Sluggish starting from cold

[mikethebike]

It's been a bit cool here in Scotland of late and starting the bike from cold has started to become a bit of a worry. Press the starter button and it grunts a couple of times and then bursts into life but doesn't spin freely the same way it does when the weather is warmer or after the bike is up to running temperature.

I can start the bike after work - grunt, grunt, vroom and then ride to the local petrol station about 100 yards away, stop and gas up and then the bike fires up like it should - whirr, vroom.

Bike is a V11 Sport 2002.

Battery has 12.6V available (it's the original one - now 5 years old) after an all night rest or after a couple days inactivity so it seems to holding its charge OK.

Electrical connections are good and tight.

Could the battery be on the way out - despite regularly showing 12.6V or could there be a starter motor or relay problem developing or some other weakness in the system? Don't recall it being so sluggish in the even cooler Spring.

Give me a nuts and bolts problem and I'll sort it but mention electrons and my eyes glaze over and I'll start to think of football, beer, sausages, naked ladies, bikes, anything other than electrons......

I'm starting to get a bit paranoid about it - anyone out there had any similar experiences or clues as to what is happening?

[Tom M]

- anyone out there had any similar experiences or clues as to what is happening?

 

That's exactly what my 02 was doing last year. I replaced the battery and it's been fine since.

[nose2wind]

That's exactly what my 02 was doing last year. I replaced the battery and it's been fine since.

 

I concur. Your battery is on the way out.

 

Get one of the good one's (odessey or equal). Don't ask why just do it.