Hmm I got some thinking to do. I have never started it by pumping the gas but I have hit the gas right before I started it and it fouls plugs everytime.
Just from memory here. If you look at the fuel mapping tables you will see that from 0% throttle to 10% throttle at cranking speeds the fuel system dumps increasingly more fuel in up to 10%. After 10% it cutsfuel off completly. This is how just giving it a smidge of throttle kind of acts like a choke and in some cases will flood the engine. You can crank the engine at full throttle to clear the cyllinder but in my experience a fouled plug is a fouled plug. Make darn sure your throttle is calibrated and you are using a #8 plug to prevent hard cold starts. Idle speed when warm of 2200rpm is where you want to be.
When starting a cold dale do this.
1 turn key on
2 tap start button for a split second.
3 wait 3 seconds
4tap start button again for a split second
5 wait 3 seconds
6 crank with no throttle until it starts or cranks for 5 to 7 seconds. (any longer and the fuel injectors stop spraying so you are just wearing down the battery. )
If engine doesnt start wait 30 seconds and repeat.
These engines need a really good battery that will pass a load test of 125 amps at 10 volts or higher. If the quad cranks slowly fix that first or you will ALWAYS have a hard start.
And if your going to start a dale . Run it for at least a minute or 2 before shutting it off so the plug has a chance to warm up and burn the gas off off it.
Yup thats what my dads been doing. It seems no matter what the weather is. 100 degress or 0 degress it take about 5 tries to start it cold. After that it runs like a champ.
Dales sell well on e-bay.
I rode one recently and was totally surprized at just how strong the bike really was and just how smooth it was on the track. Big difference between my 400ex and the 440 c-dale.
They were just ahead of their time. If they came out now, since all the other bikes are going to Fuel injection, they would do great. But since they were one of the first and a small company, problems with the bikes just killed the company, and the shame of it is just that most people didn't understand how it worked or how to fix it.
Cannondales are great bikes and sought out by owners and fans of the Dales, great sound too.
I wish you luck but I dont see your dad getting more than $2500 for it max. They are/were great bikes. Too bad Cannondale went bk. I luckily sold mine Speed and Cannibal before the bottom fell out.
We just washed are quads today and I took some pics. I will try to get them posted. He said he will prally just keep it and buy a small 4x4 quad. Like a 500 Bomb or something and keep the Cdale for when he wants to race around
King Quad Racer
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