Hey there...so i have a quick question!
I have been told to ALWAYS choke the bike before i start it, except when the engine is warm. I go down to start my bike every day about mid day, i choke it and it wont start, but when i turn off the choke it starts right up.
Its also about...80-85degrees outside.
Is this normal? Its just weird and a little foreign to me as i am still learning :rolleyes:

If it doesn't need the choke, then don't use it. If it's warm enough out, or if the bike is still warm enough from earlier, then don't worry about it. Just to make sure, using the choke means pulling the lever towards you, and turning off the choke means pushing the lever forward toward the front of the bike all the way, right?

Ok thought so, just wanted to make sure i didnt have a weird issue or something...and yes lol choke on is towards me and off is pushed away :rolleyes:

All is well then. :thumbup: After you've ridden the bike for a few minutes, is the idle speed pretty stable at a reasonable RPM? (somewhere around 1500 rpm?) If it's higher than that, you can set it while it's warm by using that idle adjuster knob on the left side of the bike. It's possible that an overly high idle setting would make it slightly less necessary to use the choke on startup, but if that's not the case on your bike don't worry about it.

well actually my bike idles around 1.8k when i start it and when i ride it idles at 2k for a few seconds and drops to 1.8ish, i thought it might be idleing a wee bit high? :confused:

If it's still at 1800 rpm after it's fully warmed up (20+ minute ride), then yes, it's set a little high. There's a black knob on the left side of the bike, right near where your knee is while sitting on the bike. Just turn it in either direction to adjust the idle speed. But again, make sure to adjust it only after things are fully warmed up.

ok i will go check it out then! thank you Alex :)

I went for an hour long ride and when i was at a stop light i noticed i was idling at around 2k, this is too high? i seem to remember it being at 3k at one point as well. Just double checking; thankies

Yes.

Yeah if you are fully warmed up, and you sit at a stationary position for a bit with out any throttle, you're rpms should between 1,200 to 1,300 for idle. Some may like it a little higher, but it also slightly decreases your gas mileage.

OP, Alex is right on with this one. Use it if it needs it.

Personally, I only use it if it's the first start up of the day, or if the bike has completely cooled down since last time it was ridden.

I always have to use a bit of choke to get it started up. But once started, I have to back off the choke or else it'll rev to 5K.