How "cold blooded" should a 3rd gen Magna be?

[noisehound]

I have just obtained a '95 750 @ 36k which has actually been pretty well cared for but has definitely done a fair amount of sitting. I'll also warn that I'm NOT the most awesome wrench in the world, but I've been slowly getting there through all these older bikes I've owned... and I am pretty terrible at carbs.

My Magna is currently what the PO referred to as "cold starting." After giving it my first go on my own starting up in our current ~85-90-degree weather here in OKC, I'd say this is a generous application of the term. I had to give it full choke and hold the throttle open / keep the revs at 2k by hand for the first couple of minutes to keep it running; still took me a few tries. I have a couple other clues telling me it's running a hair lean at minimum.

So I def know there's some carb work lying ahead for me with all this. My question, though, is how cold a start to expect out of a properly running 3rd gen Magna. It will help me know what baseline is when the temp actually starts to dip and to know if I've got those carbs right; these things take me some hapless trial and error, and I do plan to ride pretty much any time it's not actually icy.

Oh, and howdy!

[ttooee]

If I understand your question right, you should be able to start and idle 3rd generation Magna down to and below freezing temperature.
If you have not put Seafoam in your fuel tank, I suggest that you do that as soon as possible. If you still have problem idling with using Seafoam then the slow mixture screws are clogged. After the slow idle mixture screws are clean, I highly suggest you keep using Seafoam with your fuel to keep the mixture screws clear.

[noisehound]

Thanks ttooee! That was likely going to be a first step. I suspect the PO was using some kind of additive and doing a decent job keeping an eye on things there, as the tank was extremely clean (and yet the rest of the bike was not-- we just finished our first bath!).

The bike doesn't have trouble idling once warmed up, and seems to be idling at the right speed per the service manual. Getting it and keeping it started is the main issue at the moment. Does this still sound like slow mix screws? I am, again, terrible at carbs, and this results from being terrible at carb theory. One of these days though!

[noisehound]

I guess my general question, too, was how much choke is needed and when for any other 3rd gen owners willing to report. Honda-wise I've only had a couple of older Rebels in my past stable, and both essentially needed no choke at all until it hit 60 degrees or so. I've had other bikes by other makers that did run much colder, but I'm kind of wondering what to expect from the Magna going forward so I can guess when things have gone awry.

[lragan]

I have two '96 models.  In warm conditions (more than 60F), one of them will start literally at the push of the starter button.  No throttle, no "choke", just starts at idle.  Let it idle while I put on my jacket, helmet and gloves, and off we go.

The other one needs a bit of choke to start, and takes a little longer to "warm up".  It hesitates in mid-range if I don't let it run a little longer. 

I removed and cleaned the carbs on both when I first got them, as they did not run well at all.  Thought I did the same job on both.  The one that takes longer probably needs the jets cleaned again, but it has been that way for years and isn't getting worse.  Some things just aren't worth the effort. 

[ttooee]

I am terrible at carbs too. So I keep to the bare minimum carbs works, which is don't break the carbs apart. If you don't separate the carbs then you don't have to sink the carbs. Remove the bowls and clean out the slow mixture screws and put it back together. The hardest part is to remove the carbs from engine.
You can expect to use the choke just like any other brands. Use a lot of choke when cold and just a little when warm outside.
You will have to adjust the idle speed to the outside temperature too. This is the knob next to the choke. When it is ice cold idle speed will drop a few hundred rpm adjust the knob to bring rpm back around 1k. Then summer time the idle speed will be too high, adjust the knob to lower the rpm. Some folks say that they never adjust the idle speed, but I don't think they in ice cold and/or super hot conditions either.

[noisehound]

Thanks Iragan, that was definitely useful info. Agreed that some things aren't worth the effort, but with about four cold starts and 20 miles on it now I am pretty darned sure the carbs on mine will need some going through... unfortunately. They could be much worse, that I know from experience!

Ttooee, I hear you on the idle with the seasons and am at least thankfully familiar with that adjustment. But yeah, we're currently running around factory-spec'd 1.1k-- when I get it going.

[TLRam1]

Clean the carbs thoroughly, your bike will be much happier for it.

[MagnaMan]

Your carbs probably do need cleaning after sitting over the years.

Improper valve clearance will make it harder to start.

It's actually easier to check the valves when the carbs are removed so you may want to do it then. Checking the valves is not too hard. Adjusting the valves is a more labor intensive as it involves pulling the cam shafts. (Ugh). 

I have two Magnas and one of the starts with a push of button and a tiny little bit of choke. That one has the valves perfectly adjusted. I bought it with about 14,800 miles on it. I check the valves and found two of them to be tight, so I adjusted all of them. It's a smooth running machine now.

My other Magna has close to 50,000 miles on it and it has become increasingly hard to start even with clean carbs in warm weather. I suspect the valves really need adjustment which is one of my next projects.