FZ 600 Posted December 8, 2008 Share Posted December 8, 2008 It is getting really cold here in Pennsylvania and I have noticed my bike getting harder and harder to start. This morning my bike wouldn't start. I have a 1988 FZ600u that is in pretty good shape and has had no problems starting until it has become cold outside. I just bought the bike this past summer and the bike was inspected and fixed up right when I got it. I replaced the spark plugs about 2 weeks ago and they didn't seem to help all that much. Do you guys think if I got a new battery that would help at all? What else could the problem be? Thanks. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Moderator Airhead Posted December 8, 2008 Moderator Share Posted December 8, 2008 Could be the battery, is the motor turning slowly on the starter? why not use some jump leads to a good battery to see if it improves Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ttaskmaster Posted December 8, 2008 Share Posted December 8, 2008 Simple cold, from the sounds of it. Do check things over, though. Make sure all your seals are good, tubes connected right etc. Make sure the battery is looked after too. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
yoda Posted December 8, 2008 Share Posted December 8, 2008 There are several things that cause poor cold starting. The two that stand out are poor battery and lower compression. The combination of the two will prove painful. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TazR6 Posted December 8, 2008 Share Posted December 8, 2008 As the cold weather comes, the oil in the engine and gearbox gets thicker. It takes more power from the battery to turn the starter. Sadly, as the cold weather comes, the battery itself produces less power. The combination of the 2 results in bikes/cars becoming harder to start. If a battery is new, and used regularly, it should see through a winter. However, as they age, they get worse. I cannot recommend strongly enough the use of a batter optimizer/charger that can be left on all the time the bike is not in use (as opposed to a battery charger, that cant be kept on without long term damage). the optimizers condition the battery and make sure that its at peak performance all the time. I went out to the garage to my bike, took the alarm off, turned the ignition on, a bit of choke, and hit the starter. She fired into life immediately cause the battery is good and strong. If an electric supply is not to hand for you, solar powered optimizers are available. They obviously only work in the day, but with use, they should keep the battery in good enough condition to power the bike enough to start in a morning. However, if you do not know the history of the battery, and it doesnt look new, it is probably a good idea to replace it. Get an optimizer at the same time, and you will be ensured of years of use out of it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Moderator YamaHead Posted December 8, 2008 Moderator Share Posted December 8, 2008 After you get your Battery sorted...... & depending on WHERE you park your bike......a good space heater can make those cold starts ALOT easier. It pre-heats the oil as well as the ignition.......my old XJ550 took to it well. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JimR Posted December 8, 2008 Share Posted December 8, 2008 It is getting really cold here in Pennsylvania and I have noticed my bike getting harder and harder to start. This morning my bike wouldn't start. I have a 1988 FZ600u that is in pretty good shape and has had no problems starting until it has become cold outside. I just bought the bike this past summer and the bike was inspected and fixed up right when I got it. I replaced the spark plugs about 2 weeks ago and they didn't seem to help all that much. Do you guys think if I got a new battery that would help at all? What else could the problem be? Thanks. Hi How cold is cold ? -7 or just 0 ? I assume your bike is an air cooled FZ if not you may have a coolant problem, if the coolant is straight water or has had time to degrade the engine could freeze up in the correct conditions. If air cooled, this is only UK spec problems, you could have some short starter motor brushes, bad battery, out of spec starter relay or addly enough some out of spec genny brushes. I'm not saying any of these are correct as I'm sure there are people here who could answer your questions more correctly. Regards Jim Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FZ 600 Posted December 9, 2008 Author Share Posted December 9, 2008 Thanks for all the great suggestions and ideas. I think it is mostly due to having a bad battery. I decided to try to use a little bit of extra juice and jumped my bike battery with my car battery. The bike started right up and I was amazed by how easy it worked. So I am going to head over to the local bike shop today after work and see if they have the type of battery that I need. I live in an apartment and only have outside parking and can not hook a trickle charge. I was looking into the solar powered ones but it just doesn't seem practical to hook it up when it could be stolen very easy. I ride my bike to work everyday, snow and ice permitting, so it isn't like the bike is sitting for a while at any time. If I could somehow mount the solar trickle charger on my bike perminantly for the winter I would be down with that. Has anyone done this? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ttaskmaster Posted December 9, 2008 Share Posted December 9, 2008 How cold is cold ? Well, it's been as low as -2 round here, of late. I'm in the city centre as well. If you step outside and end up jumping back in shrieking, "Feck me, it's a chilly one", then you may consider it to be officially cold. If I could somehow mount the solar trickle charger on my bike perminantly for the winter I would be down with that. Has anyone done this? I have. Wire the thing into a 5-pin relay, along with all the fancy electro-crap, like heated grips. Then build the solar panel into your leather saddlebags. That's what I've done and am chuffed to fuck, if I do say so meself!! Or, secure it some-other-how. Chain it on, lash it, tie it, bolt it..... Improvise, adapt, overcome!!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JimR Posted December 9, 2008 Share Posted December 9, 2008 Well, it's been as low as -2 round here, of late. I'm in the city centre as well. If you step outside and end up jumping back in shrieking, "Feck me, it's a chilly one", then you may consider it to be officially cold. I live on the top of the Malvern hills & its been cold here ! but as I work outside (main job the bike shop is financed by this and what the old man left me) I have. Wire the thing into a 5-pin relay, along with all the fancy electro-crap, like heated grips. Then build the solar panel into your leather saddlebags. That's what I've done and am chuffed to fuck, if I do say so meself!! Or, secure it some-other-how. Chain it on, lash it, tie it, bolt it..... Improvise, adapt, overcome!!! buy a doberman that likes being pillion ? Regards Jim Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts