Cold starts

[bbanna]

Hi all,

New to the list list evening. Just got my CB1 today. I used to race one to many years ago and thougth I would get another one for the street to commute to work and back. It has been about 6 years since I have worked on a bike, so I need to get back into practice.

Have a question that I hope someone can help me with.  Hopefully with some good tips.

Unable to get the bike to start. It cranks just fine and runs the battery down just fine as well .
I did not have any problems starting my first CB1 because I lived in AZ and it was always warm. I now live in northern Illinois and it is not so warm all the time. The bike I have now is from Florida.

The previous owner say not to use any choke and to crank it without the throttle being touched, then  just barely crack the throttle. Have not had any luck. He even sent me a new/ used CDI box which is suppose dto be a good one. I have run the battery down twice now. The battery is only about 6 months old and is a dry cell battery.

He also mentioned something about jumping from a car to get it started. I would rather not do that. At home is no problem, but I do nto think it would be OK to ask someone every day at work if they can give me a jump so I can get home.

Any help, tips or suggestions to get this bike to start reliably wold be MOST appreciated.

Sincerely,

Brian Banna

[emanaresi]

I would try giving it some choke.  Have you?  Mine usually takes the choke to start.  Then it starts right up.  In a warm climate you might not need it but for those of us not blessed with tropical weather, they put the choke there for a reason. 

[mrbones]

Yeah, I live and Florida and always have to use the choke when starting cold. Then, it has to warm up a few minutes before you go. Its just the nature of the beast.

The stock regulators aren't so good on this bike. Check to see if it has an updated one. The updated one will have cooling fins on it. Its located under the tail under on the left side. If its bad, it will send too many volts to the battery and fry it. But you should be able to put in a good battery and start it regardless.

Where in Florida did you buy it? Did you get a good deal on it? Miles? Condition?

BTW: Anyone who says not to use a choke on a bike equiped with a choke when the engine is cold is....well.....not so smart. Unless he upped the pilot jet size.

[bbanna]

I got the bike started on Saturday. It took about three drained batteries.

I used the choke on full. No start. After charging the battery for the third time, I used jumper cables and jumped it from my car. With the choke on full, it took about 5 minutes of cranking and then it fired up. I let it run for about 20 minutes. Rode it around the neighborhood. After shutting it down, I let it sit for a couple hours. Tried starting it again with full choke and it took a couple try's and it started. Hesitantly, but it started. Let it run for a little bit and shut it down. Later that night just before turning in, I tried to start it again and it drained the battery.

I need to make this bike reliable. Any suggestions on any electrical parts I need to replace to make them better? Or is it possibly not even an electrical problem? Once the bike is running, it runs great! I just need to make sure it starts each time without draining the battery. The battery is only about 6 months old.

Thanks.

Brian

[emanaresi]

I would try cleaning the carbs, replacing the plugs, checking the plug wires, cleaning the screens on the petcock and replacing the fuel filter.  Also might want to look at the air filter.  It sounds like it isn't getting enough fuel or spark while starting.  It is a lot easier for a motor to stay running than to start up when cold.

[Drewski]

When cold I allways use full choke and no or very little throttle. The bike does seem a hesitant starter but , like a lot of bikes, it has to be started in a certain way.Good luck, hope you get it sorted.

[bbanna]

I think my problem may actually be the battery. Though the battery was fully charged, it would only crank the motor and not fire it up. Even with full choke. So I connected the car up to the bike again and did not even bother to use the choke. Once I hit the start button, the bike fired up and and was running. I believe the battery is just not putting out enough juice to start the bike.

I am going to get a new YUASA battery tonight. I am fairly confident that will be the fix.

Brian

[mrbones]

Is there any acid damage at the top of the swingarm?

[bbanna]

No. This a a dry cell battery. But to answer your question. No, ther eis no battery acid damage to the swingarm are anywhere near the battery area.

Brian

[mrbones]

I was asking because as in the case when I bought my bike, a new battery was installed just before I bought it. The previous battery was cooked by the regulator putting 18V+ into it and I went about 300 miles on the new battery before it smoked and I was left stranded. Acid damage on the swingarm is evidence of this occuring in the past, even from a battery not currently on the bike. This is all due to the faulty regulator. It is a poor design. If it hasn't been replaced on your bike, it will fail sooner or later. The new part has a bigger heat sink.

[bbanna]

I think, but not 100% sure that the previous owner said he replaced the regulator. I'll check tonight when I get home. Where is the regulator located on the bike? I have a shop manual on the way to me.

Thanks

Brian

[mrbones]

Its located under the tail under on the left side. You should be able to inspect it without taking the tail off.

[bbanna]

I think I know what I am looking for now that you gave me the location ad I do think it is the old regulator. I do not recall seeing cooling fins on it.

When I go get my battery tonight, I will order a new regulator, or is there a better aftermarket one I should look for?

Brian

[mrbones]

Just get the OEM Honda one. If I remember, its the same price or cheaper than aftermarket. You can get them on ebay, too. It's used by a bunch of newer Honda's. If it looks like the one below, it will work.

http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=4640700303

[bbanna]

Ok I bought a new battery today. Installed it and the motor cranked good, one burp and nothing. Just cranked and no start.

If I put it up to a car, it starts right up without any hesitation.

I ordered a new regulator. Hopefully that will be the ticket.

Anyonr got any other ideas as to what I need to do to get this thing going? What to look at?

Do I need to get new hotter coils, better spark plug wires, maybe new spark plugs? Any help out there? I would rather not take it to the shop, but if I can not get it started it looks like I may have to.

Brian