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R1100RT starts on 4th try each time!?

My high miles 94 RS always starts on one "starting cycle". Meaning, I apply the "choke" lever on ALL the way (past the detent) and simply hold the start button down. Turns over about four times and fires up. I release the choke lever to the detent position, when the oil pressure light goes out (almost immediately) I click it into gear and go.

Been doing that since Oct 94, in east central Wisconsin, from hot summers to cold January days. Always starts on one start cycle. So I would have the basics checked out. No reason your bike should take more than two start cycles at most.
 
4th try starting R1100

My '99 R1100 always starts on the first try. Because of the way my GPS sits I can't use the fast idle lever. I just twist the throttle slightly while pushing the starter button. Starts every time - first time. No way can the fast idle lever be a choke. I've started my bike at temps down into the 30's. If it had a choke, and it wasn't used it would be very difficult to start. I'm getting older (68) and remember "real" chokes.

Karl:laugh
 
Yep, twisting the throttle slightly and pushing the fast idle lever do exactly the same thing. Had a big discussion about the "Choke" thing here on the forum one time and I shot a short (terrible) video of what goes on in the Bowden cable splitter box to illustrate the point.

Pull the throttle cable or pull the fast idle cable makes no mechanical difference. You still end up pulling the two throttle body cables from the same pulley.
 
My high miles 94 RS always starts on one "starting cycle". Meaning, I apply the "choke" lever on ALL the way (past the detent) and simply hold the start button down. Turns over about four times and fires up. I release the choke lever to the detent position, when the oil pressure light goes out (almost immediately) I click it into gear and go.

Been doing that since Oct 94, in east central Wisconsin, from hot summers to cold January days. Always starts on one start cycle. So I would have the basics checked out. No reason your bike should take more than two start cycles at most.

Mine starts on the second try.
Thanks for this post Andy. I'm going to try it. I won't get on the bike till Friday, though...
 
I only call it a "choke" lever since it relates to what most people are familiar with starting an engine. Actually, its more a "high idle" lever and has no actual "choke" function. About the only remaining chokes these days are on lawnmowers and snowblowers.
 
First Start Choke

I noticed over the years that the choke cable either stretched or slipped, but in any case, I have to push the choke past the "high" setting and hold it there manually. This eliminates the problem for me. You can re-adjust the cable but the left throttle body has to be removed to gain access.
 
I noticed over the years that the choke cable either stretched or slipped, but in any case, I have to push the choke past the "high" setting and hold it there manually. This eliminates the problem for me. You can re-adjust the cable but the left throttle body has to be removed to gain access.

Welcome to the forum!

Assuming you are talking about an oilhead, the fast idle cable (sometimes called a choke) on oilhead bikes can only be adjusted at the handlebar. It goes down into a bowden box and there there is no adjustment down there whatsoever. This bowden box sits under the battery comes out of the motorcycle from the right side of the bike.
 
I'll make a wager here that if you turn the key off and on 4 times, allowing the fuel pump to cycle each time, then hit the starter on the 4th time, it will start right up. If that works, then my money is with some of the previous posters on fuel filter needs changed or the possibility that the fuel pump is getting weak.

Another possibility is that you have some water in the gas that is restricting the fuel filter. A bottle of HEET and a nice ride usually takes care of that. Some think the alcohol in the gas (ethanol...ETOH) will take care of the water in the tank. Maybe it will, maybe it won't. Depends on whether the ETOH is already saturated with water or not. Using HEET (methanol or isopropanol) will likely dissolve the rest of the water and keep it in solution long enough to get it through the fuel sock, fuel pump, filter and injectors and burn it. I usually run a bottle through the bike after the rainy season. The ETOH (and all alcohols) will absorb water right out of the air.

Try the cheap and easy things first. HEET, then fuel filter. Then maybe clean injectors. Last resort, test/replace fuel pump.
 
Glad to say my beloved R1100RT "katarina" now consistently starts with the 1st push of the starter button!

She also seems to run smoother and with more pep.

Resolution of delayed / difficulty starting coincided with replacement of air and fuel filters. Not sure which was the culprit as they were replace simultaneously. (The scientist in me wants to put the old filter back in temporarily and see if the problem is reestablished.)

Incidentally replacement of the clutch cable and it's adjustment was straightforward and easy. Taking the fairings off and replacing them also was easier than anticipated.
Quick disconnects added to fuel lines. Looking forward to doing future maintenance.

Thanks all for your responses and interest.

Wnelms,
Nice work. My bet would be the fuel filter was causing a restriction. Had you tried to ride at high speed and up hill I'll bet you would also have noticed a problem.

If you don't know for sure that all the hoses in your tank have been replaced sometime in the last 5 years you should schedule that for a convenient time. They can fail partially and silently, and then catastrophically and suddenly. Here's what happened to me, Highway Hose Failure. There are three short high pressure hoses and two longer thinner vent hoses. All must be rated for immersion in gasoline. It's a good time to make sure that the vent hoses aren't reversed--something easy to do but hard to spot.
RB
 
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