Cold Start Woes Revisited

[dandercore]

I have had a People 50 for about 3 years now and morning starts have been more and more difficult. I am even having trouble starting on 70F+ mornings here in Georgia. I have read covering the air intake may solve the issue. Just to make sure, that is the round, finned area over the fan, correct?

[gosku]

Clean the air filter, if it doesn't help then clean the carburetor. Should help.

No, I believe what you are speaking about is the magneto. The air intake is on the other side of the bike, it goes through your air filter. It's just above CVT cover (the cover with the kick starter pedal on it).

[karhumies98]

Check the plug?

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[dandercore]

Thanks everyone. Filter and plug are clean. This is a problem that just won't go away. Suspect the choke isn't working properly. This is the third choke I have had on this thing. Installed a manual and it worked great until it fell apart. Back to the automatic and it has never started easily cold since installation.

[BettinANDlosing]

Is the idle jet clear of blockages? Sounds like a plugged up idle circuit. You can cover the small square hole in the bottom of the airbox (left hand side right above the kick start) and give the bike some "choke".

[brainpann]

Not sure if this is related but Im having a similar issue with my 2003 People. Basically, anytime it's humid or after it rains, it either takes about 30 minutes to get going or cant get it going at all. Often it will start up right away but will idle out after about 10 seconds. What I noticed it that if I try starting it a few times, about 30 minutes before I need to leave, it will work....usually.
 Recently I  took it in for a tune up and had them clean the carburetor, thinking that would solve the issue. Granted, it now runs a lot better after having it serviced but Im still having rainy day issues. I keep it covered at night in a garage but it still gets a bit wet because there is a deck above my garage, therefore not completely covered from the elements.

Does anyone have any suggestions for this?

[gosku]

Often it will start up right away but will idle out after about 10 seconds.

Locate the idle screw on your carburetor, turn it clockwise by 1/4 turn. If the engine idles out I bet it has too low idle RPM's, so you need to raise them a little by letting more air into the carburetor and engine. It should also allow you to start the engine more easily. The screw is flat, with one notch, located perpendicularly to the ground on the left side of the carb just next to the airbox.

[brainpann]

Locate the idle screw on your carburetor, turn it clockwise by 1/4 turn. If the engine idles out I bet it has too low idle RPM's, so you need to raise them a little by letting more air into the carburetor and engine. It should also allow you to start the engine more easily. The screw is flat, with one notch, located perpendicularly to the ground on the left side of the carb just next to the airbox.

Thanks!

I tried it but no luck. Its getting worse as time goes by and I really have no clue.  It seems like it doesnt matter whether it rains or not;it will have trouble starting albeit more so when it rains or is humid.

[gosku]

Strange! And how's your battery?

[brainpann]

Here's a quick update on the situation. I took the scooter back to the guys that tuned it up. Told them what was going on and they very quickly said they'd take a look. After about 15 minutes of it being in the garage, the mechanic came back and showed me the spark plug cap and that it was more or less shot. The metal pincer had started to come out making it impossible for the cap to get a good connection with the plug.

Ive now been driving the scooter around for the past few days, even after we've had some light rain and it starts up great every time. Im hoping that was the issue and so far, it seems that way.

[gosku]

Great! Thanks for sharing the solution 
Happy riding!

[mclark999]

Thanks everyone. Filter and plug are clean. This is a problem that just won't go away. Suspect the choke isn't working properly. This is the third choke I have had on this thing. Installed a manual and it worked great until it fell apart. Back to the automatic and it has never started easily cold since installation.

What manual choke did you use?

Where did you buy the replacement choke/auto bystarter?

[mclark999]

Sometimes I don't know whether to add to an existing thread or start a new one.  I'll add for now.

I bought a 2007 People a few weeks ago with just 1000km on it.  When I went to test ride it the battery was dead from sitting over the winter. The seller put a new battery on it and it started right up and ran fine for a short test ride. I bought it.

I drove it about 10 miles home and it ran fan running up to 50 mph on the speedo going down small hills and overall seemed fine.

The next morning it started right up but when I gave it throttle, it died.  Did this several times and I put it away and took my car.  I read through a bunch of posts and found that if I put my hand over the snorkel/air intake I could get it to run and drive.  It does die sometimes when it's cold and I have to do the same thing all over.

I also added a couple ounces of Seafoam to the gas in case the gas had been sitting in it all winter and things got gunked up.

I tried the 1/4 turn of the air screw and that made things worse. Put it back to where it was.  I've kept riding it and have put a couple hundred miles on it.

Still has the cold start problem and now once it warms up it only seems to be running at about half power under full throttle. It just pulls slowly up to speed but doesn't go over about 30 mph. Definitely not running at full power.  When it's cold, it does give full power.

I checked the spark plug wires. They look like new - the scooter is basically an almost new 8 year old bike.

So I'm thinking to start taking things apart and cleaning them.

Thought I'd start with the fuel filter first and then move to the carb if that doesn't work.

Any other ideas?

[gosku]

Check and preferably change the spark plug for a new one. Clean the air filter, you might want to install a new one if yours used up.
If giving it more air worsened the condition, then maybe you aren't getting enough fuel. I would check the spark plug color - if it's orang-ish, then this explanation will be confirmed.

[mclark999]

Thought I'd post an update after riding the scooter through the Denver winter.  I don't ride it if it's below about 30 degrees F because I just get too cold. I don't have a fairing yet - maybe this fall.

So I found a great way to get it to start pretty easily when its cold out and it's very simple. 
1) Turn the ignition key switch on.
2) Keep the handlebar switch turned off
3) Push the starter button and let the engine turn over 2 or 3 times (this seems to prime the engine)
4) Turn the handlebar switch on
5) Push the starter button and it starts right up.

I just let it warm up for about 2 minutes while I put my helmet and gloves and safety vest on and then it's ready to ride.