hard starting

when starting bike from cold in the winter i start it up about every 2 weeks, it takes a bit of starting and if it does start it is very uneven till warm.today i charged the battery for an hour before starting and it fired right up and ran like a champ.this is with the bike outside and after taking the cover off,the bike was wet through with condensation.with the lights coming on with the ignition does this rob the ignition system of power for start up.it has always done this,and no it is not the battery as this is the third i have had since i have had the bike.any thoughts?

 

headlight comes on with key but goes out when starter button is pushed. a cold headlight is a drain on the battery unplug it for the winter or remove the headlight fuse
how cold it is outside may also be the problem with the gasoline try a little starting fluid not much as it will foul plugs quickly if bike does not start

my bikes startup easy at 30 degrees F with out starting fluid. could be your enrichment circuit tubes or the carb bowl wells are pluged up on the carbs that are not starting well.

charging battery may be heating up carbs and fuel enough to make it start easier

 

Keep your battery hooked up to a battery tender. It will keep the battery fully charged and make the bike easier to start.

 

Gasoline at cold temps isn't the issue.... my sleds start right up with three pulls at zero or below... car starts right up, snowblower starts right up.....

 

update.went through all the wire connectors on the ignition system and cleaned them up with contact cleaner.that was 8 days ago and today tried starting the bike,battery reading was 12.6v and it fired right up despite being outside under a cover and covered in condensation after rain and snow in the past 2 days.

 

I've had my XJ550 since it was brand new. Brand new, it was a hard starter when it was 45 deg F or below. I often had to "crank" a bit with full enrichment/choke, wait a few minutes, then crank again and it would start.
I wonder if this was because it ran really lean from the factory. It also happened when my battery aged and a jump start would cure the battery issue.
I've now adjusted so it is now running a bit richer, so it starts just as well cold, sometimes even better, than when warm.

Sounds like in your case it was weak ignition from poor electrical contacts.

 

They ran slightly lean from the factory for better EPA results, but yes....these are better to keep a tad rich.
Dave