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9 starts in two seconds after a long-tough winter storage.

1K views 9 replies 8 participants last post by  vivadude 
#1 ·
Well, after about 5 months asleep...I started her up yesterday. She coughed, then rumbled back awake. Stayed on high idle for about five minutes, then settled back down to a smooth chug. Once again, my trusty 900 awakens! Always amazes me when these machines come back to life. I still get the same ole feeling.....no need to explain for those of us that live in the cold, winter climates.
 
#2 · (Edited)
Its kinda like when you wake up in the middle of the night and flip your pillow over to the cool side, but better. :D

 
#3 ·
I've been riding off and on since early March. The Vulcan fired right up (FI) and I also get amazed, like a kid at Christmas feeling. The 06 Sporty, however, was more of a challenge. After about four tries (4 seconds of crank time), I finally remembered it's got a fuel valve that I switched to off before storage. Dah, OK, maybe I should turn on the fuel. It fired right up...well coughed then finally started. Ride safe. Near 80 expected today. That's rare this time of year up here in WNY. :D
 
#4 ·
The Vulcan 900 (and probably other FI Vulcans as well, couldn't tell ya though!) has probably the best-working FI system I've seen, despite not being as technically advanced as others.

Stepdads fuel injected Harley, even on a warm day, cranks and cranks and sputters a bit when idling. I ride with a group of mostly Harleys, the carbed Harleys are really bad when it's cold but sometimes the FI bikes aren't far off. It was in the mid 20's a few weeks ago when we went on a patriot guard ride and after sitting for a couple of hours, one guys 2011 Ultra Classic shuddered and sputtered and died a couple times, before finally getting it into a rough idle.

My Wifes Honda Shadow, which 'technically' has better fuel injection because it's self-adjusting and has a bunch of other 'fancy features' is equally cold natured. On a cold day it cranks a few times before sputtering to life, and even then if you so much as give it a rev in neutral it'll stall out. Has to warm up.

The Vulcan, however... doesn't matter how cold, she starts right up. That 20'something day? Can't say I was functioning too well but one blip of the starter button and it was running smooth. Though I let it idle for a minute or so on a cold day to get the blood flowing, I know for a fact I can easily fire it up cold on a freezing cold day and take off with it. She just doesn't mind the cold, doesn't mind storage as long as the fuel is good (There are some horrific pictures on this very forum of what a fuel pump looks like after long term improper storage! Rust monster!), just an all around good bike and good FI system. I'd really love to see what Kawasaki can do when they move on to a system with O2 sensors, direct port injection, etc.
 
#5 ·
They do well. I even went out to my (still living with parents at the time) storage building and started my 1600 mean streak just to see if it would. It fired right up and never missed a lick when it was 8F outside. That made me a believer about FI bikes.
 
#7 ·
Have to agree they start right up, I get scared if takes more then a few seconds to start, as she always starts as fast as I hit the switch :). My son was shocked the first time he seen her start, he was oh crap she starts fast
 
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