Tips with a cold start

[storysunfolding]

Is there anything you can do to make your bike start better in the cold? Besides the choke?

I almost ran my battery all the way down trying to start up this morning. tried doing the hill pop the clutch approach, gave up and jumped it from my jeep. Worked after about 15 second of cranking when attached to the jeep. Could the battery just not have the juice at 37 degrees? I don't have it where I can hook up a battery tender or I would, live in townhouses and can't park in front of my house.

Is my only option dragging my battery charger with a starter function out on the extionsion cord every morning?

What happens when I need to start it away from home? Can't carry jumper cables everywhere. Maybe a set with small alligators for the bike connected to a cig lighter so anyone can easily be a good samaritan?

[beerbaron]

You can change your oil with something less thick. I usually run my bike with 20-50 during summer ans 10-40 in spring and fall.
Helps a lot

With temperatures around 0 celcius tough... I woudln't recommend starting the bike at all.

BeerBaron

[storysunfolding]

I'm using the factory recommended 10w-30 for sub 40 degrees F weather.

Why would you not start it near freezing?

[storysunfolding]

Ok- the culprit was a battery lacking a full charge.

I threw her on the charger, put her back in, gave the throttle three full turns, sat about 30 seconds (Giving time for fuel to atomize in the cold) hit the starter and THRUM-thrumthrum-thrumthrum-thrum- she's running

[JLW]

Never jumpstart a motorcycle with the high amperage setting on that type of charger - it will fry your regulator-rectifiers!

A friend of mine got one of those kind of chargers for Christmas when we had been suffering a particularly cold December and he ended up having to trailer each of his 5 motorcycles to the shop for repairs.

Also, If you are jumping a bike with a cage be sure the cage is NOT RUNNING - same thing - 75 amps is just too much for a motorcycle!

[ZooTech]

Also, If you are jumping a bike with a cage be sure the cage is NOT RUNNING - same thing - 75 amps is just too much for a motorcycle!

Huh???

With the cage not running, there's still a 600-700 CCA battery supplying far more amperage than the alternator. Just because the potential is there to supply that many amps doesn't mean that's what will be delivered to the bike. If it worked the way you seem to think it does, how can the same electrical system run a 1-watt bulb in your dash AND a 75-watt halogen headlight? Electrical components draw what they need. As long as the voltage is correct (most bikes and cages are 12-volt) he has no worries.