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Awsome trick, works every time!

  • Thread starter Thread starter SuperCell
  • Start date Start date
S

SuperCell

Guest
I read this tip from this forum:

Drill a small hole in the airbox, behind one of the side covers. You can stick one of those small plastic tubes in there, and then spay in starting fluid. It starts every time!!! Then plug the hole with a sheetrock screw.

As to WHY this does it??? Probably the petcock, it gets better vacuum when the engine is running, allowing the fuel to flow???
 
Brilliant!!

So what are you gonna do when the engine blows up?
 
Billyboy said:
Brilliant!!

So what are you gonna do when the engine blows up?
Click to expand...

My bike's got low miles, and the engine shouldn't be "blowing up" any time soon. Are you suggesting that using starting fluid will cause the engine to "blow up'?
 
I'm suggesting that there are other reasons that can be remedied to get the bike to start properly, and that liberal, regular use of starting fluid, (ether based) will damage the engine.
 
Billyboy said:
I'm suggesting that there are other reasons that can be remedied to get the bike to start properly, and that liberal, regular use of starting fluid, (ether based) will damage the engine.
Click to expand...

Not to mention blow the airbox up if it backfires thru the carbs. :shock:
 
Super, I think its best not to recommend your solution to someone who has trouble starting their bike. I think the better solution is to sort out the carbs.
 
I've certainly had to use ether on my bike plenty, and have considered the hole in the airbox theory.

what does ether do to the engine? strip lubricants? what about starting fluid with added lubricant?
 
Shoot, I was going to post a great tip but you guys are brutal. It involved jumper cables and a battery but I am not telling now [-(




:lol:
 
I'm not exactly sure, but it's just something I've always been told and now dogmatically believe. Anyone want to educate me I'd be glad to know why.
 
Hoomgar said:
Shoot, I was going to post a great tip but you guys are brutal. It involved jumper cables and a battery but I am not telling now [-(
:lol:
Click to expand...

We already know about the 'ol "flammable steel wool" in the tail pipe trick. ;) :p
 
SuperCell said:
I read this tip from this forum:

Drill a small hole in the airbox, behind one of the side covers. You can stick one of those small plastic tubes in there, and then spay in starting fluid. It starts every time!!! Then plug the hole with a sheetrock screw.

As to WHY this does it??? Probably the petcock, it gets better vacuum when the engine is running, allowing the fuel to flow???
Click to expand...

Dude, I just saw this post. That's rediculas. Your bike should be able to start on the first few turns of the starter. If it doesn't- something is wrong.

I've made the mistake of not listening when my bike tells me something is wrong. It usually ends up meaning that I will be spending a lot of money.
 
Ether starting fluid is particularly bad for diesel engines and can void warranties. High pressure spikes can cause severe damage to glow plugs, rings and pistons.

A properly maintained gasoline engine should have no need of it under normal circumstances and it is not recommended. Maybe if you had to start your motorcycle at 0?F in an emergency, it might be tried as a last resort to overcome thick oil, lowered battery power, and marginal gasoline volatility. Otherwise, you should not have a use for it. If a bike won't start without it, it is bad practice to mask or ignore a problem by using ether starting fluid, which is a very volatile, explosive gas.
 
Take it from a Canadian: 0 F is f*@K all! I regulalry see -40F in the winter, and as long as you plugged in your car, you ain't got a problem. Nobody uses ether.

Edit: Oh, nevermind. "motorcycle", right...
 
I kick-started (no electric starter on the base model that year) my GS400 once at -10F and rode to work. I'm not entirely sure why everyone there seemed more worried than impressed.

It started on the second kick -- in warmer weather it was always a first-kick starter. The bike was stored outside under a tarp, and the battery spent the winter in the basement on a battery tender.

No matter what the temperature, a GS should start almost instantly. If it doesn't, you have a problem that can't be solved with a spray can. And certainly not something as aggressively flammable and dangerous as ether... yeek.
 
I use ether on hard to start lawnmowers & snowblowers occasionally, and a little when I was firing my GS400 up for the first time in 15+ years, but other than that, I try not to use it. Handy to have around to see if you have a fuel or a spark problem, though. I agree with the others, if you have to use it regularly, you would be much better off finding the source of your starting problem.

And an airbox full of ether could be a very scary thing.

How about the trick for starting your bike with a stick of dynamite?
 
Before I moved to CA I lived in Northern Ohio. I had a tube running through my firewall going to my carb in a 69 Chevy truck with starter fluid on the other end. It would not start under 0 degrees F. A couple of shots without even lifting my hood and vroom. But I wouldn't use it on my bike. Check out the thread with the guy with the melted airbox.
 
bwringer said:
I kick-started (no electric starter on the base model that year) my GS400 once at -10F and rode to work. I'm not entirely sure why everyone there seemed more worried than impressed.

It started on the second kick -- in warmer weather it was always a first-kick starter. The bike was stored outside under a tarp, and the battery spent the winter in the basement on a battery tender.

No matter what the temperature, a GS should start almost instantly. If it doesn't, you have a problem that can't be solved with a spray can. And certainly not something as aggressively flammable and dangerous as ether... yeek.
Click to expand...

I rode my Yamaha TX750 through 2 Buffalo. NY winters. Kick start only, and I kept it outside. I had to stay off the road for two weeks the second winter because the roads were covered with ice the entire time. I may be stupid, but I'm not crazy. Well, depends on who you ask.
 
chef1366 said:
Hoomgar, I was looking for a secret message.
Click to expand...
You've been here long enough that you should have got that :)

There was an old tech tip a long time ago where a guy told us we could remove the stator cover by wrapping jumper cables around it and then connecting said cables to each end of a car battery :shock:

The theory was that the coil induction would reverse that of the stator and you could just slip the cover off then. Most of us were a bit worried about the ensuing explosion of the battery from the dead short but it was good for about 2 years worth of repeated postings and laughs. It over laps your join date, you may have seen some of it.

As for the flammable steel in the tail pipe. That is (not really) a joke unto itself as well. It's still there in the tips section if you are inclined to hunt and find it ;)
 
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