[Motard_Blr]

Originally Posted by navin_v8

Are you sure that the battery is not at fault here. Most of the times we just ignore simplest of the issues to find a more complex issue.

It would be prudent to check the battery condition and whether its holding the charge or not before moving to other diagnosis.

The Himalayan has a known problem with cold start idling. A lot of people have complained of that. If the battery were weak then the starting problem would be present even when the engine were warm because cranking would be difficult.

[Red Liner]

Originally Posted by Motard_Blr

The Himalayan has a known problem with cold start idling. A lot of people have complained of that. If the battery were weak then the starting problem would be present even when the engine were warm because cranking would be difficult.

Actually the starter motor load will be higher when colder, is it not?

[rakesh_r]

Originally Posted by bblost

Pain

Came back last night riding on a road with speed breakers for the first 400 KMS and speed devil's on the last 200.

Now my left palm is in so much pain from all the clutch action.

Will have the clutch cable tested and replaced if needed.

But damn it, it hurts big time.

The stock Himalayan Cable is a royal pain. The first time I did Pune-Mumbai-Pune, did the first mistake of riding the Himalayan in heavy Mumbai traffic. I ended up with unbearable pain in the wrist. My trusted FNG mechie suggested to go with the clutch cable from the Thunderbird which helped me out to a great extent. During my previous Rider Mania Goa visit, I purchased one of those Eazy Clutch cable and boy the clutch is feather-light, almost on par with the Hondas.

[bblost]

Originally Posted by rakesh_r

Eazy Clutch cable

The Rs 3,300 thing?

Ain't that way over priced for what it gives.

[VR/46_Chet]

let's see what other parts they change

Got a call that they have changed the magnet, re-checked and the problem is still there. They'll probably change some more parts tomorrow and check again but if the situation remains the same, they've asked us to take the motorcycle back and wait until RE comes up with a solution. We haven't accepted it yet and I think we should at least get this on email (from the company as well as the dealer) about them not being able to rectify an issue, before we take the motorcycle back. It's only 2 months - 2000km old after all.

Originally Posted by navin_v8

Are you sure that the battery is not at fault here.

Yes, the battery was checked and it's working fine. Sorry, I should've mentioned this in the initial post itself.

[rakesh_r]

Originally Posted by bblost

The Rs 3,300 thing?

Ain't that way overpriced for what it gives.

Well, I got it for a reduced price.

[Motard_Blr]

Originally Posted by Red Liner

Actually the starter motor load will be higher when colder, is it not?

Yes.

But in this case this owner (and many other Himalayan owners) have not complained of difficulty in cranking. The problem is in starting and idling. This is because of the basic fuel injection system fitted to the Himalayan that lacks a fast idle device for cold starts.

Some people have reported easier starting after replacing the standard spark plug with an iridium type. I don't know if this is universally useful.

[ArizonaJim]

Originally Posted by Motard_Blr

Yes.

But in this case this owner (and many other Himalayan owners) have not complained of difficulty in cranking. The problem is in starting and idling. This is because of the basic fuel injection system fitted to the Himalayan that lacks a fast idle device for cold starts.

Some people have reported easier starting after replacing the standard spark plug with an iridium type. I don't know if this is universally useful.

As I said in post # 1145, the Himalayan has a manual Bi-Starter lever that causes the Bi-Starter valve to open and allow additional air to flow thru the throttle body. Perhaps I should have explained a bit more?
When the Bi-Starter valve is used during cold starts, the throttle should be left in the closed, "idle" position while the engine is cranking. The additional air that passes thru the Bi-Starter valve does increase the idle speed as long as it is applied, therefore, it is a fast idle device.
For this reason, on a cold start the Bi-Starter lever should be held in the fully applied position with the throttle left in the idle position while the engine starts to warm up. Depending on how cold it is, this can take from 30 seconds to several minutes.

As for using a iridium tipped spark plug, I've already mentioned my opinion about them elsewhere but to save peoples time looking for it, the high priced iridium tipped spark plugs only have one major benefit. They can last for well over 160,000 km in an automobile engine. This is important in autos where the spark plugs are very difficult to get to and change, like my Toyota V6 Minivan.
On a single cylinder motorcycle with the spark plug staring you in the face, paying the extra money to buy an iridium spark plug is a waste of money.

That's not to say that changing the spark plug isn't a good idea. The Bosch spark plug that came on my Royal Enfield 500cc UCE caused mis-fires and poor starting. For me, changing it to a standard tip, low cost, NGK spark plug vastly improved the starting and running of my motorcycle.
I've heard of others who changed their spark plug to regular low cost Champion plugs and also saw great improvements.

[Motard_Blr]

Thanks, AJ. You are right that the manual bi-starter is a fast idle device. What I meant was an automatic device but failed to specify that.

You are right about the long life of iridium spark plugs. But there is another benefit:

the narrower center electrodes of iridium plugs compared to standard spark plugs are better at igniting lean mixtures and or normal mixtures in engine with weak ignition systems. That can also be achieved with narrow centre electrodes on normal spark plugs but the soft metal would erode very quickly from the sparks thereby making them useless.

[bblost]

My bike had fallen down in Nepal. It was parked on the side of the road and suddenly decided to lie down.

The crash guard clamp had most probably bent when this happened. Over time it kept bending more and more and finally made contact with the clutch cable.
This pushed the cable and made it tighter than it should be.

Used some elbow grease to fix it right.

[avisidhu]

https://youtu.be/AJN7w9MWWDw

This seems like an apt place for this brilliant ad

[VR/46_Chet]

they've asked us to take the motorcycle back and wait until RE comes up with a solution. We haven't accepted it yet and I think we should at least get this on email (from the company as well as the dealer) about them not being able to rectify an issue, before we take the motorcycle back.

Well, I didn't know that wasn't even an option. A couple of days back, they did a home delivery without even bothering to call and check if my friend is available or not. Thankfully, he was.

As they couldn't resolve the issue by changing the FI unit, magnet etc., they put the earlier parts back and said that their R&D person will visit in a few weeks to re-examine the issue. They've asked us to be available accordingly.

Now we've taken AJ's word about the Bi-starter usage but still let's see what this R&D person has to say about the issue, if and when he visits that is.

[rahul4321]

Wrapped the Himalayan’s windshield yesterday

[Geo_Ipe]

Originally Posted by ArizonaJim

As I said in post # 1145, the Himalayan has a manual Bi-Starter lever that causes the Bi-Starter valve to open and allow additional air to flow thru the throttle body. Perhaps I should have explained a bit more?
When the Bi-Starter valve is used during cold starts, the throttle should be left in the closed, "idle" position while the engine is cranking. The additional air that passes thru the Bi-Starter valve does increase the idle speed as long as it is applied, therefore, it is a fast idle device.
For this reason, on a cold start the Bi-Starter lever should be held in the fully applied position with the throttle left in the idle position while the engine starts to warm up. Depending on how cold it is, this can take from 30 seconds to several minutes.

Originally Posted by Motard_Blr

Thanks, AJ. You are right that the manual bi-starter is a fast idle device. What I meant was an automatic device but failed to specify that.

I'm sorry I missed this Cold Start discussion for so long! This is an issue inherent to all Himalayans - I urge the owner of the machine who started this discussion to stop chasing it so much.

As far as the choke/bi starter goes, it has not helped me too much. Thanks to members here who have explained how exactly the bi starter system works. What I tend to do is to apply some steady throttle as soon as she cranks - at around 2000 rpm for a minute or so. Works so much better than using the choke lever. Is there any harm in this practice?

[ashwinprakas]

Originally Posted by Geo_Ipe

What I tend to do is to apply some steady throttle as soon as she cranks - at around 2000 rpm for a minute or so. Works so much better than using the choke lever. Is there any harm in this practice?

No harm whatsoever.

If the motorcycle can't maintain idle it is only normal for you to offer some assistance provided after the motorcycle has fired up so as to not trigger the TPS while cranking the motorcycle, which if I recall right on the C350 results in a strong kickback!

Though a closed loop FI is ideally meant to take care of this and ensure that the motor fires up with the least effort, but then we can't have everything.

Cheers,
A.P.