Ive got one to kick this thread off with.
This evening I was out in the garage to get the cb550 started up. Its been several weeks since I ran it last, and when I say ran, I mean let the bike idle for a while. I'm waiting on my title, so I cant go ripping around town yet. Today it took a good 15? minutes of kicking and electric starting to get the sucker to run. Then, I did my best to work the choke and the idle screw to hold it, but it wouldnt stay on for more than 10-15 seconds. Slowly, I think, the engine warmed, and it managed to stay running longer, but still stall out. During this time, I would kick, and it would start right up, sometimes jumping to 3500-4000 rpms, and then slowly come down and die. It also backfired (very loudly) a few times, making me nervous. Soon after this though, the idle began to smooth out and the engine stayed running. The throttle was responsive and it came down and held a steady idle just above 1000 rpms. It seemed to be running fine at this point. I couldnt take it around the neighborhood because its wet and dark out (no running tallight either), so I wasnt REALLY able to see how it ran. I just took it down the driveway and back. No problems.
Is all of that difficulty just because it has not run in weeks and because it was quite cold out and the engine needed to sufficiently warm? Its my first bike, and my first vintage bike, so I'm really not sure how 'easy' it should start up. I plan on trying to start the bike every evening this week to see if it responds better to being regularly run. Any thoughts? Thanks!
-Aaron