[tjb001]

bought my '04 450r this past winter, and tried to start it at least once a month. never stared right away with just the choke pulled out. tried lots of different things (never gave it gas though) but it always finally started with the hot start lever engaged. usually several kicks, maybe ten, with the choke on, then a few more kicks (5-10) with the choke off, hot start lever pulled, and she would fire up. started it up again this saturday, but much more difficult of a time. i.e. lots more kicks. went to start it on sunday, and i could not get the bugger going. tried with the choke on, choke off, hot start lever, etc. etc. finally had to bump start it and it ran great for 2 hours. took a 30 minute break, and again, could not get it going. had to bump start it again.

please help.

[Asmith]

Might just be your procedure.

I use this when starting:

turn gas on
pull choke on
twist throttle rapidly 3 times.

then fire engine.

Works every time.

[tjb001]

i'll give it a try. i was just warned not to try and give it gas if it was above freezing, like the owners manual states, or it could flood it our foul the plug.

also, why would it start with the hot start lever, when the engine was cold?

[JAWS]

This is a long shot, but if you didn't buy the bike new or if you ran it a lot, have you checked your valves? Have you ever checked them?

Joe

[Zanardi4]

Have you tried a new spark plug? Worked for me.

Z4

[124]

The choke and the hot start lever do the opposite of each other. Doing them both at the same time is counter-productive. Lol.

Check the valves. Sounds like typical closed clearance symptoms.

[tjb001]

thanks. i'll try them all. i never did have the hot start lever pulled with the choke on at the same time. i may be dumb but i'm not an idiot.

[124]

i may be dumb but i'm not an idiot.

Easy there chief. Just trying to help. Not indicating you were an idiot.

[tjb001]

i was just making fun of myself. i do appreciate the help.
thanks.

[Roger450r]

I had this exact problem and a mechanic friend of mine gave me the sollution. Cycle through your kicks 3 times softly. On the 4th let it rise to the top and kick it hard. Mine kicks right over now. I do this when hot as well and I make my kawi friends look bad when they're trying to kick theirs.


Hope this helps.

[combatcraig58d]

Finding TDC is a good tip and when it's cool out, 2 or 3 turns of the throttle helps it start much easier. Never use the throttle after its warm.

[poway450]

sounds like valves. i always do one slow kick from top to bottom of starter. then back to top and give her all shes got no throttle