Choke lever ? How do I operate it ?

[alol74]

yet another silly question from motorbike newbie.

There is a choke and it has a lever that seems to have 3 positions - can anyone suggest what positions are for what regime ? It seems that all-down is for starting engine... Middle is when it is warm, but if I go all way up it just stalls Any hints please ?

[Guest]

May take a while to learn your bike. But you sound like you have the right idea, full on for cold starting, reduce as it warms up, once it is warm you should be able to turn it off completely. If when you turn it off it ALWAYS stalls, some cable adjustement may be reqd.

[alol74]

May take a while to learn your bike. But you sound like you have the right idea, full on for cold starting, reduce as it warms up, once it is warm you should be able to turn it off completely. If when you turn it off it ALWAYS stalls, some cable adjustement may be reqd.

Would this affect riding in top gear ? Cause i've noticed that engine hesitates and kinda misfires when I give it full throttle in top gear ?

[Guest]

Would help to know what bike, year etc m8.

[alol74]

Would help to know what bike, year etc m8.

It is Honda XR125L 2004

[Guest]

Could be a number of things. Is airfilter new? When was last service? etc....

The symtom you describe ( at high speed) sounds like its struggling to get fuel or air. Best bet is get hold of a haynes manual or similar and use the trouble shooting guide. It'll have the info you need.

Also, WalneyFrankie will be along to this thread soon, he may be able to offer advice I have missed.

EDIT: ah, if choke is still on, you could be flooding engine though.

[Colin the Bear]

In summer or starting the bike in a warm garage you may need no choke at all.

Sitting on the bike , select neutral gear (light comes on) and raise side stand. Check kill switch is in run position. Lights off. Some bikes need the clutch lever in. Some start better with it in.

Press the start button and listen to the engine. Use short bursts of the starter so as not to drain the battery.

If it fires, catch it with the throttle.

If it doesn't fire, move the choke to the first position and try again.

If no joy move to second position and try again.

It should start.

Don't be tempted to ride off at this point.

Let the motor run for 30 seconds or so , listening all the time. As the revs pick up, move the choke to its resting position, in small increments.

The choke does just that, it cuts off the air to the air fuel mix , making it "richer."

This will help a cold engine to fire up but is undesirable for normal running purposes.

Too rich a mixture on a cold day will wet the spark plug rendering it unable to do its job. ie ignite the mixture with a spark. So less is more and don't be tempted to blip the throttle before you hear it firing.

Once the bike is running smothly and responding to the throttle it's time to move off.

Moving off before the engine is warm may result in an unexpected stall and an off. Which will take a lot longer than the 30 seconds or so to warm the engine.

Your bike is 5ish years old and may be in need of a service. Nothing too complicated on the XR. Make sure you lock it up well. They are highly nickable.

[alol74]

In summer or starting the bike in a warm garage you may need no choke at all.

Sitting on the bike , select neutral gear (light comes on) and raise side stand. Check kill switch is in run position. Lights off. Some bikes need the clutch lever in. Some start better with it in.

Press the start button and listen to the engine. Use short bursts of the starter so as not to drain the battery.

If it fires, catch it with the throttle.

If it doesn't fire, move the choke to the first position and try again.

If no joy move to second position and try again.

It should start.

Don't be tempted to ride off at this point.

Let the motor run for 30 seconds or so , listening all the time. As the revs pick up, move the choke to its resting position, in small increments.

The choke does just that, it cuts off the air to the air fuel mix , making it "richer."

This will help a cold engine to fire up but is undesirable for normal running purposes.

Too rich a mixture on a cold day will wet the spark plug rendering it unable to do its job. ie ignite the mixture with a spark. So less is more and don't be tempted to blip the throttle before you hear it firing.

Once the bike is running smothly and responding to the throttle it's time to move off.

Moving off before the engine is warm may result in an unexpected stall and an off. Which will take a lot longer than the 30 seconds or so to warm the engine.

Your bike is 5ish years old and may be in need of a service. Nothing too complicated on the XR. Make sure you lock it up well. They are highly nickable.

 

cheers for that. Actually even with choke on revs don't seem to go up as engine warms up...

Not sure about service - will probably have to do it myself as I kinda suspect that it hasn't been done for quite awhile...

[alol74]

In summer or starting the bike in a warm garage you may need no choke at all.

Sitting on the bike , select neutral gear (light comes on) and raise side stand. Check kill switch is in run position. Lights off. Some bikes need the clutch lever in. Some start better with it in.

Press the start button and listen to the engine. Use short bursts of the starter so as not to drain the battery.

If it fires, catch it with the throttle.

If it doesn't fire, move the choke to the first position and try again.

If no joy move to second position and try again.

It should start.

Don't be tempted to ride off at this point.

Let the motor run for 30 seconds or so , listening all the time. As the revs pick up, move the choke to its resting position, in small increments.

The choke does just that, it cuts off the air to the air fuel mix , making it "richer."

This will help a cold engine to fire up but is undesirable for normal running purposes.

Too rich a mixture on a cold day will wet the spark plug rendering it unable to do its job. ie ignite the mixture with a spark. So less is more and don't be tempted to blip the throttle before you hear it firing.

Once the bike is running smothly and responding to the throttle it's time to move off.

Moving off before the engine is warm may result in an unexpected stall and an off. Which will take a lot longer than the 30 seconds or so to warm the engine.

Your bike is 5ish years old and may be in need of a service. Nothing too complicated on the XR. Make sure you lock it up well. They are highly nickable.

 

cheers for that. Actually even with choke on revs don't seem to go up as engine warms up...

Not sure about service - will probably have to do it myself as I kinda suspect that it hasn't been done for quite awhile...

Engine always stalls in top lever position .... BTW, I don't understand why the bike is actually called "NXR 125" (found it printed on its body) whereas in all docs it is called and registered as Honda XR125...