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Hard Starting Randomly


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So do you think syncing the throttle bodies will smooth out the low end? I can do my own 600 mile service except the throttle bodies.
Well, I can answer this one: It certainly can.  Synching them up on my SV650S made a difference in rideability.  So can a properly adjusted TPM[1].  I'd get both of those done. 
Having said that, most fuel injected bikes have touchy throttles at low openings, compared to carbureted bikes.  In some respects I blame emissions regulations on that since they are trying to run the fueling very lean, particularly at the smaller openings that are most of the emissions testing cycle.  My Daytona had it in spades and it was made even worse by the low flywheel effect of the motor.  Going slowly over bumpy roads was a lesson in jerkiness when I first got the bike.
 
If simple tuning doesn't clear it up then something like a Power Commander or an ECU remapping may help, although not at trivial cost.  I think, though, that you're likely to learn to ride around it in short order.  On the Daytona I learned how to keep the throttle hand very steady even over pretty rough terrain.  Within a couple of weeks I barely ever noticed it anymore.  I bet you find the same thing.
 
[1] Anyone know the procedure for doing this?  I know on some bikes you do a certain sequence to calibrate it (like turn key, open throttle full, close full, repeat, turn around three times and whisper sweet nothings into the airbox), which can be done by anyone with no special tools.  It would be nice if the FJ were like that.
 
2015 FJ-09 (Mary Kate)
2007 Daytona 675 (Tabitha, ret.)
1998 Vulcan 800 (Ret.)
2001 SV650S (Veronica, Ret.)
2000 Intruder 800 (Ret.)
 
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[0] or 4000 miles
I forgot to ask ... you started a numbered set with zero.  Are you a programmer too? :-) 
2015 FJ-09 (Mary Kate)
2007 Daytona 675 (Tabitha, ret.)
1998 Vulcan 800 (Ret.)
2001 SV650S (Veronica, Ret.)
2000 Intruder 800 (Ret.)
 
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[0] or 4000 miles
I forgot to ask ... you started a numbered set with zero.  Are you a programmer too? :-)
I have been - started programming a Research Machines 380Z in school in 1979. Then dropped out of a Computer Science degree course to go to work. Career 1 in reprographics ended. Then worked for Xerox UK, did some Tech elec eng qualifications and eventually worked in their electronics division, at one time writing code for electronics automated test equipment made by Zehntel. I haven't done that since Xerox outsourced their manufacturing to Hungary in 2002. I'm on career 3 now after going back to uni to get a Masters degree at age 48. Now 52 and working in frontline child protection as a social worker for local government, so spend a large part of the day holding the hand of techno-numpties who struggle to send an email at times and shaking my head at how inept our IT support workers are.  
So, it seems old habits die hard...
This signature is left blank as the poster writes enough pretentious bollocks as it is.
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JimF- blame the EPA. Usually caused by the bike being a bit lean for emissions.
 
There used to be tricks for adjusting what is called the CO percentage - at idle. Similar to adjusting the pilot mixture screw on a carb. This can be done WITHOUT buying a power commander or the like.
 
However, the FJ 09 is one of the newer models that involves plugging in some special dealer software in order to make these adjustments.
 
My advice? Get both the TB sync and the CO adjusted by your dealer. Should notice a big improvement.
 
(Yes, I speak from experience here ...)
 
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I forgot to ask ... you started a numbered set with zero.  Are you a programmer too? :-)
I have been - started programming a Research Machines 380Z in school in 1979. [...] 
So, it seems old habits die hard...
It's good to see that my fellow geek detector still works. :-)  I've kept with software ever since I was a teen, and I'm pretty well grey at this point.  I have a knack and I like it and they pay you well enough to occasionally buy a new motorcycle and related farkles.  Even so, sometimes I think I'd like to do something else for awhile, so I'm a little jealous of your meandering career.  Not enough to have to move out of my house into something with a more affordable mortgage though.... 
2015 FJ-09 (Mary Kate)
2007 Daytona 675 (Tabitha, ret.)
1998 Vulcan 800 (Ret.)
2001 SV650S (Veronica, Ret.)
2000 Intruder 800 (Ret.)
 
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Back to this topic. I had the hard start happen this morning. Turn the key waited to hear the fuel pump didnt hear anything and went to start. Nothing. Turn the red switch off and back on and it fired up. Not sure what it was but my guess was the fuel pump was not priming it. Anyone else have this on a cold start?
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Back to this topic. I had the hard start happen this morning. Turn the key waited to hear the fuel pump didnt hear anything and went to start. Nothing. Turn the red switch off and back on and it fired up. Not sure what it was but my guess was the fuel pump was not priming it. Anyone else have this on a cold start?
I was baffled when my fuel pump did not prime every time. Turns out I intermittently switched off with the red button and left it off. If you switch on the ignition with the red button off the fuel pump does not prime. Are you sure you had the red button in run?
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Back to this topic. I had the hard start happen this morning. Turn the key waited to hear the fuel pump didnt hear anything and went to start. Nothing. Turn the red switch off and back on and it fired up. Not sure what it was but my guess was the fuel pump was not priming it. Anyone else have this on a cold start?
I was baffled when my fuel pump did not prime every time. Turns out I intermittently switched off with the red button and left it off. If you switch on the ignition with the red button off the fuel pump does not prime. Are you sure you had the red button in run?
 
So what your saying is leave the red button on and only turn it off by the key? This is the first I have had this problem. The way I shut her down is by the key then turn the kill switch (red button) all the way to off.
 
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Yes. 
Always use the key to turn the bike on and off. Just forget that RH off/run switch even exists. 
Otherwise it's too easy to use the off/run switch to kill the engine and then leave the key on and drain the battery. 
 
My 0.02$ U.S. 
-skip
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It doesn't really matter, but you should switch the red switch to the run position before you switch on the ignition. If you do that the fuel pump will prime the system before you crank it. So the advice to use only the ignition switch makes sense - as it means that the kill switch will always be in run mode. I never touched it all on older bikes which had a separate kill switch and starter button.
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I was baffled when my fuel pump did not prime every time. Turns out I intermittently switched off with the red button and left it off. If you switch on the ignition with the red button off the fuel pump does not prime. Are you sure you had the red button in run?
So what your saying is leave the red button on and only turn it off by the key? This is the first I have had this problem. The way I shut her down is by the key then turn the kill switch (red button) all the way to off.
On my old bike, a Triumph Daytona 675, they had a problem with the fuel pump such that if you used the kill switch it could cause electrical spikes that could kill the ECU.  The manual said to always use the key.  Alas, this goes against the teaching of MSF, which says to always use the kill switch so that you can hold both grips until the motor stops running; I had the better part of a decade of practice doing it the MSF way and it wasn't that easy in terms of habit to switch.  Thankfully they had added a relay between the fuel pump and the rest of the system to alleviate this problem by the time I bought the bike so it no longer mattered. 
On the FJ, I find the location of the key such that it's not always easy to reach to turn it off, especially with the tank bag on.  I much, much prefer the kill switch for this reason.
 
I hadn't heard about having the kill switch in "run" being necessary to prime the system, but it seems to me that the real issue is that you need to wait long enough for the priming to happen one way or another.  On the Triumph the bike wouldn't even crank until you'd waited a few seconds for everything to boot up and stabilize.  The FJ will cold-start right away, even while things are still initializing, which surprised me.
 
At least, it will cold-start right away *most* of the time.  I have managed to get it into a state where the "check engine" light shows and it will crank but not fire, just like others have done.  Since then I've made it my practice to flip the key to 'on' and the kill switch to 'run' and then wait until the dash initialization completes before trying to start it.  It lights first try every time if you do that.
 
Of course, I'm a software geek and just figured that there is probably a bug in the system such that an interrupt or signal that hits at the wrong time during initialization might get missed, leaving the system in a state where the engine wouldn't fire.  I'm not superstitious about much, but I'm superstitious about trying to interact with software while it's starting up....
2015 FJ-09 (Mary Kate)
2007 Daytona 675 (Tabitha, ret.)
1998 Vulcan 800 (Ret.)
2001 SV650S (Veronica, Ret.)
2000 Intruder 800 (Ret.)
 
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So what your saying is leave the red button on and only turn it off by the key? This is the first I have had this problem. The way I shut her down is by the key then turn the kill switch (red button) all the way to off.
On my old bike, a Triumph Daytona 675, they had a problem with the fuel pump such that if you used the kill switch it could cause electrical spikes that could kill the ECU.  The manual said to always use the key.  Alas, this goes against the teaching of MSF, which says to always use the kill switch so that you can hold both grips until the motor stops running; I had the better part of a decade of practice doing it the MSF way and it wasn't that easy in terms of habit to switch.  Thankfully they had added a relay between the fuel pump and the rest of the system to alleviate this problem by the time I bought the bike so it no longer mattered. 
On the FJ, I find the location of the key such that it's not always easy to reach to turn it off, especially with the tank bag on.  I much, much prefer the kill switch for this reason.
 
I hadn't heard about having the kill switch in "run" being necessary to prime the system, but it seems to me that the real issue is that you need to wait long enough for the priming to happen one way or another.  On the Triumph the bike wouldn't even crank until you'd waited a few seconds for everything to boot up and stabilize.  The FJ will cold-start right away, even while things are still initializing, which surprised me.
 
At least, it will cold-start right away *most* of the time.  I have managed to get it into a state where the "check engine" light shows and it will crank but not fire, just like others have done.  Since then I've made it my practice to flip the key to 'on' and the kill switch to 'run' and then wait until the dash initialization completes before trying to start it.  It lights first try every time if you do that.
 
Of course, I'm a software geek and just figured that there is probably a bug in the system such that an interrupt or signal that hits at the wrong time during initialization might get missed, leaving the system in a state where the engine wouldn't fire.  I'm not superstitious about much, but I'm superstitious about trying to interact with software while it's starting up....
I've always waited for the screen to initialize.  I guess since I work with computers so much it didn't even cross my mind that the bike would even try to start until the computer was booted.  lol.  I have had it give me troubles starting or running rough.  I think both times I've been talking with friends with the key in the on position for an extended period of time.  My theory is it had set long enough that the fuel was no longer primed.  If it does run rough, it smooths out after a minute or two.  Since I've come up with this theory, I've turned the key off and back on to force a re-prime if I forget to turn off the bike while chatting.  It hasn't happened since, but I don't really have enough data to say for sure that was the cause because that situation hasn't come up enough to really know for sure that was the cause.
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We will see if it happens again. The way I have always started my bikes is turn the key, flip the kill switch to on and wait to hear the fuel pump prime then push the starter button. Which is what I did with the fj. This time I will just use the key to turn it on and off and see if it makes a difference.
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