How does your Vision start?

[Rikugun]

Recently fiatracer mentioned his 2 Visions start within three revolutions but they prefer different amount of choke.  It got me to thinking what other owners regiment was. I'm mainly interested in cold starts but an additional comment regarding hot starts is welcome too.

Does yours start easy or require lots of cranking? How many need a bit of help from the accel pump so twist the throttle once or twice? Once started how much choke is needed to keep it idling at a reasonable RPM?

And yes, I realize the Vision uses an enrichener but for the purpose of this discusson "choke" will suffice!  ;)  :D

[fiatracer]

i have actually owned 9 different visions over the years and every one was slightly different. Half choke two twists on the throttle, full choke no throttle and even one that would start in Dec with no choke! that bike was really strange in more ways than one! Love the site Keep it evloving

[unitivegreybird]

So far the mornings here haven't been terribly cold, maybe around 50F at the coldest, it's still summertime. Full choke, hold the starter for 2-3 secs, then she starts right up. No need for any throttle. After about 2 minutes I bring it down to half choke and she idles at 1-1.5k. As soon as I'm down the road, choke off, and after maybe 10 minutes she's at temp and idles at a solid 1.5K.

[shep1]

Hi..They all seem to be different..My black vision with full choke..hit start and two twists of the grip and it fires right up..My red bike just the full choke and it is away..Hot starts I turn engine over and apply a little throttle and they fire right away..As mentioned best to test as each has it's own way..The yellow bike is having carbs cleaned from sitting for some time..so will see what it is like soon..

[Hartless]

Ugh. Well when mine was running I had a quarter or less choke and 10 twists of the throttle and it took 5 revolutions or more cold start ( first use of the day) after running it for a while it would start with no twists or choke first or second revolution. Excuse me by choke I mean enrichner.

[Rick G]

Mine starts by pushing a button on the right side of the handle bar. I'm sorry I just had to be a smart ass! LOL ;D
Actually all seem to vary a bit in the starting drill. Mine started very easily by putting the petcock on prime and giving it 1/4 throttle.  it started right up! 
i ride on a New years day ride and starting was a problem at 25 to 30 deg.   I pushed it up next to my truck and jumped it . It took a little cranking but started on the 3rd or 4th try.

[Rikugun]

It really is amazing the difference in starting drill from bike to bike. Other than differences in the carbs, I wonder if there is other things at work. My bike with either of the 2 sets of carbs I own required at least one twist of the grip plus full choke. Without a bit of fuel from the accell pump it would crank excessively in my estimation so I gave in and just twist the grip as a matter of course before hitting the button. Both sets have had attention to the hole at the bottom of the well that feeds fuel to the enrichener circuit and are clear.

Of those with multiple bikes with different starting needs, did anyone notice a difference in starter cranking speed? I've thought my bike spins over slowly but have no gage to measure it by since I've never even seen another Vision on the road let alone heard one crank over in person. All my other bikes have been inline fours and generally spin over much faster and catch seemingly before they make a full revolution. I'm not even sure what effect (if any) relatively slight differences in cranking speed would have to air flow dynamics through the carbs.  :-\

[Rick G]

Cranking speeds with a standard battery were noticeably less than with the AGM , starting was much improved with it.

[pullshocks]

Full choke and a couple accelerator pump shots, no throttle usually gets it going with 2 or 3 seconds of cranking.  Sometimes it needs a 3rd shot and another couple seconds of cranking

[unitivegreybird]

Cranking speeds with a standard battery were noticeably less than with the AGM , starting was much improved with it.

This. The old battery was a bit less than enthusiastic to start to bike. Once I cleaned all the connections and threw on an AGM the bike was more than willing to fire right up!

[AirborneJW]

Mine usually needs full choke and two twists. That's a cold start first thing in the morning. After that though I can usually get away with a start with maybe one twist depending on what the temp is.

[vadasz1]

Last year I rode to work until about November and the morning starts were quite easy, take into consideration that the mornings were possibly around -5C or so.  My bike adores the cold days more than the hot summer days.  Cold October/November days, she likes to get anywhere from 1/4 to 1/2 choke, 3 twists and press the start button while giving a wee bit of throttle to her.  I'll let her sit for about 2-3 minutes while I put my lid and gloves on then start riding.  About 2 miles into my ride I turn off the choke and she is up to temp and idling smoothly at 1300 RPM.

In the summer in the morning I just give her a hint of choke, 3 twists and then the start button.  She'll start on the 3rd or 4th rev and idle between 1K-1.5K .  Start riding right away and about a mile later I turn off the choke and it will take her about 5 minutes more to come to temp and idle smoothly at 1300RPM.

I must say that my bike is definitely a better runner with the cooler morning air and even the evening air.  The hot and muggy midday air just screws her up royally.  She will idle rough and feel like she will die,and I have to twist the throttle a bit to get her to run nice.  I am sure the hotter and humid air is robbing her of her power as well as the heat causing her to vapour lock sometimes.  When she dies from vapour lock I just give her a quick restart with no throttle and 2 seconds later she is up again.

[YellowJacket!]

YellowJacket is a champ.  Half choke, two twists of the throttle (used to do three) and a couple seconds on the start button and she fires right up without fail.

There are a few things that I feel have made a significant difference in her starting and running routine.  Due to school and my schedule, I may go several months without riding her and even after that, she still starts on the first try.

Heres what I have done that I think helps:

Fuse Block:  I replaced the old block with a new modern one.  I no longer have to use the trickle charger and my battery maintains a full charge.
Battery:  I switched to an more "modern" AGM battery and the difference is like night and day in the ease of cranking.
Battery Cables: Battery cable, starter cable and ground wire are all new.  I purchased them from Tiger and I think since installing them it has made a huge difference.
Plug Wires:  Again, another "Tiger item".  Original wires were old and cracked.  Changing them resulted in quicker starts, better idle, better running and better fuel mileage.
Stator/RR wire harness: Again, another item from Tiger that has helped a lot.  Probably one of the weakest links in the charging system besides the fuse block.

Of course, clean carbs are a must with your Vision.

David

[dcsob]

My 83, if driving semi regular, choke it, push button and 2-3 wakka wakka's (thats what it sounds like to me)and off you go. If sat longer (weeks/over winter) need to prime wait about a minute or two, choke and then 3-4 (well maybe up to 6-7)stabs at the button each one running a bit longer till she's up and running. My 82 on the other hand no choke, why bother. just 2 cranks of the accel pump and off you go, per the prior owner. If you choke it you flood it. Quirky beasts aren't they?

[Rikugun]

Well, interesting replies indeed!   I'm starting to see a pattern of preference for the AGM batteries. Seems they make for less "wakka wakka's" prior to firing.  ;D  dscob, do you let it idle a bit before riding off? If so, what RPM does it idle at sans choke when cold? Mine seems to idle ridiculously slow even with some choke.

vadasz1, as much as mine likes cooler weather I'm not certain she would be willing to start at below freezing temps. I'm not eager to try either but it seems the cooler it gets the less easy the first start of the day becomes.

David, I've done the electrical mods except the AGM and spark wires. I'm a little reluctant to lose the solid core wires but the AGM is a possibility as my battery is getting a bit long in the tooth.  Actually, given the replies I guess mine starts as well as most. It just starts so differently compared to the 4 cylinder Japanese bikes I've owned.

[fiatracer]

They are much different. My AGM is the 220 cca type and it has eliminated the trickle charger and spins it like NOS! lol it is the best mod I can recommend. I prefer deka batteries they last better but to each his own. I am toying with the idea of pods on one of mine to see what happens, anyone tried?
   Also mine takes right off half choke and needs very little warm up time

[Rikugun]

It seems to me a few have mentioned trying it.  Roro bought a bike with no airbox and had this to say: http://ridersofvision.net/rovforum/index.php?topic=12497.msg113893#msg113893

"When I bought my 550, it had homemade filter socks over the trumpets (no airbox) and straight through pipes
Air Jet 130/130
Main Jet 127.5/127.5
I did look around for K&N filters just because the socks were ugly but couldn't find anything to fit without cutting the trumpets down.

Anyway it sounded great - a real throaty roar (a lion vs a kitten) and ran like a cut cat at WOT but it bogged down in lesser throttle positions.  I played around a bit then just put it back to stock.  I know more now and think a lot of the issues were down to the leaking YICS and poor sync, but don't have the patience to try it all again without measuring equipment."

Dales famous "unique" silver Vision with the auxiliary shocks apparently had  pod filters at one point although the completed bike had the mikunis installed
http://www.bikepics.com/pictures/2176310/

[YellowJacket!]

Rikugun,

I did the plug wires about a year before I did the power/ground and fuseblock and it did make a difference.  IMHO, the plug wires made a big difference and didn't add any new problems.

I think part of my original battery problem was my trickle charger.  I was eating up batteries at a rate of 1 per year or worse.  My original TC was a schumacher but my new one is a Battery Tender JR.  It did seem like the AGM held a charge better and longer and gives a better crank than the lead/acid.  Since doing the better quality ground/power wires and the fuse block, the battery loses little charge at all.  Granted, it would have been nice to see of those changes made an improvement with the lead acid as well.

David

[67GTO]

So is it ok to use the Battery Tender Jr on AGM batteries?

[Rick G]

I have a Harbor freight knock off that says not to use it on AGM/s I think I'll ask the Deka rep.