Service

SERVICE

Hot starting problems

I am a bike messenger who has just switched from bicycle to motorcycle (1987 Honda XL250R) for messenger work here in New York City. My Honda is a nice bike and can take anything the streets can dish out, and it handles well. The only problem is how long it takes to start when the engine gets hot (five to 10 minutes!). I get paid on commission, so it really matters how fast I can get from one place to another. And if it takes me five minutes to start the bike . . . well, put it this way: My paychecks aren’t what I'd like them to be.

What I would like is to just have it where I kick once and, bang! it’s started. Is there anything I can get or do to achieve this goal? Several suggestions would be helpful, and price is no object.

Michael White

Jamaica, New York

If price is truly not a concern, we have an easy suggestion: Buy a Kawasaki KTR250 or 1988 Honda NX250, both of which have an electric starter.

There are less-extreme steps you can take with your XL, however, to make hot-starting easier; both with the bike and in starting technique. First, make sure that the valves are adjusted to the loose side of the specified clearance, and that the idle speed setting on the carburetor is no higher than necessary. Also, the automatic decompression .vrvtem should be adjusted to Honda

specification. Then, when kick-starting vour XL hot, first kick it through two or three times with the throttle fully open, to clear out the intake tract and combustion chamber. Next, kick it through hard and fast while leaving the throttle fully closed: don 7 crack it open the smallest amount. If it doesn't start on the first or second kick, repeat this procedure.

If this doesn't work, we'd suggest disconnecting the XL's automatic decompression system and installing a manual decompression lever (using XL600 parts). Afterwards, you'll need a new hot-starting drill: First, kick the engine through several times with the throttle fully open and the decompression lever pulled in, again to dear the engine. (These can he easy kicks.) Then, release the decompression lever and slowly push the kickstarter lever down until you feel stiff resistance: that's when the piston is approaching the top of the compression stroke. Pull the decompression lever in again, and ease the kickstarter lever down another inch or two, which moves the piston past compression. Let the kickstarter return to the top of its travel, and let go of the decompression lever again. At this point, one stout kick with the throttle dosed should start your XL.

This last starting procedure is more complicated in description than execution: once it becomes habit it should only take a few seconds—and result in a healthier paycheck. It's also a procedure that will work with any fourstroke Single.

SRX Q&A

I am the proud owner of a Yamaha SRX600 which I love but has a few problems. In the manual it states that the primary fuel tank has a capacity of four gallons but my bike goes on reserve after less than three. The front brake is not very powerful and I was wondering if I could replace the master cylinder with another Yamaha unit with a smaller piston? Any ideas why I get significantly higher fuel economy at 75 mph vs. 55?

David Bell

San Luis Obispo, California

We measured the total fuel capacity of our test SRX600 to be 3.9 gallons, so it 's not surprising your hike goes on reserve after burning about 3 gallons. If you wanted to increase the main tank capacity while reducing the reserve, you could remove the petcock and shorten the main pick-up tube on it, which would allow the tank to drain further while the petcock is in the normal "on"position. Overall, though, you V/ still cover the same distance before you ran out of fuel.

A master cylinder with a smaller piston will change brake effort by the ratio of the squares of the piston sizes. That is, a master cylinder with a 15mm (15x12 = 144) piston replacing a master cylinder with a 14mm piston (14x14 = 196) will require only 73 percent of the effort (144 is 73 percent of 196)for a given stopping rate. We'd suggest dropping your piston size by no more than 1 or 2 mm, and making friends with your local parts man to find a Yamaha master cylinder that will ft.

We're surprised that your SRXgets better mileage at 75 mph than 55: if that's actually the case, the most credible explanation is that the efficiency of the engine is much higher at the speed and load at 75 mph, so much so that it more than compensates for the extra power required to sustain the extra 20 mph. But that's hard to believe: are you sure you 're comparing similar conditions? Steady running at 75 mph would ordinarily be more efficient than stop-and-go with a peak speed of 55.

CR80 vs. TT500

I have two friends; one has a twostroke Yamaha 1 75 and the other friend is getting a CR80. The kid who’s getting the CR80 says he can blow my Yamaha TT500 away. I know that’s not possible. But for the 1 75 Yamaha 1 don’t know because my bike is in the shop, getting the rear wheel respoked. What do you think?

Eric Bible

Seymour. Tennessee

We firmly believe that running bikes are faster than bikes unbought or bikes in the shop. But other than that, we wouldn 7 bet against the CR80. It 's probably giving away less than 10 horsepower to a TT500, has the benefit of much more advanced suspension, and weighs over 100 pounds less. Its performance may surprise you.