Starting suggestions

[Rounder]

My 2000 Std (11,000 miles) seems to need some throttle to start. Temp 80-90 deg F
This is my first Valk but most previous bikes I have owned (including wings) generally would start with full choke only.
Bike runs great once shes started.
I hate using throttle because its hard to duplicate the results everytime.
I am wondering if this is normal or do I have some clogged idle jets?

[Ricky-D]

You're fine. Mine has always taken a little blip of the throttle.

***

[Tfrank59]

Mine also requires a small amount of throttle to start.  In order to get more or less the same amount of throttle I actually put a paint stick dot to show me how far to twist it 

[nogrey]

Just a thought: whenever I or my friends experience this issue it's usually a precursor to a dead battery. No other symptoms, starts and runs as you've indicated, then BAM, you're on an outing, go to start your bike after lunch and no go. Dead batt. Of course, this is not a sure thing, but if your battery isn't at least 13 volts before starting, there's a very good chance that it's going bad.

[Rounder]

Thank you for the replies.
Nogrey that is interesting info and really useful as I can see the battery is a few years old but the battery was very low when I went to buy the bike as it had been sitting.

Do you other guys experience this even with a good battery?

[Ramie]

It seems my I/S doesn't like choke at all in the warmer weather here in MN.  I need to hit the start button and when I hear it catch I blip the throttle and it comes to life.  It does take a minute or two of running for the idle to smooth out and pick up.  Like you every other bike I've had it's needed choke.  I'm thinking I do need to pull the carbs and do some cleaning but would rather wait until the end of the riding season.

[Tfrank59]

Yes, my bike requires a little blip of gas to start up, regardless of the battery's condition – it turns over very quickly-- and it needs that shot of gas regardless of the season hot or cold.  FYI the mc-bob on the left handlebar is technically not a choke but an "enricher", which I think just means when on it's adding an extra shot of fuel.

[RonW]

Same year, same temp, and always used the throttle. I remember however when the mileage was low(4K), it started up strong with barely any throttle. Never used the choke. Eventually I'll put in a new battery and see if it starts up instantaneously like in its heyday. I did replace the battery twice already, but forget how it started.

[John Schmidt]

Keep in mind, these carbs don't have accelerator pumps so twisting the throttle before hitting the start button does nothing but exercise your wrist. Once you start turning it over with the starter and then a slight amount of throttle....that often helps. In Florida I seldom use the choke, sometimes in the winter when the temps are in the 30's. My old GL1200 pops off every time w/o any choke, but to smooth it out a bit of choke helps once running. After it's warmed up, any amount of choke will cause it to die. That bike is coldblooded, the Valk generally isn't. I installed #38 slow jets in the Valk a number of years ago and set the pilots at two turns out. Since then I've never had clogging from this lousy ethanol even after sitting for a few weeks. My mileage is generally in the mid-upper 30's if I behave.

[Punisher]

Also be sure that you're pressing the "choke/enricher" lever all the way down.   It pushes fairly easy to a point, and folks new to the Valk think that's as far as it goes, but if you keep pressing it will go another half inch or so past that first stopping point.

I find that during the summer I don't have to use any choke, just a slight blip of the throttle while cranking.

[Steve K (IA)]

In 49 years of riding, I have had nothing but Honda's.  Every one needed to be choked if it hadn't been ridden earlier that day.  Warmer or cooler weather never made a difference.  My Valks are no different.  I do have to give a little gas while choking or not.  I can not just hit the starter and have either one just fire up.

[The emperor has no clothes]

Mine starts best with no throttle till it fires up . No choke either. 1/2 choke in the winter (ok enricher)

[PharmBoy]

It's just a natural reaction with me to twist the throttle a little when hitting the starter button.  If it doesn't start immediately, then I use the choke to get it started.  My I/S has 38's for slow jets and I can't remember when I had to choke it.  It does run a little rich at lower rpm's and I'm shortly going back to 35's when I install the new carb kit.  It still runs fine, but I know that it has never had the ethanol proof o-rings installed.  It is just time for this and a few other minor things (new tires).  Proper maintenance keeps any piece of machinery running trouble free a lot longer...Jim

[Pappy!]

No need to go back to 35's, just turn your screws in another 1/4 turn or so to get rid of the richness. See John Schmidt's post above yours.
I also run 38's in one of our Valks. On my last trip this Summer I was getting a shade past 40mpg with them on some roads. You can lean it out with the adjustment screws enough to shut off the cylinder....how lean do ya want to go?
Sorry for the temporary hi-jack!

[Rounder]

Thanks for all the great info.
I also notice that the bike doesn't fire until I let go of the starter button. That seems different but its been starting great now that Ive got down the "blip".

[RonW]

I also notice that the bike doesn't fire until I let go of the starter button.

The explanation was that when you release the start button, electricity stops being fed to the starter motor ..... leaving in its absence now sufficient electricity to power the coils as in your scenario that is the engine cranks but does not start up until the instant you let go of the start button. It could be due to a marginal battery that just doesn't pack enough wallop to power both the starter motor & the coils simultaneously ..... or a starter motor usually it's connections that has high enough resistance that its circuit starves out the coils.

[Ricky-D]

Thinking that a simple adjustment of the pilot screw can mimic #35 slow jets when #38 slow jets

are installed in the carburetors displays a total lack of knowledge regarding the Valkyrie carburetors.

No amount of pilot screw adjustment can make using one slow jet equal to using a larger or smaller slow jet. If the goal is

to obtain a leaner low speed fuel mixture, the only way is to utilize a smaller slow jet. And visa-versa,

if you are looking to gain a richer low speed operation.

***

[WintrSol]

Ricky-D is mostly correct; when using a larger slow jet, the pre-mixed fuel and air fed to the pilot screw is richer. Turning in the pilot screw reduces the amount of this flow, however, and at a steady idle, you can bring the total mixture back to that of the smaller jet, but the adjustment is less precise, as a small amount of turns on the pilot screw has a much larger effect on the idle mixture. During higher vacuum, the increased draw through the pilot circuit will make the mixture richer than with the smaller jet. Also, the choke bypasses the pilot screw with the very same mixture, so the larger slow jet makes for a much richer starting mixture, which will cause the engine to load up shortly after starting if you leave the choke fully on.

[Ricky-D]

That's nonsense.

***

[Firefighter]

I usually use the choke on my 2000 IS when cold (sat all night). The only time mine will start with out a little throttle is if it only sits a few minutes like when gassing up. If I ride and go have breakfast even a 100 miles from home, I have to give a little throttle when starting. Sometimes I give too much and scare the women and children.

[WintrSol]

That's nonsense.

***

Which point? I've been working on and examining schematics for CV carbs for a lot of years, and that's the way they work. There is a slow fuel jet and a slow air jet, which are mixed before reaching the pilot screw. The pilot system delivers fuel/air mix through small ports in the area of the spot the throttle plate closes; when at idle, little or no fuel enters the airstream through the main jet, so the pilot system provides it. The volume of this mix is controlled by the pilot screw, which is adjusted to provide just enough to offset the lack of fuel coming from the main jets; this can be adjusted to the same richness, no matter if the slow jet is large or small, as long as it'd not so small it can't provide enough fuel. During high-vacuum operation (the throttle is closing) more of the pilot fuel/air mix can be drawn through these holes than happens at the vacuum levels at idle, and, with larger slow jets, this mix is richer, and the overall mixture is richer, until the vacuum drops to idle levels. The starting enrichment system delivers fuel/air from the slow jets to ports separate from the idle system ports, further enriching the mixture for starting; if the mixture is richer from a larger slow fuel jet, the engine gets a richer mix here, too. Also, during extremely high vacuum, the transient enrichment valves kick in, which also get the fuel air mix form the slow fuel and air jets. With what part of the description do you disagree?

[Valkpilot]

I also notice that the bike doesn't fire until I let go of the starter button.

Classic symptom of a battery on it's way out.

[Rounder]

Thank for the info.
I had time to check out the battery today with a meter. Battery read 12.5 bike off and recently charged up.
When I hit the starter button it dropped to 8.5 while starting under load and I believe it should have only dropped to about 9.5 if it was a decent battery?
What should it read when its running and being reved up??  13.5 I think was what I had maybe a bit more??
Probably time for a new battery.

[RonW]

when running you're reading the alternator's output, well, at least anything above battery voltage. And yea, shouldn't drop below the 9.5v threshold while the start button is pressed in.

[John Schmidt]

For a test, put a meter across the battery posts and hit the starter. If the voltage drops more than 2 volts +/- a slight amount, your battery is getting weak. If it drops below 10v on starting, replace it before you get caught somewhere less desireable than your shop.