20
Depending on the engine and ambient temperature, use the carburetor enricheners and starting
procedure as follows:
Manual Starting (without electric starter)
1. Turn on the ignition and depress the kick lever (see Fig. 1) about
1/4 of its travel (enough to firmly get the ball of your foot on the lever) with either your left
foot or right foot, depending on what position is most comfortable with your right hand on the
throttle. Take up the slack in the throttle until you can feel some slight resistance from the
return springs in the carburetors. However, do not advance the throttle, since this may flood
the engine.
Note: You may find it more comfortable to stand on the left passenger foot peg with your right
foot and kick with your left foot.
Give the kick lever a swift kick. When the engine starts, tickle the throttle (quickly increase
and decrease it) to keep the engine running, but not too fast. If the engine doesn’t start,
repeat the kicking procedure. A properly adjusted warm engine should start within a few
kicks. If the engine doesn’t start, try the procedure described below in item 3. If it still
doesn’t start or fire, it may be flooded.
Note: Do not open the throttle while kicking the engine over since it may flood the spark plugs.
Electric Starting
1. Set carburetor enricheners as with kick starting. Unlike manual starting, however, the
gearbox does not have to be in neutral as the electric starter may be engaged with the clutch
lever pulled in, or with the gearbox in neutral. Make sure the Ignition Cutoff Switch is set to
“ Ignition On” and push the starter button to turn over the engine.
2. When the engine has been standing for several hours but the ambient temperature is
high (60°F/15
°
C degrees or above), try starting it without any enricheners. If it doesn’t fire,
then use the procedure described below.
3. When the engine is cool or cold and the ambient temperature is between40
°
F-60
°
F/5
°
C-
15
°
C, depress both enricheners to start. As soon as the engine starts, immediately retract
the enricheners. Run the engine at moderate speed for 30-60 seconds. If it starts to die,
blip the twist grip throttle (rapidly twist part way towards full throttle and then back off) to
keep the engine running. After 1 to 3 minutes, depending on ambient temperature, the
engine should run smoothly without “blipping” the throttle.
4. If the engine is cold and ambient temperature is below 40
°
F, first, give the engine 5-10
(depending on how cold it is) priming kicks with the ignition off. This will get some oil circu-
lated to key internal parts. Engage the enricheners on both carburetors. The engine should
