Topic: Cold Weather Riding

[cb350f_rider_73]

I admit, I'm not riding the CB350f because I'm still putting it back in roadworthy condition (money's tight, gotta be patient).  Instead, I'm riding the XS11 Special, but I have discovered something interesting.  It HATES cold starting, almost to the point that I'm worried the battery isn't getting charged enough on the short ride home.  Anyone got any suggestions other than a battery maintainer and close observation?  Comments are also welcome, such as bragging about record low temperatures .  My coworkers think I'm nuts but here in Kentucky the lows are in the mid 20's, with my record being 23 degrees F (-5 degrees C).  I just tell them that people in more northern regions ride in colder conditions. 

Wayne

[Bob Wessner]

Anyone got any suggestions other than a battery maintainer and close observation?

Does this mean you are already using a batt. maintainer? If not, it would be a good start. Beyond that, how far do you ride after starting it up? Starting in cold weather is quite a strain/drain. The oil is cold and thick so the starting load is high. The battery is cold so its efficiency is low also. Have you checked the charging system, is alt. and regulator functioning tip-top? Should add, good state of tune is essential to keeping the cranking time to a minimum.

[ElCheapo]

A battery warmer is not a bad idea too in the fights with the cold weather stuff, these are easy to install as they are just a blanket around the battery. I have also set up an inline coolant heater in my CX500 which makes her behave much better in this cold. God knows I do not want to see the power bill. If the battery and motor are resonably warm this strain and drain on the battery is a bit easier on all the components. Beware of oil dip stick heaters. They guy down the block from me set his truck on fire two years ago with one. Ok if you are there to watch it, because they work pretty good. But they have a tendency to get too hot.

Most of my cold weather ideas are borrowed from the automotive world. The stuff works ok, just adapt it to work on a bike.

Plus there is some stuff from the world of ATV riding that can be borrowed. They have a poncho thingy that traps heat from the motor and help vent it at you. Looks a bit like a long coat with snaps that snap to the bike. Works good as I used one this year at 14,000 feet on my ATV and I stayed warm for the duration of the ride.

[MetalHead550]

Park it in the living room!

Yeah I was gonna ride to work today, high of 45 today, and relatively calm.  She wouldnt start.  Killed the battery trying.  The 75 does not like to sit for long even in warmer weather.  The GS on the other hand.....I just looked at the starter button hard and it fired.  I rarely ride that bike and it always amazes me how easily it starts.  Damned cold blooded Honda!  I like it better though..

[ElCheapo]

Might be time to do carbs or run an injection cleaner through it before it gets to bad.

[ProTeal55]

A battery tender is the best advice I can give.
Insures that you have a solid 12Volts every time you go to
start the bike. If my ass isn't riding the bike , it is plugged in to the Tender.
Have one for my cars as well....

My CB750 hates being cold , and I mean HATES IT !
I rode it today to my storage building to put it away for the
winter, high temp of about 40 , and it took awhile for it to start.
Takes about 10 min of popping and hissing to catch a good solid idle ,
and start building some good heat.

High octane gas , such as race gas is a good way to clean the gunk outta your carbs.
Worked for me. A few borrowed gallons of Sunoco 110 plus was all it took 

[BobbyR]

I have seen people use Starting Ether which will at least get it to fire. You would have to rig it up with a tube that goes into the air box. I have used quartz heaters to get them warm enough to fire up. These are cold blooded bikes. My 80 Kawasaki is even worse.

[ElCheapo]

ether is extremely explosive. Because I have seen several motors in buckets due to the use of this stuff I no longer use ether for any motor to start it. Find the legitimate reason that the motor fails to start and correct it.

[mick750F]

   I'm with ElCheapo on this. These bikes shouldn't be that much harder to start in cold weather. Mine has always started right up no matter what the weather and there are times when it seems to like running in the cold better. As has been mentioned...check your battery condition and also look at connections in your wiring harness/loom. Are they clean? If you don't want to spring for a battery tender and you keep your bike outside you could try bringing the battery inside to keep it warm.

   How "short" is your ride home? Any time spent above 2,500 rpm's you are charging your battery.

Mike

[cb350f_rider_73]

hmmm....to answer all the stuff I can in one reply:  Yes I'm using a battery maintainer, as far as the distance from work to home, it's just a short ride.  The only problem I'm having is the starter itself doesn't want to crank right till it warms up a bit (strange but true, I'm baffled at this).  Regarding the oil being cold and thick, I'm giving it a bit of warm up time in the parking lot before putting the engine under load and keeping the revs down.  I have to use the choke and give warmup time anyway, because my XS11 is a rather cantankerous old air-cooled bike.Finally,  the charging system doesn't seem to be a problem, I keep a VERY close eye on my bike, even to the point of insisting on a digital multimeter when I'm checking on various bits of the electrical system.  I start hitting 13.5 volts at around 1900 rpms, peaking out at 14.5v when running 3k.  After 3k rpms, it levels off (regulator obviously working )  Thus ends my tale, sorry about the length.

Wayne

[Bob Wessner]

OK, you are using a batt. maintainer so the status of the battery charge first thing in the A.M. shouldn't be a problem. My reference to the oil being thick when cold was only mentioned in reference to the load it puts on the battery when starting and the resulting start-up drain on the battery.

I'm worried the battery isn't getting charged enough on the short ride home.

You say the trip is short, how short? Even if the battery is low for the afternoon start-up for the trip home, if you achieve any reasonable RPM's on the return trip, this still should not be a problem since it will be going on the battery maintainer once you get home. Does it start OK in the morning, but it's harder to start at work for the trip home?

[Harry]

FWIW check my page at: http://www.biosciencecommunications.dk/XT/Heater.htm

[cb350f_rider_73]

Wow, thanks for all the feedback.  With all these ideas in mind, I've been putting a digital multimeter to work checking the battery state before I go to work.  I decided to skip out on the battery maintainer and yet I'm happy to report that the ride home seems to be doing the trick, as the battery is  showing a sufficient voltage every day for the last few days.  I can say from past experience:  if it were not charging sufficiently the voltage would have shown a drop by now. 

Wayne