1999 honda elite hard start

[goreyboggs]

Hey guy im looking to fix a problem I had last year with my 1999 elite. Its very hard to start, sometimes I give up on the battery and just kick start it. It can take a good 5 min to get it started. After it has been running it starts easy but if I let it sit for a few hours its hard to start all over again. When I got the elite it had a clone (Chinese) carb on it and started easy and it even had the bystarter unplugged on it. I did not like having the clone carb so I bought a used stock one and got it all pluged in the right way and that's when I started having problems with it starting. so I took off the clone bystarter and but it on ther stock one and it still does the same thing, hard to start. Do I just have 2 bad bystarters or could it be something else? Any help would be great! I really want to put a new vareiater in as I already took off the ramp limiter and drilled out the washer on the exhaust. I also upjetted the main jet as well.

[Wheelman-111]

Greetings

I will assume this is a 2001 Elite, as the 2-strokes in the U. S. and A. were discontinued in 2002.

So far your focus has been limited to bad carburetion. While that is certainly a common issue for starting and running, you must keep in mind that other things can be wrong with a 13-year old scooter. You didn't mention if you had checked the airbox, reed valves, crank seals, spark plug, compression, and exhaust systems. If an issue exists in any of those, all the jet-fiddling and carb swapping in the world won't help. Check the easiest things first, pull the spark plug and take a pic.

[goreyboggs]

Yup, sorry its a 1999

[swimmingfree]

tack a photo of the spark plug and post it it will tell us a lot like to rich to lean ... have you done a compression test on it????
swimmingfree

[goreyboggs]

Ill take one tomorrow, is it ok that I have not started it in a few months due to the weather? Also it seemed to run fine before switched out the carb. That's why I was thinking carb issues.

Jeff

[patthesoundguy]

Sounds like a bystarter not working or the pilot jet is clogged up or its feed from the bowl is clogged up. Those carbs have the same style bystarter as the spree and the like right? Maybe wires got disconnected from the bystarter. Or its possible the idle air screw is set up too lean to get it to start up properly.

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[lakehouse]

If you are suspecting the bystarter, why not bench test it? The specs are in the service manual. And while you're at it, make sure you have voltage going to the bystarter too. Periodically, if you have one near you, Harbor Freight Tools gives away free voltmeters as a lost leader. I have 4 of them! Check their fliers in the paper and/or various magazines.

Put the Chinese clone carb back on and see if it starts OK. If it does, it's a safe bet that all your basics should be in good shape. I just spent the past 5 months chasing down carb issues until I finally figured out my problem. The carbs are fairly simple, as long as some Bubba didn't get a hold of your used one and poke around inside of it before you got it. Also, when it won't start for you, pull the carb bowl drain screw and make sure you still have fuel in the carb. Ya never know. Also, pull the airbox off and try to finger choke it when trying to start. That might give you a clue of too rich or too lean conditions for starting. And above all, use common sense and analyze what facts you find. You might be surprised what you might come up with. But I'd bet with you that it's carb issues. Hang in there and don't give up. A lot of persistence will be rewarding for you!

[patthesoundguy]

If you are suspecting the bystarter, why not bench test it? The specs are in the service manual. And while you're at it, make sure you have voltage going to the bystarter too. Periodically, if you have one near you, Harbor Freight Tools gives away free voltmeters as a lost leader. I have 4 of them! Check their fliers in the paper and/or various magazines.

Put the Chinese clone carb back on and see if it starts OK. If it does, it's a safe bet that all your basics should be in good shape. I just spent the past 5 months chasing down carb issues until I finally figured out my problem. The carbs are fairly simple, as long as some Bubba didn't get a hold of your used one and poke around inside of it before you got it. Also, when it won't start for you, pull the carb bowl drain screw and make sure you still have fuel in the carb. Ya never know. Also, pull the airbox off and try to finger choke it when trying to start. That might give you a clue of too rich or too lean conditions for starting. And above all, use common sense and analyze what facts you find. You might be surprised what you might come up with. But I'd bet with you that it's carb issues. Hang in there and don't give up. A lot of persistence will be rewarding for you!

The finger choke trick is one of my faves, it will very quickly tell you if you have by starter or pilot issues. If you can get at the inlet of the air box just choke it there with it cold. If it starts right up you have a good place to start. Great post lakehouse

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[Wheelman-111]

Greetings:

GoreyBoggs axted:

Do I just have 2 bad bystarters or could it be something else? Any help would be great!

The Default position for a bystarter is "Enrich to Start" mode. A bad bystarter won't make it hard to start, just hard to run once the engine warms up.

Assuming your used Honda carb isn't toast or still gummed up, is it possible you made an error installing it? The flange bolts are notoriously easy to strip, and ANY lack of tightness there is critical. Filter element and airbox are oiled and installed? Spark plug fresh? Compression tested? These are easy to check, easier than stripping a carb, anyway.

Bad reeds make for really hard starting and poor low-end performance. Flash 3 choked on a piece of filter foam that broke off he 10-year-old element on its first ride to work. Scared the snot out of me, but the stuck foam was just gapping the stock reed a little. A broken carbon petal on Flash 2 made me think I'd run out of gas.

A well-adjusted carb can get dirty, but it usually doesn't go out of adjustment.

[goreyboggs]

It has a new filter and plug installed before I put it up for winter. I can pull the carb. In fact if someone want to take a look at it for me I would gladly pay for shipping both ways!