Hard Starting TE449

Hey guys, got a '13 TE449 with about 500 miles on it, bought it new, as a leftover, a few months ago. What I'm running into now is insanely hard starting... to the point that it will actually drain the battery and I'll have to jump it. Then when it does start it acts like a carbureted motorcycle that needs to be choked, it will not keep itself running until its warm. This is only after it sits for a couple days.

With the battery draining so easily, and it being a factory battery from 2013 I'm wondering if I just have a weak battery? The only modification to the bike is the jumper for race map II, completely stock otherwise. Where the starting really seems to have the most issues is when (I'm assuming here) it hits the compression stroke, at that point it'll actually freeze and requires a couple of taps of the starter button in order to move it past that point. Any advice? Thanks guys!

I would get a lithium battery, ensure your TPS voltage it at 0.7V at 0% throttle, and adjust the idle speed to spec via the big brass screw.

A mate and I have both had similar issues on both our bikes. We ride them on trails, not racing. Both well serviced.

We have changed the plug to an 8 rated one so that it cleans itself a little better at cooler running. He has also fitted a new atm battery; I have kept mine.

Early days yet but it seems promising.

Iridium spark plug. +1 on the lithium battery. Remove the smog stuff and cap off as appropriate. Keep the air filter immaculate and lightly oiled with an actual filter oil - these bikes need it. Run the highest octane gas you can get. I actually use Torco additive to boost the octane by 2 points (here in CA all I can get is 91 octane with 15% ethanol), and always put sta-bil marine in the gas. Put the jumper plug in to put it into Race Map II. And last, do a complete TPS reset: http://www.cafehusky.com/threads/updated-tps-efi-reset-449-511.28799/

Agreed with all above. My original battery was lame. Shorai fixed that. I've also found, as mentioned, that too much oil on the filter makes a hard start.

I had a ton of starting issues when I first got my bike, lithium battery helped but didn't fix the issue. Best solution I had was leaning out the cranking RPM's 5% through a power commander (recommended by Danny on here). Night and day difference with starting hot or cold. I'm not saying its perfect but I never worry about it not starting anymore. Fresh battery definately helps, but mine was getting too much fuel and was flooding itself. You won't regret the power commander from the added power stand point and the improved starting is worth it in itself.

Man, thanks for all the advice guys! I've got a laundry list of stuff to get accomplished today. I've got the battery on the charger right now and am about to head out to buy a spark plug, filter oil and cleaner. I know that the filter was over oiled because in the first couple hundred miles the bike leaked blue filter oil allll over the engine.

The TPS reset step by step is GREAT! I hate to sound needy here but has anyone done a step by step on the smog removal?

Oil on the engine is not necessarily from an over oiled filter: http://www.cafehusky.com/threads/te511-oil-shower.31719/ It's a known problem with this bike. Oil comes from the PCV and saturates the filter, it gets mixed with the filter oil (because it's hot) and changes to the color of the filter oil. Then drains out of the nipple at the front of the air box. See this for a solution: http://www.cafehusky.com/threads/ziptyracing-billet-oil-recirculation-system.32656/

As for the smog, it's really simple. Search this site. There are many posts about how to do it.

UPDATE So I charged the battery, removed the smog, installed an iridium NGK plug, reoiled the air filter, adjusted the brass screw on the throttle body and reset the TPS sensor by the methods listed here.... as of right now it starts and idles perfectly! Instantly started up cold with no throttle modulation and then also started very well hot with minimal throttle modulation.

Next up is the race map 3, earth-x and oil recirculation kit from zipty.

Thank you guys so much for the help!! Thanks to these tips I was able to get everything up running and starting like a dream for under twenty bucks and a couple hours of work. I'll call that a win any day of the week!

There's also this turn-key oil recoverty kit: http://www.toxicmotoracing.com/shop/toxic-moto-specialty-parts/33-oil-recovery-system.html

So, I have had the same problem listed earlier in this thread--the need to press the starter button a few times to get it past what seems like compression overwhelming the starter. I bought a shorai, and was so optimistic it would never happen again, but it is almost NO different. It's irritating enough that I would take slight less compression (and therefore power), just to have it start quickly. Once it turns over, it does start perfectly and runs well. Also, the battery is crazy light and I'm sure we'll worth it's price, but it is significantly more CCA and yet isn't really better in my experience. Any suggestion are supremely welcomed

Sometimes rocking it back and forth in gear helps that. Just take it out of gear before trying to start.

If you're handy on the tools, you can do an effective DIY engine breather. Cheap, neat & doesn't require any extra bottles or hoses.

http://www.cafehusky.com/threads/449-511-engine-breather-for-the-diy-guys.45160/