loss of power in cold

[cleensmoke666]

since ive gotten my bike back from shop after repairng stripped oil cap bolts...it seems that my gz has lost some power is it because of the cold weather ..i remember not having that much difficulty last winter i have an 07 i bought new in june of 07 8800 miles

[alanmcorcoran]

Did they change your oil? I know everyone else will tell me I'm nuts, but the Rotella oil seemed to be more "powerful" than the regular stuff. I think once the bike is warmed up the cold weather won't affect it, except for maybe being better at keeping the engine from overheating.

Also, as has been pointed out here, some of the gas mixes in various part of the country are different in the winter and that might also affect your power output. Check your plug to make sure it's not gunked up and your air filter box and drain tube cap (make sure it isn't missing.) From what I've read, airflow, spark, fuel and carb all affect the power more than the outside temperature.

. . . some of the gas mixes in various part of the country are different in the winter and that might also affect your power output. Check your plug to make sure it's not gunked up and your air filter box and drain tube cap (make sure it isn't missing.) From what I've read, airflow, spark, fuel and carb all affect the power more than the outside temperature.


As a novice myself and someone with, shall we say, less than sterling mechanical abilities, hearing Alan talk like like this gives me hope :whistle:

Keith

[mrlmd1]

But he left out "check the thermostat". :poke2: :roll:

[Easy Rider]

i remember not having that much difficulty last winter i have an 07 i bought new in june of 07 8800 miles

Your profile doesn't tell us where you are so.....how COLD is cold ??

Fresh 40 weight oil can bog things down a bit until it gets thoroughly hot.
A bike that runs lean to start with will be even worse off when cold.

If you ride much in really cold weather, you might want to consider a thinner (synthetic) oil for the winter. See owner's manual.

[Easy Rider]

Did they change your oil? I know everyone else will tell me I'm nuts, but the Rotella oil seemed to be more "powerful" than the regular stuff.

Thinner oil might give a tiny bit more power and would be more apparent when cold.
But that doesn't change the fact that we all think you are nuts!! :biggrin:

[cleensmoke666]

im in st.louis,mo. last time i rode was 25 degrees ..thanx for reply.

[alanmcorcoran]

Is it slow up through the gears or, is the top end off? What speed does it max out at?

[Easy Rider]

im in st.louis,mo. last time i rode was 25 degrees ..thanx for reply.

Based on my recent experience at 60 F., I think you are lucky it runs AT ALL at 25. :cry:

[cleensmoke666]

rode it today could not get past 45 and also gears 1-2 are hard to get into like i need to apply more pressure to foot shifter

[alanmcorcoran]

How long did you ride for? I assume you've checked the oil, when hot, with the bike level. Is it hard to shift when stopped? (That's normal - try letting the clutch out a tad - to just at the friction point, and applying some shift pressure - it should drop right in.) It sounds like something is wrong with the carburetion - air flow, fuel, spark - did you check that stuff?

Are you riding with the choke on or off? Is it backfiring? Does it stall?

How long has the gas been sitting in the tank? Was the tank full when you put it up for the winter?

[music man]

How long did you ride for? I assume you've checked the oil, when hot, with the bike level. Is it hard to shift when stopped? (That's normal - try letting the clutch out a tad - to just at the friction point, and applying some shift pressure - it should drop right in.) It sounds like something is wrong with the carburetion - air flow, fuel, spark - did you check that stuff?

Are you riding with the choke on or off? Is it backfiring? Does it stall?

How long has the gas been sitting in the tank? Was the tank full when you put it up for the winter?


That damn Alan has become a GZ engine problem Encyclopedia.

[dan_]

Maybe he'll write another book.

[Easy Rider]

rode it today could not get past 45 and also gears 1-2 are hard to get into like i need to apply more pressure to foot shifter

If you are REALLY going to ride the bike in the winter time, you REALLY should consider a synthetic oil with a first number of 15 or below. Mobil 1 has a good one, labeled for Sport bikes.
A little pricey but very good.

[alantf]

Maybe he'll write another book.

Alan wrote a book? Hey that's great! I once read one.

[Easy Rider]

That damn Alan has become a GZ engine problem Encyclopedia.

Except he has no appreciation for riding a bike when it is REALLY cold; like it is here now.......20 F. with snow and 30 mph winds !!! :biggrin:
And it's not much better than that in St. Louis either.

Note: No I don't ride when it is cold. 60 F. is about my low point......and it appears that might be the low point for the GZ too.

[mrlmd1]

If cleensmoke responds to any of AC's inquiries, the real question is, can AC answer any of them?
My bike starts and runs fine in the cold, but I hate riding in the cold, like in the 50's with the wind - have to put on so many layers and gear that sometimes it's harder and longer to suit up and undress than is the ride. I feel like a little kid all bundled up to go outside and play in the snow. Hey, that's an idea - maybe I'll just put on my snowmobile suit and try that. Too bad it's not armored. And the color doesn't match my bike.

[music man]

[quote="music man":karumfi5]
That damn Alan has become a GZ engine problem Encyclopedia.

Except he has no appreciation for riding a bike when it is REALLY cold; like it is here now.......20 F. with snow and 30 mph winds !!! :biggrin:
And it's not much better than that in St. Louis either.

Note: No I don't ride when it is cold. 60 F. is about my low point......and it appears that might be the low point for the GZ too.[/quote:karumfi5]


I have rode my GZ in the 20's so you figure with the wind chill it was lower than that, and it ran perfectly (except for my teeth chattering). But no snow of course, and definitely no 30mph winds.

[Easy Rider]

I have rode my GZ in the 20's so you figure with the wind chill it was lower than that, and it ran perfectly (except for my teeth chattering)

"Ran perfectly" also means that you had no trouble getting it down off the "choke" without uneven idle and/or a bit of stumbling ?? If that is true, and you are bone stock, then it appears that your are lucky indeed.

[music man]

By perfectly I meant "ran like it does when its warm outside", in other words I didn't have any unusual trouble with it like Cleansmoke is having. I quite possibly had it on choke longer than I would when its warm, because sometimes when its warm I don't have to use the choke at all, but no stumbling or anything of that sort at all.


And yes other than a Aftermarket air filter and Rotella oil, Bone Stock.

[dan_]

"Ran perfectly" also means that you had no trouble getting it down off the "choke" without uneven idle and/or a bit of stumbling ?? If that is true, and you are bone stock, then it appears that your are lucky indeed.

I've ridin' in the 20's as well. As long as I give my bike around 6 or 7 minutes to warm up about 1/2 choke then 1/4 choke after 3 minutes. Mine will run perfectly too.

[alanmcorcoran]

Don't want to spoil my new role as the "kick me" guy for all of you mechanical (and medical) geniuses, but, for the record, I did not always live in California. I spent seven very cold winters in Ithaca New York, (yes, -30 in February!)

I also have not always been able to pay other people to fix my vehicles. One of those winters I drove my brother's '68 Ford Fairlane as taxi. For some reason, the Fairlane had trouble warming up, (no heat!) At one point, I bypassed the heat transfer box and connected the radiator water directly to the heater core. (Didn't help, BTW.) I put chains on it whenever it snowed, which was like every other day in the winter. The leaf springs broke, I crunched the hood, dealt with shorts in the distributor cap, alternator problems, belt problems, hose problems, battery problems, pumps, wires, plugs, carb cleaning, air filters, oil changes, frozen locks, stuck in snowplow snowbanks, etc. No engine rebuilds or head gaskets, or anything you couldn't tackle with several trips to the auto parts store (I didn't replace the leaf springs or the hood myself, but I went to the junk yard to get them.)

I got into some legal and financial trouble and for three years my only transportation was one of two 50cc mopeds, which at that time did not require insurance. Rode them in the cold, and the snow and, since I had no money, kept them running as well (the first one was pretty nice, a Peugeut - it got stolen. The second one was an American made POS.)

Also, dumbasses, it's not 70 degrees everywhere in California. We have these things called mountains. Last week, it was 16 degrees at one less than 70 miles from my house (and three feet of snow!) And yes, I have ridden the GZ up there. (Not in snow...yet. But in the high thirties.) Also, it was in the low 40's at some points on my trip to Joshua Tree. Ask BusyWeb, I will bet you he has frozen his ass off of some of his rides.

I'm aware that, overall it's a lot colder in the Midwest (I've spent a lot of time there, too) but just because I ask a lot of questions and I'm new to the world of motorcycling doesn't preclude me from offering some basic diagnostic questions.

You may now resume your high falutin' mechanical chat. Sniff...

[alanmcorcoran]

I've ridin' in the 20's as well. As long as I give my bike around 6 or 7 minutes to warm up about 1/2 choke then 1/4 choke after 3 minutes. Mine will run perfectly too.

Although I've had my "stalling on warm-up" problems lately, my experience is also that the GZ will run fine in cold temperatures (at least down to high 30's) and, I did not notice any drop off in power or rough running at high altitudes (5-6K.)

Mine is stock as well.

[mrlmd1]

AC - Don't cry (sniff) and don't take this all as a personal attack, ribbing you is a sign of affection, from all of us. If we didn't care, you'd get no attention at all. And if we don't rib you, we'd get ribbed. OK? (A joke - right?)
I personally admire how you've jumped into this motorcycle thing so vigorously, as a primary mode of transportation, as a recreational pastime, and have logged so many miles in the 8 months since you've started. You are a "real biker", even if you do come from California. You are somewhat of a computer pro, but a mechanical genius? Not. Not compared to a number of others on here who know much more than most of us, and the rest of us do listen to their advice.
We all love your prose and writing style. The only thing I personally didn't care about, regarding you, was what I myself considered your foolhardy behavior one foggy night but let's not all rehash that again. Nobody on here wants anyone else to get hurt.
So accept your role on the GZ250 forum, you've earned it, and everyone on here (almost) likes to poke and jab somebody else if it's legitimate and deserved. Just part of all being friends. If it seems that much more impersonal that's because we're all separated by distance, but if we all met somewhere once a week to party or anything similar, the same thing would happen, we'd all be acting the same. So there, feel better. :) :) We still love (?) you.

[Easy Rider]

I've ridin' in the 20's as well. As long as I give my bike around 6 or 7 minutes to warm up about 1/2 choke then 1/4 choke after 3 minutes. Mine will run perfectly too.

I would certainly hope so! :roll:
In 7 minutes, I could be at my destination for many of my trips to town for an errand. :)

I will admit that mine FINALLY did run pretty good.......after about 1/2 hour of riding and screwing with the choke and idle stop. Had I waited 5-10 minutes for it to get hot, I might not have had so much trouble; just another reason I won't be riding in the cold any time soon.

[Easy Rider]

Also, dumbasses, it's not 70 degrees everywhere in California.

No, really ?? <shock and horror> :crackup

[Water Warrior 2]

Alan asked if they changed oil. Well they had to drain it no matter what. If the oil was topped up over the full mark this could lead to some problems.

[alanmcorcoran]

Easy,

Yours is kind of running like mine was when I took it in for the 3K (and then got it back, and then effed with it, and then took it back again.)

Mine is supposedly "Ready." They called me back yesterday to pick it up. Unfortunately, my chauffeur, is out of town this weekend so I'll have to wait until tues or wed to get it. I asked the guy that called what they did with it. Didn't seem like he knew, but he read something off the sheet that sounded like "Cleaned the emissions" (??) I'll let you know if A) It's any better and B) if it is, what they did.

Like yours, mine runs okay after about 10 minutes, but until it's fully warmed up (hot) it's all over the map.

[Easy Rider]

Like yours, mine runs okay after about 10 minutes, but until it's fully warmed up (hot) it's all over the map.

Well you know, some things are just TOO embarassing.
I think I would NOT have had near the problem I did if I had NOT ignored all of my OWN advice and instead ff'ed with it at the wrong time. :cry: Sigh!

Are you going to start it up and ride around the lot (block) a bit before you let you chauffer leave ?? :??:

[alanmcorcoran]

Yeah. with the choke off!