EX hard to start when cold or left sitting

[oldyeller]

My 300 EX is very hard to start when it has been left sitting for long periods..I left it for about 3 weeks in the summer and I had to tow it to get it running....I recently left it at the cottage for a month or so and I killed the battery trying to get it to start in the cold weather...It runs awesome once its running but seems very cold blooded even in the hot summer months...Is there a trick to getting this thing to start better and to run in the cold?

[XR200R]

they cold blooded, takes awhile to warm them up...

also you may need to just turn you idle screw up, it will help alot.

[oldyeller]

I understand that honda's in general seem to be cold blooded as in they require the choke to be on to keep them running until thoroughly warmed up...My concern is that ours just doesn't want to fire up at all...Seems as if its not getting any gas...

[dman66]

When was the carb last cleaned and rebuilt? Look in gas tank, is there any junk in the trunk? Clean gas valve screen.Add gas fuel addatives to gas!!!!! I stepped up the carb pilot and main jets to aid in starting in cold weather - do a search on carb jetting. Any more help, chat back, and we'll see if we can help. Oh yeah, check air filter to see if clean. Rebuilding your carb is very easy - jetting carb and fine tuning can take alot of time.

[dabomb_350x]

The pilot jet helps, along with fuel stabilizer for the just in case the bike sits for awhile. One thing that I do and it seems to help on the 300ex and the 400ex is to turn the gas off and let the bike run most if not all the fuel out. I know how away from my stopping point to turn it off and still have fuel when parked. It seems to help with start up after the bike been sitting for a few days.

[oldyeller]

I just bought the bike this summer so I don't know when the carb was cleaned last..Probably never..The tank does look very clean inside..

[dman66]

One of my buddies told me ,with the new enriched fuel that is offered at your local gas stations,can gel up - or can grow like a mold inside of gas tank,unless you add a fuel stabilizer,which helps keep your fuel good.I did'nt believe him, but I recently cleaned my tank and what did I find - a mold like gel in the bottom of my tank. Now I add a stabilizer.If your quad ran great during the warmer weather, then you probably need to step up your carb jets for winter.

[smr]

you valves are to tight. I set both intake and exhuast at .004