are fine

If you have one of those aluminium "racing" CDI's change to a stock one and see if that helps.  

[GrumpyUnk]

Is this an EFI machine? Does it have an electric fuel pump? If so, cycling the key from OFF to ON, pausing, and then repeating a few times is a method to get fuel pressure in a cold system.
If you do not have EFI, you likely have a carburetor, and likely don't need a fuel pump unless the tank is located underfoot. Moving the twist grip throttle will operate the linkage on the side of the carb, and cause the accelerator pump to squirt a bit of fuel into the intake. That 'prime' will increase the fuel available to mix, a bit richer than normal, which may make cold starting easier.
The byvalve(choke dealy)on most is an electric operated probe that cuts off a second fuel:air passage that puts out a richer mix. It is open when cold, and when warm, should be cut off. You can apply air pressure(tube and blow) to the air inlet about 2:00 o'clock on the air inlet side of the carb. When cold, air should pass, but when hot, after the engine has run ~2 minutes, it should start to close, so you cannot blow through it. It gets its fuel from a jet in the float bowl wall. Mostly ignored when people clean their carburetors.
tom