Honda VLX... Is This A Cold Natured Bike or What?!?

[Elmo]

My wife owns a 2001 Honda VLX Shadow (600). It is a great bike for her and she really likes it. But, man is this thing cold natured... it takes several minutes and/or miles for it to warm up and run "right". After that, no problem. Any feedback would be appreciated.

Thanks,

Elmo

 

[mjm]

My wife has the same model bike (2004), with no problems at all, even in the cold. She pulls the choke, starts it up, and away she goes. In fact, we rode up to Bowling Green, KY a few weekends ago to see the Harley drags and it was COLD!. When we left the house that morning it was about 28 degrees, and didn't get much above 40 for the day. The only complaint I've heard from her regarding the cold and her bike is that I need to install grip warmers and buy her a set of chaps.

 

[Elmo]

My wife has the same model bike (2004), with no problems at all, even in the cold. She pulls the choke, starts it up, and away she goes. In fact, we rode up to Bowling Green, KY a few weekends ago to see the Harley drags and it was COLD!. When we left the house that morning it was about 28 degrees, and didn't get much above 40 for the day. The only complaint I've heard from her regarding the cold and her bike is that I need to install grip warmers and buy her a set of chaps.

I remember that weekend, and you're right, it was cold. Back to the bike... we've never had any trouble with it not starting, it just coughs and sputters a lot until it gets warmed up. It's nothing we can't live with : .

Elmo

 

[CarSalesman]

Honda sends most of their carbureted bikes out the door with the idle mixture very lean. That is even worse when cold. I had a Shadow 1100 a few years back. When I adjusted the idle mixture, I found the rear cylinder was almost totally closed off at idle (only had 1/2 turn from seated).

Do an idle mixture setup, then a throttle sync (if it has 2 carbs), and all will be better. Its just too lean.

 

[nurseBob]

Honda sends most of their carbureted bikes out the door with the idle mixture very lean. That is even worse when cold. I had a Shadow 1100 a few years back. When I adjusted the idle mixture, I found the rear cylinder was almost totally closed off at idle (only had 1/2 turn from seated).

Do an idle mixture setup, then a throttle sync (if it has 2 carbs), and all will be better. Its just too lean.

That lean mixture may be in deference to CA's emissions requirements. Same for my old Suzuki Intruder - the first thing the dealer did _after_ the sale was to make the mix richer, so it would start on cold mornings...

 

[mjm]

Brain cramp

Ahhh...it's all coming back to me now. Sorry Elmo, I forgot to mention an overcast day last fall when the wife told me her bike was running like crap and it's a piece of junk and I need to fix it now, and so on and so forth. Anyway, I did have to adjust the fuel/air mix and idle speed. Once I tweaked it in, it ran fine.

Come to think of it, I've owned several Honda's over the years that are/were carburated. And all seemed, at least in my experience, to be cold blooded to some extent. The worst was an 83 Goldwing that I still have. Whenever the temp got below 45, my riding season was pretty much over. A few year back, I replaced the 4 carb setup with a single carb conversion kit. Wow, what a difference it made. Not only would it start and run in the cold, but as an added bonus, I no longer have to sync the carbs. However, I do still have to tweak the mix depending on the season and elevation I'm riding.

All I got to say is; Thank God for fuel injection!!!

 

[Elmo]

All I got to say is; Thank God for fuel injection!!!

Amen! :bow1:

Elmo