glider
07-18-2007, 03:29 PM
Resist Temptation, the Enrichener is Evil
This is one of the most common problems that our technicians see, and it is a problem that can be entirely avoided if you take the time to pay attention to what you are doing.
We're all guilty of it. It's morning, you want to ride, so you hop on your motorcycle, pull out the choke (or the enrichener, to those of you who are hip to Harley lingo), fire up the engine, and let the bike idle for a few minutes. Or maybe you don't have the time to wait, so once the motorcycle is running you throw it into gear and roar out of your driveway, figuring that the bike will warm up along the way. Not a big deal, right?
Wrong, dead wrong.
During cold startups, the enrichener pumps extra fuel to your engine, allowing for much easier starts. Once the engine is running, however, all the extra fuel that the enrichener provides is just that, extra. Since your engine can't use all of the fuel that is being dumped into it, all of that excess is being dumped onto your spark plugs, causing your engine to hesitate, lose power, idle rough, and smoke.
Once the motorcycle is started you should push the enrichener in as far as possible (while still leaving the motorcycle running) and from that point manually control the motorcycle's warmup with a fast idle. In warmer months, try not to use the enrichener at all unless it is necessary.
This is one of the most common problems that our technicians see, and it is a problem that can be entirely avoided if you take the time to pay attention to what you are doing.
We're all guilty of it. It's morning, you want to ride, so you hop on your motorcycle, pull out the choke (or the enrichener, to those of you who are hip to Harley lingo), fire up the engine, and let the bike idle for a few minutes. Or maybe you don't have the time to wait, so once the motorcycle is running you throw it into gear and roar out of your driveway, figuring that the bike will warm up along the way. Not a big deal, right?
Wrong, dead wrong.
During cold startups, the enrichener pumps extra fuel to your engine, allowing for much easier starts. Once the engine is running, however, all the extra fuel that the enrichener provides is just that, extra. Since your engine can't use all of the fuel that is being dumped into it, all of that excess is being dumped onto your spark plugs, causing your engine to hesitate, lose power, idle rough, and smoke.
Once the motorcycle is started you should push the enrichener in as far as possible (while still leaving the motorcycle running) and from that point manually control the motorcycle's warmup with a fast idle. In warmer months, try not to use the enrichener at all unless it is necessary.