Never used a choke

Minibiker

Minibiker

Minibiker

Soldato
Joined
27 Mar 2016
Posts
7,308
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Bristolian living in Swindon
Hi all

Managed to save up and get myself a cheap Fazer 600 1998, Only issue i think i will have is using the choke as ive never had an older bike, Is it simple to use? Also is it best to let these bikes warm up before setting off as i started it up and left straight away today and the revs were dropping a fair bit when i stopped at lights...

Cheers
 
Choke fully on to help start when cold, once started back off to 50%, few small blips of the throttle, choke off and away you go. If it’s still lumpy you can leave a little choke on but probably not needed.
 
Thanks for the tips bud, On hot days like we've been having is it ok to start the bike and leave straight away, The only reason i ask is because i leave for work at Half past midnight and its a pretty loud exhaust, Dont want to **** the neighbours off :p
 
As above, the only thing you need to change is manually adjusting the choke.

In this weather your probably won't even need much/any choke, but in winter: choke fully out, start bike, give it a few seconds then choke half way in. Ride away, and after a mile push the choke in all the way.
 
TallPaul_S said:
As above, the only thing you need to change is manually adjusting the choke.

In this weather your probably won't even need much/any choke, but in winter: choke fully out, start bike, give it a few seconds then choke half way in. Ride away, and after a mile push the choke in all the way.
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Thanks bud, ill get there eventually :p i need some cold days to test it now :p
 
Minibiker said:
Thanks for the tips bud, On hot days like we've been having is it ok to start the bike and leave straight away,
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Perfectly ok to do this (it's actually preferable) on either hot or cold days, but on cold days you'll need more choke and need to keep it on for longer. You will probably find the throttle response is a bit ropey with the choke on as well, but that's carbs for you.
 
As others have said, start a cold engine with full choke, after a few seconds lower to half (roughly). As a general rule of thumb when I had a carbed bike, I switched the choke off after 0.5-1 mile. If the engine is hot, you will not need any choke to start most of the time.

You'll get the hang of it quickly, if you turn the choke off too soon it'll want to stall when coming to a stop/idle as it's still cold. I live right by a main road so once I'm on the main road I used to switch it off as I knew it wouldn't be slowing to a stop for a few miles.
 
Scythe said:
As others have said, start a cold engine with full choke, after a few seconds lower to half (roughly). As a general rule of thumb when I had a carbed bike, I switched the choke off after 0.5-1 mile. If the engine is hot, you will not need any choke to start most of the time.

You'll get the hang of it quickly, if you turn the choke off too soon it'll want to stall when coming to a stop/idle as it's still cold. I live right by a main road so once I'm on the main road I used to switch it off as I knew it wouldn't be slowing to a stop for a few miles.
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The trick is remembering to turn it off while riding :D on my CB400 which had a choke it was onto the main road then after the first set of lights I'd turn it off, just over 0.5 miles.
 
I think all bikes are a bit different. I always start my 96 cbr up on the choke, unless its already been running in the last few hours. in this weather it's just to the end of the next road and then it's fine. Winter just keep it on the choke at lights etc for a min or two and it should be fine. The SV was a massive pain in the winter. even with choke on I had to keep the revs up to keep it running until it warmed up
 
Lakeland said:
A few moments is ok but ideally you should set off pretty quickly.
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Well I leave for work just after midnight most nights so don't really want to be sat around with the revs high, ive been setting off more or less straight after starting the engine and by the time I get to the traffic lights the engine seems warm and running ok, Just didn't know if it was good for the bike.
 
Minibiker said:
Well I leave for work just after midnight most nights so don't really want to be sat around with the revs high, ive been setting off more or less straight after starting the engine and by the time I get to the traffic lights the engine seems warm and running ok, Just didn't know if it was good for the bike.
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It's fine, if anything it's better than leaving it sitting idling as you're actually getting some decent oil pressure and load on the engine.
 
with my road being a bit narrow and me leaving at 6.30AM I also start the bike on choke and leave straight away. Been doing this all year round for 2 years on this bike and no issues.
 
Minibiker said:
So is that full choke on or only slightly bud?
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It'll totally depend on the bike and the temperature. My blackbird needs full choke to start up and get going then once the temp needle had started to move I can knock it down a bit at a time until it's in the middle of the gauge and the choke can be shut off.
 
OP : It richens the mix when cold to give the engine a little fuel to prevent it from stalling at idle , but when it warms up, the mix becomes too rich and it’ll start faltering under acceleration.

So it’s really a case of finding the balance of reducing it as it warms up and going from stalling at idle to faltering under load like Lakeland describes. You’ll notice yourself based on the above.
 
The coolest choke I've ever used, and I'm sure @Nomisf will know of this one, was on a Tomos moped. It's a little lever on the side of the carburettor. Press it down until it clicks, then rev the engine a few times, and give it full throttle to turn if off again whilst holding the rear brake. Proper old school mechanical choke, very simple stuff.
 
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