CG125 startup problems

[HandyManPhill]

Hi people,
Iv got a (54) plate CG125, its a great starter bike but can anyone advise why its being a complete b*****d to start up first thing in the morning. Im doing all that honda says to do reg choke but after 15+ goes at the starter button, the engine only just starts to cough and splutter into life. Even leaving it for a few seconds and then trying to rev it makes it stall. The dealer i brought it from has ordered me a new battery but something tells me its not going to fix it. My gut feeling is that maybe the fuel filter is blocked hence the starter motor but no life from the engine. Im not hugely experiences with mechanics so would really appreciate some ideas on what it could be and how to fix it. Its only a little engine and I know its cold but it takes so long to start up its taking the p**s.
Many thanks
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HandyManPhill

[mr.z]

The cg can be a bit tricky to get going, once you have it you have it..

The choke needs to be in exactly the right spot, a click up/down and it will not go, warm days you wont need any, hot days might be a bit tricky.. you might well just be flooding it, you don't do anything to the throttle till it roars (err..) into life, then just a little will do.

How does it run when its going?

Other things to check..

Spark plug (might as well replace it unless its new, check its gapped properly)
Air filter (clogged?)
Choke working propperly? (new ones might be on a cable? is it moveing the arm on the carb?)
New fuel? has it been left standing a while? fuel goes bad and it makes starting impossible..

Might be worth sticking to the kickstart (if they still have them??) if its the battery struggling then this will help eliminate that avenue of problems..

Good luck
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>RidingSkills<->Tech Tips<->MyBikes<

[Spoon261]

The CG125 modified the engine etc. in 2003/2004. The new one is a pain when cold. I have got it and had hell with the dealer and Honda UK (Honda UK refuse to tell you anything).

The first problem is due to emission limits, they have made the mixture so lean that cold starting is almost impossible on cold days.

First thing to do is when you finally get it to start, take it for a long ride and get it up to full working temperature, that requires something like around 10 miles and 50mph or faster for the last few miles of that.

Now it’s warm and still running, you need to set the idle mixture screw, that’s the screw underneath the Carburetor, you need to adjust it to the fastest idle. Then you may need to adjust the idle speed screw and then recheck the idle mixture screw again.

The shop I bought it from kept messing around, insisting the book states is should be 1 ¾ turns out, well I ended up at 3 ¼ turns out. It should be set near to sea level and above 14 Celsius and below 30 Celsius or something, exact information is available from https://hondanighthawks.net/carb14.htm as well as correction values if needed.

The screw is at the front of the carburettor and I used a screw driver bit, not a screw driver since it was to long and would hit the engine case.

Once that’s sorted your should find it takes longer for the bike to cool down so much that it needs choke again, also when you do need choke when its been stood for an hour or two, you should only need to startup with full choke, blip the throttle 3 or 4 times and then knock the choke off completely.

You should always start the bike with the throttle open a bit, see user guide.

If the bikes been stood for several days, it can take even 10 turns of the engine to get the fuel back in to the system. This could be even worse? If the bikes not been garaged?

Next trick, in the winter the bike will take ages to warm up and is almost impossible without riding the bike. As we no the bike will not idle with choke fully on and half on normally does nearly nothing. So start bike up with full choke and ride off, always keep the throttle slightly open to stop it stalling, knock the choke off at the right time, if you mess it up and it stalls, put choke back on and start it up.

The setting the idle mixture screw to the fastest idle is correct, other dealers have told me this is correct, even my Honda lawn mower tells me this in the user guide!

I nearly forgot, I turn the engine over once or twice and then let it rest for 1 or 2 secs and then try again, when it starts to fire I keep it turning a few more times. Also after loads of goes and still nothing I turn the key off to let the battery recover for a few seconds.

[teabag]

I've got an 06 XR125L having down graded from a GSX600F due to a change in my daily commute and terminal rot on the GSX. I have ridden every day through winter and not had the sort of problems described. I start with full choke and the throttle part open. The engine always fires immediately at which point I turn the choke off and keep the throttle at a fast idle for about a minute by which time the engine will idle on it's own.
If the engine won't fire then either there isn't enough fuel or enough spark. Check the air and fuel filter. Also check that there are no air leaks in the rubber diaphragm between the carb and the engine. There could also be a blockage in the carb or the idle mixture could be wrong. Once the engine has warmed up, does it run OK?

[Spoon261]