My 94 magna wont start for the first start of the day without giving it throttle as its cranking. But after i run it for a while i can come back out and start it after a couple of hours with no problem. Its not because its cold, its 80-100 degrees every day here. Is it a carb issue or could it be the ignition system thing under the battery which i was told is probably the culperit to my dodgy tachometer. It goes out and it only comes back on when i shift at higher rpms ive noticed. I am getting ready to change the oil and filter, the air filter is also prety dirty so i plan on getting a new one as well. Forgot to mention ive been running sea foam in this tank of gas, i will be continuing to use it till the bottle is gone.
I may be mistaken but my bike does that also. I have always assumed that was normal with a carburetor, not being an injection. But also the V4s have a tendency to be cold natured beast. It likes to get warmed up to perform.
I never have to touch my throttle until after it cranks, then I have to either rev it a couple of times or pull the choke out for a few seconds or it will die and I have to restart it with choke. Temp does not usually matter..
I've noticed with mine that it depends on how long it has been sitting. In Spring-Summer-Fall, if I have ridden in the last couple of days, I can hit the starter and it fires right off. It will idle until I am ready to go. If it has been a couple of weeks or more, then more cranking or a bit of the bypass (choke) knob is necessary -- or, just point it down the hill in second gear and pop the clutch, and it starts every time.
And of course, if it has been sitting only while I eat lunch in some out of the way greasy spoon, it fires right off and idles beautifully.
My theory is that there is some evaporation from the carbs as they sit. I know, with gravity feed the floats should keep 'em topped up and ready to go, but somehow it takes longer -- perhaps some residue from all the great antipollution additives we get for free these days.
Now in winter, it takes some "choke" for sure, but even then, 15 - 20 seconds and it will run with the knob all the way in.
When I bought Maggie, the gal who owned her started her up and parked her on the street for like 3 minutes at high idle with the knob out. I know she was concerned that it would die when I started off. But that was before I modified the carbs ala the Tips and Tricks writeup on the web site. :cool:
What the idle is set at should make a difference also. My cold idle is around 200 and after it warms up it is around 400 RPMs.
I never have to give my bike any throttle to start it. It sat for 8 days after getting back from MOOTmag and all I do is turn the ignition over and crank it and it fires right up... However, it did not do this when i first bought the bike. I believe the reason it fires right up now is because i have turned the pilot screws out to 2-7/8 turns and have shimmed my needles therefore giving it a richer mixture at idle and start up. I hope this helps :grin: Lance
Oh Robert. You may want to adjust your idle.. I think at full warmup your bike should idle at +/- 1000 rpm or 1050. If I am wrong, please, somebody chime in.. But, i have my idle setting at 1000 rpm at full warmup. Lance
I know I am on the low side but I think it is something like 500-900 but I will look it up.
Never the less that should be add to the FAQ.
I think it is 950 rpm +/- 100 rpm..
It is 1000 rpm give or take 50 or so .. 8)
Page 73 of owner's Manual 1000 +/- 100 California is 1100 +/- 100
I cant properly set my idle because my tach needle doesnt drop bellow 2k even when i adjust idle to the point of cutting off.
Hmmm.... Strange :-?
Yes quite strange and quite annoying i cant figure out why it wont go down. When i turn her off it drops to like 1500 but as soon as i fire her up right up to 2k she goes and doesnt come lower
Quote from: Magnum Magna on June 28, 2008, 04:59:42 PM
Never the less that should be add to the FAQ.
Done.
The last couple of weeks I alphabetized the FAQ Section for easier use.
Terry you are doing a great job with FAQ page.
Thanks Robert!! :-P
It looks better than before with the alpha listing.
Thanks Terry!!! :grin:
Hey Terry and Guys look what I found for all you motorcycle heads like me LOL LOTS OF MANUALS http://www.carlsalter.com/motorcycle-manuals.asp
Quote from: roboto65 on June 29, 2008, 02:32:44 PM
Hey Terry and Guys look what I found for all you motorcycle heads like me LOL LOTS OF MANUALS http://www.carlsalter.com/motorcycle-manuals.asp
Allen,
I think you found the Mother Load!!!! I'm going to spend some time there to see what they have. You Allan are causing me to spend more time on the Net! :twisted: Looks like a great find. :-P
I raised the idle to 900/1000. I like it. I guess it was just to low. No throttle to start it now and taking off from red lights are faster.
Awesome link Allen.
Yes, I do believe it's always 1000 - 1100. My '84 I set at 1100 and that's I think what my service manual states too. Now of course the late model bikes my be a little lower then my/our early models.
i have to give my 82 some choke every morning but the rest of the day it starts fine. I was told that this was probably normal for this age bike.
Jim
Is there any way to tell by ear if idle is set properly? seems if i have it idle at a higher speed she starts right up but i dont know what speed that idle is at because of my dam tachometer problem. Anyone have sound of their magna idling that i can compare to mine to get it atleast close?
At the end of this Magna burn-out there is a long idle period.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kZNEXe9OpUk
and another....
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LXWkwUTY05Q
Here's your Jardine Straights sound
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ry5m2ICf0wc&NR=1
Thanks a lot for the videos, i made adjustments to the idel screw and now mine sounds like the ones in the video idling. Takes off faster from a stop as well now. I actualy had it set way to low.