K8 Busa cold start?

[GSrider]

I recently picked up a low mile (1100 miles)2008 Busa and it's got a cold start problem. I turn the key on and let the fuel rail pressure up and on the first attempt to start it the engine sputters and seems to want to start but dies. On the 2nd attempt it may go into a low RPM rough idle for a couple of seconds then dies again. On attempt 3 it may do the same thing again or finally start with a low rough idle for about 5 seconds before it settles into what I would call a correct idle. In these attempts a long crank time is not involved, it kind of acts like it's not getting enough fuel. Had to take it over yesterday for the rectifier recall and it was down close to freezing. The colder it is the more the problem seems to occur but I've only had the bike about a month and given the poor weather around here I've only put about 25 miles total on the bike in town. Bike runs fine when warmed up. I asked my dealer about this problem and he said it was normal. This is only the second FI bike I've owned but my ST1300 starts right up the first time hot or cold and this does NOT seem normal to me. I tried running a search on this forum but drew a blank.

thanks for your help, Pat

 

[Twobrothersbusa]

My 08 does kind of the same thing. When starting it idles low then finally idles up but mine never dies. That bike needs some miles put on it. It is 3 years old and running just handful of tanks of gas. Go put some miles on it and I bet your issue goes away.

 

[busa2001]

unfortunately that a common issue with the busa....some guys open the throttle just a bit on startup for a few seconds to keep it from cutting off when its cold out.....

 

[Schism]

same here! i believe the manual suggests that you crack the throttle a hair during warm up. i am almost positive this is normal for the gen2 because we don't have the fast idle like the gen1.

 

[Sous]

Burn a few tanks of premium through the bike and that might clear up. You can put a bit of Seafoam in the tank if you like, I think it is 2 cap fulls or something like that for the capacity of the tank. The directions are on the bottle for the mixture.

Do that and get it up to highway speeds to burn through the fuel and see if the problem goes away.

 

[majestic12]

Mine does the same thing when it hits 40. The manual says crack the throttle for cold weather starts. After a few seconds of rough running with the throttle cracked the rpm will rise and then you can let to of the throttle. After that the bike will run as if it is 70 out there.

Where in Idaho are you, I am freezing my wheels off in coeur d' alene.

tapatalk - on my HTC ERIS rooted with cyanogen mod 7

 

[kromdom]

good thing it never really gets COLD here in SoCal as my 09 does NOT have this issue

 

[piratediverjefff]

good thing it never really gets COLD here in SoCal as my 09 does NOT have this issue

 

[Warchild]

Bike runs fine when warmed up. I asked my dealer about this problem and he said it was normal.

Your dealer is essentially correct.

My K8 has almost the same symptoms... although it does fire up on the first cranking and does not die out, the first 30-ish seconds of idle is a bit of a struggle when the ambient temps are below 40-45 degrees F. The idle is more-or-less normal after about 60 seconds, and runs just fine once the temp needle comes up a little.

 

[GSrider]

Mine does the same thing when it hits 40. The manual says crack the throttle for cold weather starts. After a few seconds of rough running with the throttle cracked the rpm will rise and then you can let to of the throttle. After that the bike will run as if it is 70 out there.

Where in Idaho are you, I am freezing my wheels off in coeur d' alene.

tapatalk - on my HTC ERIS rooted with cyanogen mod 7

I live in Lewiston. It was a nice but cold today. We had a Toy Run early in the afternoon today and with the sun shining it warmed up to a balmy 44 degrees and was really nice for the run. Lots of riders, a good turnout. I took the KLR today as I hadn't ridden in a several weeks and it needed some fresh fuel run through the carb.. I'll try your starting technique next time I ride it.
Pat

 

[jphilipson]

Mine must be cold blooded - starts right up when it's cold and has no problem idling. It does idle a tad low it seems for the temp compared to other bikes though, but it doesn't stumble.

 

[karnage]

Mine did that when I first got because it sat a while before I bought.Once I put in a good charged up battery and a full tank of fresh gas, it hasnr done it since.My cold start idle goes high as soon as it fires up.Maybe a fresh tune, with new gas and some seafoam.

 

[majestic12]

My idle will also go high after a few rough seconds. Just be ready to roll off the throttle until you know just how little it needs to be cracked.

Now my 77 Ford f 150 and my RX7 now those are cold blooded.

tapatalk - on my HTC ERIS rooted with cyanogen mod 7

 

[dadofthree]

Mine always cranks but stumbles for a few seconds. Much cooler where you are.

 

[Lucid]

Not sure if you're on a trickle charger, but my bike starts noticeably better in the cold with a full battery. Batteries perform worse in cold weather.