My friend has a 2007 with about 900 miles on it, she complains that it's a b!tch to start. I tried to get it started yesterday for her and after running the battery down twice I got it running. She told me that it's always been a pain to start but she opted not to take it in for service while it was under warranty... figures. Anyway, I figured I'd ask you guys if there is any known problems with the choke on this carb set up? Basically I should be able to pull the choke out and fire the bike right up, let it run for a minute then push it back in right?

Thanks in advance!

 

That is all i ever do to start mine. Sometimes, I can even start it with only increasing the idle a little, and no choke. Check the plug, if the choke has been used too much it will be most likely fouled, or close to it.

 

Also have her run the gas out of it (turn off the gas)the last time she runs it, next start turn it on and it will fire right up. If she wants to solve the problem just rejet.

 

Stock, and left with fuel in the bowl, these bikes are a pain to start.
There are plenty of theories on why, just search.

But, what ever the reason, it is what it is.

Re-jetting etc will all improve, but in my experience, not cure the problem.

As has been said, the best way to get around it is to turn off the fuel tap with the motor running until it dies.

 

I'd start with a new spark plug and put in some fresh premium fuel then go from there. With only 900 miles on a 07 it sounds like its sat around abit....do the easy remedies first then go after the more intensive solutions. Maybe a splash of racing fuel, might get lucky or like kgwld & neil suggested rejetting richer. It worked wonders on the wifes klx

 

The KLX engine is kinda of a pain, but it should still start with a some choke. I know when the temps start hitting below 40*F, the engine starts to be a real pain to start. But anything above that, it should fire.

A few rememdies:
~ Run the tank out of fuel and add fresh fuel
~ Turn the fuel petcock off and run the carb out of fuel
~ Add Sta-bil or any carb cleaner of apporiate amount
~ Check the spark plug for fouling and possibly replace with a hotter one if driven in cold weather climates.

 

Drain the float bowl to allow fresh gas in.
Or lay the bike over until it pisses some gas out the carb vents.

Either way, you're getting new gas into the bowl, and this always seems to rectify the issue.

 

My guess not being a jerk...

Battery is hosed....Not enough starting and miles to keep her charged....Old wives tale was something like 30 miles for every start......

Drain the carb and yank it....Put some bigger jets in.....Fresh tank of fuel...New battery and take the Missez out for a cruise and dinner....Maybe buy her a new flashy helmet and a Key ring...


Good Luck


Rocco

 

I dunno... seems like the gas in the tank is no 'fresher' than the gas in the carb bowl. My '07 won't start without the choke on warm weather or cold not withstanding.

Mike

 

This is the original thread for hard starts. https://www.kawasakiforums.com/m_96672/tm.htm

Here is the basic information.

Shut down procedure.

1. After riding as you are pulling into your driveway, or to speed things up you can do this a block from your house, turn off the gas.
2. Let the bike run until it actually dies from gas starvation, (this may take 2-5 minutes) But that's ok it will give you time to put away your gear.
3. Park it and now you're ready for the next time you ride whether that be in a day, or a month.

Start up procedure.

1. Turn on the gas
2. Wait for 10 seconds
3. Start the bike as you always do

Now I know some of you are asking why not just drain the bowl and then you can start the bike. Well there are two reasons. It it harder to drain the bowl by hand than to let the bike do this as it runs out of gas, and by running the gas out using the motor, it assures that all of the small areas that would otherwise still have this junk they call fuel will be empty, ready for fresh, (fresher) gas to get in and do its job. Now all of that being said, I came up to work yesterday to let my son ride the moped up on the lawn and I cranked on the bike for a few minutes, and then I thought I wonder if I can drain the bowl and do the "after thought" procedure to get this thing going? Well I drained the bowl, turned the gas back on and two kicks and it was running. Keep in mind that the moped is a two stroke, and it has been sitting up at work in a mechanical room for about 2 months. So either way, whether running the gas out using the motor so you are ready to go next time (which I think is faster and more efficient) or you drain the bowl using the screw at the bottom of the carb, the results are the same, you get your bike started.

And I even guess some people would say that this is a hassle, but I gotta tell you that cranking on a bike for 5 minutes off and on only to run the battery down and still have not started the bike is way more of a hassle than a little time taken to get ready for the next ride. This last summer I rode my bike everyday for about 3 months, and it always started right up, but there are a couple of reasons. one it was warmer out, cold weather affects fuels in a negative way, and more importantly by riding the bike everyday I had gas in the bowl that didn't have enough time to "change". Next summer I will probably go back to leaving the gas on and not draining the bowl. but on the wife's bike the procedure will always be to run it out of gas since she doesn't ride as often as I do.