I figure it's normal for a moped to start poorly in
colder temperatures, but mine gives me trouble at
anything under 60 degrees (i have to pedal my butt off).
I've got the choke on; just wondering if anyone else has
trouble below 60, starting, and idling at stop signs.
Thanks.
You've tried a new spark plug, right?
cold temps dont really bother my puch newport but a hi humidy early in the mornings makes it harder than hell to srart after it starts rus just fine.
stonnerdog
swarmn and distroy
Rick,
Good work on telling us make and model. Ped starting systems vary a lot from ped to ped.
Good call by Chris on the plug.
Anyway, determine what kind of "choke" you have. If it is the "flapper" type on the air intake, make sure it closes all the way when you operate the lever. If it is the "auxiliary starting carburetor type", this is typically a plunger alongside the carburetor slide, then check that the cable lifts the plunger a reasonable distance. For this type, you may also want to take the carb off, figure out where it gets gas from and make sure the pasages are clean.
Ron
Mine 2000 tomos targa lx (that's for chris..lol) always needs the choke to start and i gotta let it warm a few before i run it when it's cold (under 50 or so). It seems to love hot weather the best but loses noticeable power in humid (foggy or rainy) conditions. But it always starts in two or three kicks at the most (sorry to admit i bought the "no-ped").
But, i have noticed on other engines with points ignition i've worked on that in humid conditions, the points get damp and it weakens the spark. But simply cold weather is a prob with either the plug or the choke as the other guys have already mentioned.
Too bad my carb doesn't have a mixture screw...i don't really understand why it doesn't unless they wanna make you buy jets in order to experiment. My nephew's go cart has such a screw and i adjust as i go in order to get the best mixture for that particular day...i guess that'd be too easy and now i'm rambling...
Best of luck,
Lane
Lane,
The Idle mixture adjustment does not make a noticeable difference in accelleration or top speed. It mostly just smooths out the idle. I think they leave it out for simplicity and cost, even the idle jet is usually just a drilled hole in the carb body and not replaceable.
The main jet and needle, if you have one, control everything else.
Every vehicle I ever owned ran better in damp conditions provided the ignition did not leak and cause mis-fires. Check your mixture, I am not sure if humidity makes your mixture richer or leaner (Fred, where are you?), nut mayby you are jetted on the edge.
Also, check that your air cleaner does not get wet, causing your mixture to get too rich.
You can fix this, we have the technology.
Ron
Funny thing about all that, I removed my air filter altogether and took a test spin...the engine actually bogged really badly on initial takeoff. Makes me think the carb is configured for that little bit of restriction. I'm not gonna get into drilling out my carb and jettin up and all that jazz, I love something that starts when i want it to. I put on a smaller front sprocket and that made a little diff, but i think i just expect too much from the little thing...my other ride is a '74 vette so i spose i'm a little prejudice. Oh, and the vette absolutely hates to be woken up if it's under 70 degrees outside...ha ha.
Workin it all out,
Lane
Lane,
If your ped bogs at initial take off without an air cleaner, imagine how much restriction you must have at high rpm.
Make sure that the air cleaner housing/mounting does not cover any holes on the carb, many lawn mowers have this feature, presumably to discourage running without the air cleaner.
Keep in mind that your ped carb, unlike your vette, has no mechanism for squirting about a quart of gas into the intake when you nail it. Most slide type carburetors will give you best accelleration if you roll on the throttle as the revs increase. Think about air flowing past the needle jet and it will all become clear.
The CV carb was designed to resolve this problem by controlling the throttle slide with manifold vacuum, while allowing the rider to pin the throttle so he could feel macho. :-)
Ron
I doubt my vette takes a quart of fuel when i nail it, maybe a pint, but i do understand what you're saying. I've learned this from having the accellerator pump go out on the carb in the vette and I was about 20 miles from home. Had to take off very very slow to keep it running...and damn did it suck getting passed by escorts and pinto's at red lights...ha ha. I spose I'm just used to the power the ped has already and I just want more. I doubt most people have hills like are here and I wanna be able to climb those and still hit 40+ mph dowhill. I may go for a 60 cc kit, I duno yet.
Thanks heaps,
Lane
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