Bonneville America Forums Forums Technical Forums General Tech improving starting

Hi all,

had my triumph for a bit and have always had a little bit of difficulty in starting it 'smoothly' or first time.

my usual process was to pull the choke out, hold the starter button for maybe 3 or 4 seconds (or longer) and twist the throttle slightly for it to catch.

after a while (5 minutes at least) i can usually push the choke back in without the engine dying (usually..not always).

now i suspect it hasn't been maintained especially well and in truth the 'wierd knob the regulates fuel' (left hand side under choke) is possibly set a tad low.

Do you have any recommendations for areas to look at to improve ignition?

The missus bought herself a new bike (06 Triumph Scrambler) the other day and upon pressing ignition it sprung to life like a bucket of frogs being tasered - hence i wanted to improve my own bikes somewhat lacklustre starting.

All ideas welcome

Ant

the little black knob on the left side under the carbs. I think yours is still carbed. Turn it clockwise about a turn. I think your idle is a tad too low.

Your engine idle should be set at 1100 +- 50 rpms when warm. You shouldn't have to crack the throttle to get it to start and in doing so you run the risk of a backfire destroying your airbox.
I pull the choke on full and hit the start button, once it fires up and the idle smooths out, I push in the choke halfway... once on the road I push the choke the rest of the way in.
It's not a good idea to let these twins idle too long... Triumph says 5 minutes is too long. Fire it up.. feather the throttle and get it rolling.

You also may need to adjust the pilot screws or change those jets since that's what controls the fuel at start up with the help of the enrichener. If those are not right it will start hard.

On the same note but slightly different process, I've never really used my choke to get my America running. Normally I'll start the bike up and then take a minute or two to suit up then take off. Am I running any sort of risk doing this?

Hmmm, Ian you've given me an idea. My bike has started harder than I think it should from day One and will not start after sitting for several hours even on a hot day w/o the choke. I never thought to look into the jets for that-just assumed it was cold natured like a flathead Ford. Now you've caused me to go to great trouble and research the problem my self.

You can try adjusting the screws first to see what happens. If you need to go much more than 3 turns out you know you need bigger pilots.

my idle is too fast - 1500 or so. Can I really just twist a knob to lower it? Where does the d-tool come in?

The knob on the left side of the bike just under the carb bowl adjusts your idle. The D tool is used for the mixture screws in the middle of the carb in front of the bowl. That is for your mixture adjustment not your idle although it will have some effect on the idle.

I'm just enjoying the visual of a bucket of frogs being tasered...

The pilot jets have a series of holes in them to regulate the fuel/air mix. Pulling out the "choke" actually uncovers a few more of those holes to provide a richer mix for start-up.

Try some Seafoam and see if it improves. If you bought the bike used, it may need a little carb TLC.

and get some snake oil too, the fuel needs some lube to flow smoothly.