2001 Honda CG125 being a twat to start

[veeeffarr]

Hi,

Trying to start my Honda CG125 on Friday in vain, had to kick it over about 20-30 times just to get any feedback from the engine, it was just totally dead but fired up in the end.

This morning, the engine started up and idled (Badly) and every time I touched the throttle the bike died (The choke also appears to not do anything at all)

Put a touch of redex in the tank and finally managed to get it started by letting it struggle to idle without touching the throttle for a minute, and then opening the throttle the tiniest bit until the engine caught on without dying.

Any idea what's going on with it?

Thanks,

Toby

[stinkwheel]

Sounds like fuel starvation to me. Start at the tap and work down giving everything a clean and blow through.

Another thing that can cause poor starting is the tappets opening up but the lack of throttle response suggests a fuelling problem to me
____________________
“Rule one: Always stick around for one more drink. That's when things happen. That's when you find out everything you want to know.”
I did the 2010 Round Britain Rally on my 350 Bullet. 89 landmarks, 3 months, 9,500 miles.

[veeeffarr]

You mean checkin the bowl on the tap for debris and stuff? Hmm, I'm quite tempted to leave the fuel system alone, as I am terminally stupid when it comes to mechanics, how simple a job is it?

I'm going to clean my air filter tonight as well, It's the type with 2 foam cylinders over the top of each other, so I'm going to wash them in fairy and cover them with fresh engine oil, reckon that'd help fix things?

[stinkwheel]

Well, yeah. If the air filter is badly choked, this would fix it.

Give the filter foam a good wash out then when they are still a bit damp, put a little oil on them. Now give them a good squeeze, you will see a mess of oil and water emulsion drip out (looks milky). Now leave them to air dry, applying the oil when they are damp spreads it evenly and thinly rather than in 'dollops'.

At a minimum, check the fuel tap/filter isn't blocked by pulling the hose off the tap and switching it on (with a suitable receptacle held under it). You want a steady stream of fuel to be coming out.

If you have one of the older type CGs your fuel tap will have a sediment bowl (which I think you described), take this off and have a look for any water droplets (which sink to the bottom) and any bits of crap, that is certainly simple enough. Have a look at the bit immediately above the sediment bowl, some bikes have a circular gauze screen filter here. Gently lever it out and give it a rinse through.

If the bowl is stiff DON'T use a spanner on the hex nut on the bottom of it, they can twist apart really easily. Use a big pair of pliers with padded jaws on the outside of the bowl itself (don't squeeze too hard). Mind you they SHOULD just be finger tight.
____________________
“Rule one: Always stick around for one more drink. That's when things happen. That's when you find out everything you want to know.”
I did the 2010 Round Britain Rally on my 350 Bullet. 89 landmarks, 3 months, 9,500 miles.

[bidman]

Also make sure your putting the choke on the right way and not flooding the engine down is off choke and up is on choke, Dan
____________________
Don't ride it, RAG IT!!

[veeeffarr]

[danzai66]

my cg won't start at all with the choke in the up position.

i start it half way up, leave for 30 secs then drop it down.

runs okay.

(and this is from a bloke who had a bike garage take it away, for forty quid, and for them to say i had the choke out...darn.live and learn)

no probs since.

[veeeffarr]

By the way, once the bike's warmed up, the problem ceases, does this give you any more of a clue?

[Mark_petty]

atm i have to use full choke then after 30 seconds I turn it off and leave it for a few minutes and it seems to be ok.
____________________
[Rides: Suzuki GSF600sx]
[CBT: Passed] [Theory: Passed] [DAS: Passed]

[veeeffarr]

Mine dies on full choke, which leads me to believe that it's flooding the engine as it's not getting enough air.

[veeeffarr]

Update:

Got my air filter out...

Looks totally fine to me but TOTALLY stinks of petrol, so Ive washed it in fairy liquid and it's drying as we speak... It's two foam cylinders wrapped around a metal one, I've cleaned them all.

Checked spark plug, here's a picture of it, looks ok but the electrode is white?

I can't get the fuel line off of my tap, there's a clip on it that's fiddly as fuck.

The throttle rubber grip keeps slipping on the white plastic tube it clips on to... I don't have anything I can think of to stick it down... Anyone know of a bodge?

The throttle is a bit stick as well, I have some spray lubricant: I think it's this one: https://www.vueltausa.com/vuelta2/images/tools/TF2_sm.jpg

Would that do? I've used it before and its sticking after about a day? More permanent solution?

There's also something that looks like a giant green bogy stuck on my filter... ew...

Pics:

[veeeffarr]

One more thing I forgot to mention,

There's a black bit of plastic by my carb (It's like a semicircle) that moves when I twist the throttle, there's a groove on it, and a similar groove on a metal plate parellel to it marked "H".

I presume these are supposed to be lined up? Because the plastic bit overshoots the H by a centimetre, how do I adjust this?

[finpos]

Hi Toby,

If it's not been starting, you'll have blown lot of fuel the wrong way through the carb, which explains the smell and the snot.

Green snot is probably emuslified petrol, i.e. you've had some water in the tank at some point. So possibly, that is causing you some grief. see Stinkwheel's fine advice. Alternately, if it's ok now, you might have run it all out.

With respect to you lines not lining up, remember the first rule - if it's not broke, don't fix it. It's unlikely it's spontaniously mis-aligned itself, and it was running fine before, wasn't it?

Your twist grip - to fix it properly, you really need to find out where the interference is. You'll probably have to strip down all the individual components to do this.

But getting your grip on should be easy. just spiral insulating tape around the white plastic part until the rubber won't slide on any more. Then squirt washing up liquid on it, push on the rubber and leave overnight to dry.

And, finally, in this weather, i wouldn't be expecting to give the bike any throttle at all until it had warmed up for a minute or so.

finpos.

[veeeffarr]

That's great! Thanks for the advice finpos.

The filter STANK of petrol, so I've washed it and put in some oil while damp, I have it perched on top of the metal drum on the radiator air drying now.

I was just wondering what the H mark is, thought it might be indicating the amount of fuel needed to reach the redline, so I thought if it was flying over then I'd be revving it far too fast.

[veeeffarr]

Oh bollocks, could this be caused by me doing a couple of killswitch backfires?

[veeeffarr]

Sorted,

The engine was on minimum for oil, and the air filter has been cleaned and replaced.

Everything's fine now.

[veeeffarr]

My air filter was wet and full of what smelt like petrol.. Is this my problem or is this just the smell of the solvent that the last person used to lube them?

Thanks,

Toby