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Has anyone has an problems starting their Nighthawks? Mine will turn over easily but not start easily. It will start better if run everyday but to start it once a month or so in the winter, it's a bear to start. My guess right off is a fuel delivery problem vs spark. Any ideas would be appreciated..thanks.

Do you stabilize the fuel? I'd imagine it would start turning nasty as the winter wore on. Might also be that the battery is weak. When my battery isn't at its tip top in the cold the bike will turn over all she wants but not get a strong enough spark to ignite.

Do you normally keep the fuel tap in the "off" position? If so, you'll need to turn it to "prime" for about 20 seconds before starting. Otherwise, the engine must generate a vacuum from spinning on the starter to activate the fuel flow.

The Nighthawk is also a cold blooded creature, thanks to EPA regs. If it's cold and hasn't been started in awhile, you may need full choke to get it to fire. Even in the summer months, I often need a little bit of choke in the mornings. During the winter, when it might be as cold as 50 degrees around here , I need to use about 80% on the choke.

as cold as 50? oh man.... i think im gonna have to go cry now.

If it's not starting after sitting for a month+ you'll need to drain the fuel and put in new fuel.

flynrider wrote:Do you normally keep the fuel tap in the "off" position? If so, you'll need to turn it to "prime" for about 20 seconds before starting. Otherwise, the engine must generate a vacuum from spinning on the starter to activate the fuel flow.

The Nighthawk is also a cold blooded creature, thanks to EPA regs. If it's cold and hasn't been started in awhile, you may need full choke to get it to fire. Even in the summer months, I often need a little bit of choke in the mornings. During the winter, when it might be as cold as 50 degrees around here , I need to use about 80% on the choke.

You have a "Prime" Position ? My '91 only has Off, On and Reserve. My Buddy has a 99, same thing. Did they change it for newer models?

mydlyfkryzis wrote:You have a "Prime" Position ? My '91 only has Off, On and Reserve. My Buddy has a 99, same thing. Did they change it for newer models?

Oops. You're probably right there. I was thinking of a different bike (so many bikes, so little time ). I'm pretty sure that the only part on the 90s era Nighthawks that changed over the years ('91-'03) was the helmet lock.

My 95 nighthawk 750 has to crank for about 8 seconds on full-choke before it fires when cold. Once it fires it's fine. It won't start without full choke when cold.

But, if I give it just a hair of throttle with full choke as I crank it, it fires immediately rather than cranking awhile. I mean the smallest amount of throttle that you can give it and release immediately once it fires.

No prime position on my 95, just "on", "off", "reserve". But I believe flyinrider is right, the engine must be running to pull fuel thru the petcock (it has a vacuum fitting on it), so if it's been "off" awhile it may be especially hard to start. I leave mine "on" all the time, but it rarely sits for over a week.

Also, I've had no trouble with fuel going bad after sitting for several months (like 10 months). When it goes bad, it smells different, like a "magic marker". Worse is when the fuel completely evaporates leaving a coating of varnish behind.

I always use fuel stabilizer in every tank near the end of the riding season.
Keeps the varnish away.