85xj700 winter start

Hi... a great site for someone like me who wants to do his own repairs, but is still pretty amateur.

I got an 85 Maxim 700 last spring after it had been sitting for 3 years. Took it to a great repair shop here in Calgary and they got it running perfectly. I had a great summer of riding this bike... fast, fun, smooth... started on a touch!!

Other than a little lower high speed cruising revs... I don't know why I would ever want another bike.

But I have a problem now. Parked the bike in the garage in Sept... filled the tank up with treated gas... and left it. Went to start it this week (just to give it a mid winter start!) and it wouldn't start. I don't think this is long enough for a gas problem. There is spark, but to my untrained eye and never having seen a Maxim spark before.. seems a little weak.

Any suggestions! I don't want to have to haul the bike to a shop if I can diagnose this one myself.

Thanks.

 

How quickly is it turning over? These bikes have a reputation for being hard to start on a battery that is weak, even if its just a little below par. The starter tends to not leave enough juice for the ignition system. That's a good place to begin, but there are lots of other places to go from here. Post back with more info.

I agree that that's not enough time to cause a fuel problem, but I would try not to let it go that long if at all possible. Three months becomes five then eight and the next thing you know, you have a problem. I recommend starting at monthly least and that goes for any engine I want to count on.

Good Luck,



Edit: added missing word

 

Thanks Mike
I charged the battery and it seemed to be turning over well. Could it be that since it is cold (like -10 C...this is Canada!!) it takes too much juice to turn over and not leaving enough for ignition? Would trying to "jump" it from my care be appropriate?
Cheers
Dave

 

At 14F, I dont want to go out to get wood for the fire, much less start a bike!

I'm going to defer to someone with more experience in dealing with these bikes in the cold. My guess is that just trying to turn the crank through the oil and pump the oil at that low of a temp is going to suck a lot of juice. I'm also real doubtful that these carbs are capable of any real atomizing of the fuel that cold. It will need a real hot spark to make it go. I notice a real difference in mine with a 10 deg F change in the 30 to 50F range.

I think I'd put a space heater on it (please think of safety) and then maybe jump it if it still didn't want to start . Lets see what others have to say.

 

If you decide to jump it. Make sure the car is NOT running as this can burn up the cdi box.

 

OK..got a warm day (o c 32 f). I hooked it up to car battery (car not running!) And wouldn't start even after a fair bit of turning over. There was a good looking spark...but the plugs were dry.
I drained each float bowl and tried again. They each filled up well again and with full choke it fired but wouldn't start.
Could it just be too cold for those carbs to vaporize properly?
I think I'll just tuck it away until a warm spring day and then try again...hope it is just the cold.
Dave

 

Sounds like it may have sat long enough for the pilot jets to get clogged up a touch. It doesnt take much to have them clog up. Just for reference, Have you put an inline filter on the fuel line going to the carbs. This will keep the small junk out of the carbs. If the bike sat for 3 years it is bound to have some junk in the tank. The new fuel in the tank may be losening the stuff up and then it is finding its way to the carbs causing them to gum up. Warmer weather would definately be nice in order to work on the bike though.

 

I had to choke the crap out of mine to get it started too when it sits in the cold shop last winter. I now keep a float charger on the bikes all winter and they start right up. I also found that when I heat the shop (when I'm working out there) the bike starts up without using the choke, like in the summer months. I figure the oil is alot heavier last winter too (conventional oil) and now I switched both bikes over to synthetic oil and they turn over alot easier in the winter.
Alot of things can contrubute to a hard starting bike and I found a few of them over the years.

 

When it's cold I have to choke a lot and sometimes I'll put a 500 watt work light on the engine for some warm up and then it starts right up. Something about the heat on the engine helps it start right up.

 

What's a float charger?

Mick Faighaigh.

 

faighaigh,
When I referred to a "float charger" I mean a small 1-2 amp charger that will keep the battery fully charged at all times. When the battery does not call for any more charge, the charger just goes on "float" mode. >PD<

 

My 85 XJ700 starts at a touch and smooth as silk....
All I can do to get it to start this time of year below 35deg F
It will start with lots of choke and NO throttle and too much cranking to be good for the starter.

I lay mine up with SeaFoam and dont screw with it till spring (just my way)

 

Hey guys, interesting topic for me, seeing that I too live in the the frozen tundra up here. The in-line gas filter that you were refering to, is that a stock product or an after market. Any where in particular to pick this up.
Cheers! MACDBF.

 

Yup, the Seafoam is great stuff. Not only is it good for winter storage, it cleans things out when they get sicky and prevent the dreaded varnish from forming in those teeny tiny journals inside the carbs.
The inline filters are after market ones. There is only the small screen filter inside the tank on my bike, so I intalled a small see-thru type inline just below the petcock. There isn't much room, but they do fit. They can be found at most small engine shops (ones that repair lawn mowers, snowblowers, etc) or an automotive supply store.

 

Thanks PainterD,
I'll look around for both the SEAFOAM, and the IN-line. This site is proving to be invaluable to a NEWB like me.
Thanks again, Mac

 

After putting a really good battery in my XJ, it starts great when it's cold. Last week it started right up when it was 18 F. Took it few minutes to warm up and run smooth is all.

Don't use a cheap walmart battery. For me when it comes to starting in cold weather, a good battery is the first priority.

 

I also pull the battery out about the time the weather gets down to about 15 deg F at night and put it in the well house with my rv batterys and keep them at about 55 deg F I also put a charge on them about once a month.

I havent lost a battery in the winter since I've been doing this! (about 10 years) I do however loose one ocassionaly in the summer but cant remember when.

 

They last a very long time when kept charged.

 

Thanks for all of the advice. This is going to be a great site for an xj newbie like me.
I'll think I'll take the advice to use the Seafoam...install a filter...and put the bike away until spring! I agree that it seems too hard on the starter to try and start it in the winter
In the meantime I'll enjoy reading the various threads on this site...and hope I never need them!
Dave

 

I read through all the replies and it seems like you're getting tips about electrical/battery or fuel solutions. One thing I can tell you about my XJ700 is that even after sitting for a few weeks it won't start unless I turn the fuel petcock to "prime." This dumps fuel into the carbs and makes for an easy start.

Again, I don't recall seeing this tip amongst the other replies so forgive me if it's already been mentioned.

Good luck!

 

You are hereby nominated for the thinking man of the week award!

Nice observation.

 

Hey, I can use positive feedback like this! Any chance of you sending a nice letter to my boss??

 

Anytime!