Cold start

[Ashdowner]

Does anyone have trouble starting their CB550K from cold? Mine has suddenly become temperamental and fires but takes ages to get going. Pulling the choke doesn't seem to help. Also my petrol filter fills up quickly with little globules that look like Red Hermatite, although the tank looks shiny inside. Any ideas?

[Bryanj]

Globules = water in tank, is this a K3, if so you need to get out the press in pilot jets and give them a real good clean

[mike the bike]

Check that pulling the choke knob actually does its thing on the carbs.   I've had a 650four with the same problem.   Pulling the knob didn't operate the mechanism on the carbs because the outer cable  clamp was loose.

[Ashdowner]

How do I get water in the tank Bryan J? The tank looks to be in good condition and the cap and cover flap seal fine. Also is kept in a dry garage.

[royhall]

A quick check of your choke cable as Mike suggests will only take a minute so worth doing to eliminate an easy fix first.

But I agree with Bryan, if your finding globules in the fuel filter that's going to be your problem.

Will need a full fuel system clean out, tank/carbs/lines/taps and replace the filter.

Had this happen to me a long time ago. The bike was in a garage that got red hot during the day and cold at night (tin roof). I put the water down to condensation due to the huge swings in temperature (maybe the same)?

With a bit of luck it will be your choke cable.

[Lobo]

Condensation in the tank could indeed be the problem; the trick is to store your machines full of petrol  giving less header space / volume for the process to happen.

Light aircraft are generally stored full of fuel for this very reason, and furthermore are DI'd (Daily Inspection) with a fuel drip check where the lowest point of the tank is drained and then visually checked for water. Our problem is that the fuel feeds are generally an inch or two above the bottom of the tank, leaving an appreciable space for water to collect (heavier/denser than fuel). You might be best to throw the lot & use for swilling stuff clean etc..

Whether it's YOUR cold start issue ... I don't know. My two old girls start first poke of the starter after months left standing: I put it down to fuel stabiliser, stored with full tanks, running the carbs dry < extended storage...and the electronic / breaker-less ignitions now fitted.

Simon

[Johnwebley]

try Meths in the tank,then a good ride to use most of the tank full,

 then re-fill with fresh fuel,

Methylated spirits is sometimes also called denatured alcohol. Basically it is ethanol (the same stuff as in the 'E' in E10 blended petrol and also wine, beer and spirits). However, it also has a small proportion of other chemicals added make it poisonous, and very bad to taste/smell.  This is done to stop people drinking it recreationally.

It is generally used as a solvent and can be used as a fuel for burners and camping stoves. It's a common household solvent. The main additive is about 10 per cent methanol (which is the next most common alcohol - but a deadly poison, which also causes blindness). The use of methanol in the mix gives rise to the term 'methylated' spirits. Methanol is also a common fuel in racing cars, especially drag racers. Other chemicals found in methylated spirits include isopropyl alcohol, acetone, methyl ethyl ketone, methyl isobutyl ketone, and denatonium.

None of these chemical additives alter the ethanol in the mix. They're just there to make it unpalatable, poisonous and undrinkable. They also make it almost impossible to distil the blend to extract the ethanol and drink it subsequently.

In other words, 'metho' performs like ethanol for basic chemistry purposes.

One of the salient features of alcohol (ethanol/methanol, etc) is that water mixes with it. The chemical term for this is 'miscible'. Water doesn't mix with petrol. But alcohol also is miscible with petrol. So, when you add water, ethanol and petrol, you get a miscible solution of all three liquids.

In other words, the water dissolves in the alcohol, which itself is dissolved in the petrol. (Industrial chemists prefer to say 'miscible' - but you get the point.

A small amount of metho in the tank, occasionally, can get rid of a very small amount of water trapped down the bottom.

If you have a 50-litre tank, I'd have no hesitation in putting a bottle of metho (call it one litre) in the tank. Effectively, this would be a do-it-yourself E02 blend. That would take care of some moisture trapped in the bottom of the tank.

However, a simpler solution to the problem would just be to fill up occasionally with E10 fuel (provided the car is compatible with that fuel). More ethanol equals more opportunity to dissolve more water and eliminate it by ingesting it into the engine.
April 27, 2014 Comment

[hairygit]

How do I get water in the tank Bryan J? The tank looks to be in good condition and the cap and cover flap seal fine. Also is kept in a dry garage.

Open the filler cap and place a garden hose in and turn the water on   Sorry, couln't resist that. But, seriously, condensation from the air is the major culprit, and some filling stations seem to get a lot more condensation than others in the storage tanks. Think about the outside of a glass of cold beer or similar, very quickly water from the air condenses on the outside, same thing happens inside your tank. I have bought several fuel tanks for my 750F1 over the years, and all have rottee out along the bottom edge where the bikes have been left on the sidestand for years sometimes, and the water being denser (heavier) than petrol sinks to the bottom and rusts the steel out. Not a bad idea to leave the bike on sidestand overnight, pull the fuel pipe off from the tank, place a glass jar under the tap outlet, and turn the tap to reserve and let fuel run into the jar for a few seconds, and then let the jar settle with a lid on, and after a while you will probably see a distinct line in it, water on the bottom and fuel above. But as already mentioned, change the filter and clean the jets of the carbs out to remove what's already got in them.

[mike the bike]

When I put the bike away for the winter, I drain every scrap of fuel out - the tank and the float bowls.  I then leave the filler cap off to allow any moisture to evaporate off.  When I start riding again I close the float bowl drain screws, put fresh juice in and it starts straightaway.