T350 hard start when cold - weak spark??

[mike1161]

Just a question.... when hot, my T350 starts every time with 1 kick. But cold, it usually takes between 4 and 8 kicks. Is this normal? Here's my cold starting drill:
1) Pull clutch in, 1 kick to free up clutch plates
2) Turn petcock to prime for a few seconds, to fill carb bowls (I can see when fuel slows, have transparent fuel lines). Then set petcock back to normal position
3) Depress starter lever, turn ignition on
4) Kick
Bike has stock airbox, pipes, and I think all stock pilot jets (I had to get new needles, old ones were bad). But my thinking is that needles shouldn't affect the starting.
For anyone with a T350, is this normal? I was thinking maybe it was a weak spark? The plug boots seem to be original, last night I pulled them off the coil wires to take a resistance reading. LH measured 9.5Kohms, RH measured 9.3Kohms. Strange readings, so I did some research on NGK's site, they only offer resistor covers in 1K, 5K, and 10Kohms. So maybe the boots are going bad? NGK has a 10Kohm boot that seems to be a very close match that I could swap in, NGK PN is LB10EH.
Or is this normal for starting cold?

[ConnerVT]

9.3-9.5k is close enough for 10k plug caps. No need for a precision resistor here.

Try this on your next cold start, and see if it helps:

After priming and choke on -
1. Leave key off.
2. Hold throttle 1/4 or so open.
3. Kick 1 or 2 times (doesn't need to be hard kick, just need to turn the motor a couple of times).
4. Release throttle.
5. Turn key on.
6. Kick to start.

This will help to pull a fresh fuel/air charge into the cylinders (moisten things up, if you will).

[mike1161]

Thanks! I will give this a try & report back.

[Vintageman]

I have two T350 and T305 engines in my gt250s


a few kicks OK cold (usually a couple .... left kick is still an odd thing for me). 8 seams too much. It is a very good sign (good top end) if it start straight away when warmed up

Yes you may have to play wit throttle... for quickest result starting position. funny my son swears by the fact it should start with throttle closed... Idle circuit has to be spot on... I more like what ConnerVT says. hat ever you need gives clues

Once it's start how long do you have to use the enricher lever (aka choke). If you don't need it at all. then try without choke?

If you need it a long time ???

My cold start, say 65-85F, needs choke lever on for a second or two, then I turn off, if it won't keep running I flick it back on and repeat maybe three or four times. I usually like to get rolling ASAP and if I leave choke too long afraid of fouling a plug.

[mike1161]

Thanks guys. I tried Connor's method yesterday for 3 separate starts from dead cold, it worked pretty good! Not counting the kicks with the ignition off, it started on the 2nd or 3rd kick. That's more like it. With the enricher lever down, it really won't run at all. I can hear it fire with the enricher, but then it dies. So then I turn the enricher off off and kick again with just a bit of throttle, and it goes. Just have to keep blipping the throttle for a minute or so. But I can ride off slowly after just 30 seconds or so, & ride slow to warm up, with no real hiccups.
Oh well, guess there's nothing to repair.... (for now)

[ConnerVT]

Yes you may have to play wit throttle... for quickest result starting position. funny my son swears by the fact it should start with throttle closed... Idle circuit has to be spot on... I more like what ConnerVT says. hat ever you need gives clues

I read that in an article about kick starting a thumper. It was on the Internet, so it had to be correct.

Seriously, you read all that you see on the Internet, and you try to determine what makes the most sense. Both the thumper and the Suzuki Mikuni's have enrichment circuits. Those act like another pilot circuit, so you really shouldn't need to have the throttle open when kicking to start (as you are then also using other circuits of the carb). But a couple of pre-start, part throttle kicks to help get everything breathing (also mentioned in that article).

The bike *should* start, when cold, with the enrichener on, in 2-3 kicks, without the extra pre-dance stuff. Question is, why isn't Mike's doing so? My gut says that for some reason, it is too rich, and the extra shot of air is helping things along. A dirty carb/air passage, plugged up air filter, something making it too rich. How does it run once you get it started? Does it get better/worse after you have ridden it for awhile?

[ConnerVT]

Found the article: http://rideapart.com/articles/how-to-ki ... motorcycle

[Craig380]

My dad was a lifelong biker, and the method he taught me has worked for every bike with a kickstarter that I've ever owned or ridden:

- when the engine is stone cold: fuel on, choke / enrichment on, kick over one time per number of cylinders the bike has with ignition OFF and throttle SHUT. Ignition on, then a firm swinging kick.

- engine hot: ignition on, dial in about a quarter throttle, firm swinging kick

Even with my old GT250X7, which had a very powerful ignition system (you could arc-weld with the sparks it gave at the plugs), it always needed a couple of 'priming' kicks when cold before it would start. Don't forget, on a stroker with a cold motor, the fuel/air mix has to go on a long journey through the crankcases, up the transfers and into the cylinders before getting anywhere near the spark ... so they need a strong drink to start with

[mike1161]

The bike *should* start, when cold, with the enrichener on, in 2-3 kicks, without the extra pre-dance stuff. Question is, why isn't Mike's doing so? My gut says that for some reason, it is too rich, and the extra shot of air is helping things along. A dirty carb/air passage, plugged up air filter, something making it too rich. How does it run once you get it started? Does it get better/worse after you have ridden it for awhile?

Right, glad you asked these questions, it got me to thinking! The bike only has maybe 1500 miles on it since restoration, so it's got a almost new air filter & carbs were really cleaned well. But what stuck with me is your thought that something's making it too rich. And right, it should run for a bit with the enricher lever on. But mine would only fire momentarily with the enricher on. So I thought about changing the idle air screw settings. I had them at 1.5 turns out, but changed them to 2 turns out, to make the idle mix a bit leaner. Then tried another cold start. Guess what? It started 1st kick, and idled just fine with the enricher lever left down! So I guess another 1/2 turn on the air screws made a huge difference!

- when the engine is stone cold: fuel on, choke / enrichment on, kick over one time per number of cylinders the bike has with ignition OFF and throttle SHUT. Ignition on, then a firm swinging kick.

- engine hot: ignition on, dial in about a quarter throttle, firm swinging kick

Right, this works like magic! (with correct carb settings, that is... )
Thanks again to everybody, I learned something new!