Hello. I recently just purchased a 2003 Honda VTX 1300s motorcycle. This is the first time for me on a motorcycle and I made the silly and foolish mistake of riding with the choke half-way out for about three weeks or so. This was riding the bike about 3 times a week or so for 3 weeks. I took the bike back to the dealer that I purchased it at, and they drained the oil and replaced with fresh oil and new oil filter. They also replaced two of the four spark plugs (my bike has two spark plugs per cylinder). They said the oil smelled of gas and the two spark plugs were sooted up. As I was riding the bike home it seemed to ride much better. The dealer also told me that he adjusted the idle speed within proper range.

Now, two days later I started up the bike in high 30s temperatures outside. I'm thinking that I may have not warmed the engine up long enough. With me being afraid of leaving the choke out too long now, I pushed it back in only after about 30 seconds of fast idle. I proceeded to ride the bike in cold weather and especially in 1st or 2nd gear the bike hesitated when first giving it throttle. Then it would kick it real quick like after a couple second delay or so. This is similar to what the bike was doing before I took it back to the dealer. My question is... Do you think this is just a matter of me not letting the bike warm up long enough or do you think there could be something wrong with the carburetion?

Thanks for taking the time,
Alex

It does sound like you do need to leave the choke out for a little while longer, on average most bikes will take a mile or two to warm up in colder weather. However in warmer climates you may not need any choke at all.

A friend of mine has a VN1500, if he tries to ride with out choke it coughs and splutters and rides like a buckeroo.

Trial and error, just try not to leave it on for three weeks, it should be warmed up after 5/10 mins.

Ace.

Thanks for the reply. Yes, keep in mind that this is a brand new bike and I was a little peeved that the idle speed wasn't adjusted to begin with! I'm not used to dealing with carburetors, with so much electronic fuel injection going on in today's world. What had me most worried was that even after I rode the bike for 10 minutes or so with the choke fully pressed in, it was still hesitating upon initial acceleration. Is warming the engine up with the choke fully out much different than warming the engine up by riding it around with the choke fully pressed back in?

Welcome ajax112

Doesn't sound like a problem with warming the engine. On the bikes I've owned, I usually just wait for the revs to settle, then ride off. Although, I do go easy on the engine until its warmed up. It sounds as if it could be carburation but maybe its something in the ignition system. Hopefully one of the techy folks will have a better idea.

Thanks Bikerdave. I would certainly hope all the carb settings were set right to begin with - since this is a brand-new bike. I'm most worried about ruining something in the carb due to the choke being pulled out for too long. And yes, in case any one is wondering, it was embarrassing to admit this choke foolishness to my dealer.

Ajax- i know it sounds stupid, but what does it say in your bike manual?
my ZZr 1100 just needs a bit of choke then its away, my vn750 (according to the manual needs 15 seconds of full choke) but most days i dont bother , as it starts just fine-i live in the cold north east of england & only if its been sitting idle for a day or so, does it need choke-as an Instructor though, it rarely sits idle for long.
the works bikes are all different -CB 500's- but some need a load of choke-others hardly any.
i would try starting from cold with full choke, then easing it off as the bike settles to a healthy tickover, let it run evenly for at least 5 minutes off the choke then go for a ride & see what happens, if its warmed up properly you shouldnt have any problems, if you do then it sounds like an ignition/card problem.
sorry i cant be too specific but i'd have to be there to see whats going on.

Thanks much Devilpaint! My owner's manual tells me that for cold engines in cold temperatures (50 degrees F or below) I'm supposed to start the bike with the choke fully on until the bike responds fully to throttle with the choke fully off (fully to throttle?). I'm thinking that just a minute of warm-up time last night wasn't long enough, as the bike had been sitting there for over 24 hours in 40 degree/30 degree weather. Just to clarify, when and how to do I know when to start pushing the choke back in? And do I push the choke all the way back in or slowly push it back in if the engine is cold? Sorry these sound like such stupid questions but I'm so out of touch with the choke/carburetor world now.

simply put, start the bike with full choke, when the engine starts to race or idle unevenly, reduce the choke gradually until the bike will idle evenly then push the choke back all the way off, i would warm it up for at least 2-3 mins until you get the hang of it then ride the bugger!
if its new & you plan to keep it for a while i would alays warm it up thoroughly b4 riding it, that way your motor wil last forever.
HTH.

Thanks Devilpaint! You've helped me quite a bit. Good day (night) to ya!

The Bandit won't start (unless it is very warm ambient) without full choke... and takes a good minute or two with a slowing reducing choke to warm up to idle correctly. Always has done, and apparently that's the way it is...

I usually ride the mile out of the village with a touch of choke on, then flick it off when I hit the by-pass and do my mission impossible impression

Sounds normal to me... just a little practice (and patience!) with that choky chap methinks!

Bwaaaaaaaahahahahahahaha


What they ^ all said, it's a case of trial and error to find the best settings. And with a brand new engine being tight it'll be even worse in cold weather.

Don't worry though, I doubt if you've done any damage to it