Engine Lacking performance after being in cold

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Mopedamauter79

Mopedamauter79

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Mar 31, 2008
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My engine works great when u keep it inside and then go and use it. It would even work fine being in the cold. However I hit some loose snow and the handle bars twisted around and I readjusted them and keep on going. Then last night I noticed it wasn't going past 33km/h. It was even struggling to get up big hills. I had to help the engine by pedaling while it was on to make it up the hill. It didn't even sound right either. Sounded a little louder then it should of and I don't know why. I checked for leaks and I can see none. The gaskets appear to be intact and not torn or worn down at all.

I'm going to take the air filter off the carb and give it a really good cleaning and see if that helps at all. Not sure if that could be holding the engine back ?

.trk

EDIT: I should add I noticed a build of ice around the covered wires and in diff spots on the bike frame. Could ice or water go into the carb or the engine and mixed with the gas ?
 
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Bikeguy Joe

Bikeguy Joe

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Jan 8, 2008
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Could be partially blocking the air filter. The ice could be shorting out the ignition, (dout that though) Did any water get in the engine? That could put a hutrin' on it in several ways.

I would suggest drying everything out, and spraying the electric down with some WD-40. make sure there is no blockage in the air filter, and no water (or ice) in the fuel system.

keep us posted as to what you find.
 
2door

2door

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Sep 15, 2008
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This might sound silly and elementry but, and I'm quoting you here. "However I hit some loose snow and the handle bars twisted around".
Is it possibel you dinged up your front wheel enough to have damaged your bearings...or could the wheel be rubbing the fork hard enough to cause drag?
I know it sounds like I'm questioning your intelligence and no offence intended but people have missed obvious things like this before.
Another thought is the possibility that you have moisture in the magneto cover. Like BikeGuy Joe suggested, dry everything, use some WD-40 and compressed air if available and give it another try. Keep us posted.
Tom
 
2door

2door

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Moped,
I Just had another thought. When your handlebars moved it might have crimped or misadjusted your throttle cable. Make sure the slide in your carburator is opening all the way.
Tom
 
Mopedamauter79

Mopedamauter79

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I tried it out again. It's a real challenge to get it going cold. I have to keep playing with the lever on the carb. Up and down several times before it will run with the lever all the way down. I'll try to have the lever up as long as I can next time. It's still lacking that overall performance I noticed to. I used to be able to have it run steady at around 40-44km. Now the max it will go on flat land is 35km ? I don't have a carb cleaner but I can pick one up easily enough. I will take the air filter cover off and check to see if the throttle cable is going all the way up like it should.

Oh and I keep the bike inside all the time when it's not in use. So it's dry all the time and I let it sit for a couple days straight before using it again to go to work last night.
 
Mopedamauter79

Mopedamauter79

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Mar 31, 2008
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Yah I'm from Canada. It make my life so much easier to troubleshot it if it was warmer out and not winter. I think the cold air is having some effect overall but not the current minor problem I'm having now. I noticed it ran very nicely and alot faster when we had a warm spell. How about adjusting the idle speed ? I never touched it from the day I got the engine.
 
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ibcnya

ibcnya

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Oct 29, 2008
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You say it runs better when you keep it inside. Im gonna go with the idea that when you leave it outside the engine is really hot, and the weather in Canada is really cold. There is condisation forming on the inside of the engine and its parts(water vapor). Its a result of the hot engine cooling off rapidly due to the extreme cold. Kinda like when you breathe on a cold window, same thing. Dont leave it outside.
 
reg454

reg454

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Jan 11, 2009
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The motor dhould run netter in the cold after it has warmed up because cold air is denser than warm air meaning that you would get more compression in the engine. You might want to check your kill switch it could be slightly shorting out since your handle bars wrapped around, it could have crimped the wires a little bit. unhook the kill switch and set it up to manually turn off them otor and see how it runs.
 
Mopedamauter79

Mopedamauter79

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Mar 31, 2008
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Bikeguy Joe said:
If it is substantially colder, you will need to richen your mixture.

Or did someone already suggest that?
Click to expand...
I had a batch already made in a jerry can with a 20:1 mix I believe. I can bring the mix to 16:1 and better oil the oil I had sitting around for a good year.

Oh and I got some Carb cleaner and I sprayed the inside of the carb with it. Not sure how else to clean it.
 
jasonh

jasonh

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Jun 23, 2008
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How long has your premix been sitting around? And does it sit out in the cold too?

Adjusting idle speed won't do anything for your actual riding performance.

Also, have you checked the color of your spark plug?

I wonder if you could've gotten something in the muffler. Maybe pull the end off it and try to clean it out. You say it's louder - maybe you have a gasket leak at the muffler that you're not seeing? Pull the pipe off, then seal both sides of the gasket with high-temp RTV.
 
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