Kawasaki Vulcan Forum banner

V2K Hard Starting In The Cold?? 2006 Ltd Ed

1905 Views 9 Replies 6 Participants Last post by  boeingav8r
My V2K is needing me to roll in a little throttle to get her to start in the morning when it's cold or after work when she's sat out in the cold. Is this pretty normal?? Normally in the morning after getting her out of the garage, I just hit the starter and she pops right off. Then I found that after work, I needed to roll in some throttle to get her to start. Recently I took it in for front time, oil change and plugs and now I need throttle even in the morning after rolling her outside. Not understanding why. When she does start without throttle, she only runs at a higher idle for just a few seconds and then drops back to a very slow idle. No way she's even warm at all.

This morning I tried spinning the motor a little longer with the starter and no fuel. would not start. I rolled in some throttle and it was still hard to get started, she coughed and spat and for some reason after I got her running, my clock was set to 1a and my trip meter was to zero. So I lost all power it would seem. I'm pretty concerned about it.

Any ideas?? Does this bike have electrical system history??
1 - 10 of 10 Posts
This may sound goofy, but it sounds to me like a new battery may be in your future. The reason I say this is because "no voltage" or "low voltage" will cause the clock to reset the way yours does. I would check the battery connections and if they seem to be clean and tight, then I would pull the battery and have it load tested. What is happening is that when you are cranking the starter, you need all the current you can get to the starter. If the battery is in good shape and fully charged, then you should be able to crank as long as you need to without sapping every last drop from the battery. I realize it may SEEM like the battery is ok, but in fact I believe it is showing early signs of being tired. Here is something you can try. Put a small amp charger on the battery, let it charge for a few minutes, and then start the motor with the charger still on and charging. After it idles about a 1/2 minute, remove the charger. It may sound goofy but trust me on this one and post a reply when you get through.
See less See more
Something else you can do is to pull the air cleaner and have a look to see if the butterfly has been removed from the carb. I have seen where some people will remove these to help with throttle response. My 2008 v2k has a very small hesitation when you crack the throttle until it has been ridden a few miles and warmed up good. I thought about removing the butterfly in mine, but I ride quite a bit in cold weather and I want the damn thing to start when I hit the starter button. Check yours and see if it is missing. Just another idea that I thought of after I posted the last reply.
I agree that your battery is getting weak.
Thanks you guys. Seems the previous owner did say something about removing a butterfly, I'll have to write him. The battery is a gel battery and prev owner said it was new. When I ride it frequently I don't hook up a charger. If she sits for 4 or 5 days I'll plug in my Battery Tender Jr. It goes red at first like always but very soon goes to blinking green and then shortly thereafter goes to steady green seemingly indicating the battery is fully charged. I'm taking her in for a coolant flush after work, I'll ask them to check it. Thanks so much.
Thanks you guys. Seems the previous owner did say something about removing a butterfly, I'll have to write him. The battery is a gel battery and prev owner said it was new. When I ride it frequently I don't hook up a charger. If she sits for 4 or 5 days I'll plug in my Battery Tender Jr. It goes red at first like always but very soon goes to blinking green and then shortly thereafter goes to steady green seemingly indicating the battery is fully charged. I'm taking her in for a coolant flush after work, I'll ask them to check it. Thanks so much.
I am pretty sure that your battery is weak. Mine did the same thing when the battery started getting weak. Will take a charge, but not much there to turn it over and you really notice it when it gets cold. This bike takes a lot to turn over.
Battery, Cold Starting, Car Tire.........

It was the battery. the shop did a load test on it and said it had zero life left in it. So $83, new battery, scooter starts and runs just fine now. Amazing how I thought it ran good before fresh oil and new plugs but now, WOW!!! With the new rubber on the front, I am rockin'. I am getting used to the Goodyear Triple tread on the back. I am running higher pressure than most it seems, I'm at about 41psi. I read somewhere that you should go up one pound of air for every 10 deg's below 70. So it's about 40 here, colder some days, but I added 3 pounds of air and the tire is awesome. I hope that's not too high of pressure. I need to stop riding her like a sport bike. I have been all in the throttle, rappin' the motor out, at times the rev limiter shutting her down, but damn it's fun. But I imagine riding it like that isn't what it's built for. So I've chilled out a bit. Quite a bit. Shifting first to second way low RPM. I like to hear those Corbin pipes cackle at high RPM first to second....... but I guess I've heard it. It was 28 deg's this a.m. when I left for my 16 mile ride to work. Only the tip of my right thumb really gets super cold. Anyway, lovin' the bike. Couldn't ride it this time of year in Nebraska so Washington is good in that regard. Take care guys. Ride careful.
See less See more
I have a Goodyear triple tread on mine. I found that 41 psi suits it well. Lower than that it starts to feel squirmy.
I need to stop riding her like a sport bike. I have been all in the throttle, rappin' the motor out, at times the rev limiter shutting her down, but damn it's fun. But I imagine riding it like that isn't what it's built for. So I've chilled out a bit. Quite a bit. Shifting first to second way low RPM. I like to hear those Corbin pipes cackle at high RPM first to second.......
You SHOULD have fun ridding it.

I've said many times that ridding this bike brings out the Cro-Magnon man in me.. all chest thumping, poo flinging, setting off car alarms...
I have a Goodyear triple tread on mine. I found that 41 psi suits it well. Lower than that it starts to feel squirmy.
Thanks for that man. Good to hear/know.
1 - 10 of 10 Posts
This is an older thread, you may not receive a response, and could be reviving an old thread. Please consider creating a new thread.
Top