Starting problems when its cold...

I have gone down the bigger battery route and it has also made no difference. I have a new theory. It sounds like the starter motor is sluggish on start up. Has anyone had the starter motor off and checked for pinched bearings when it is cold? If I had a spare starter I would place it outside in a bag and on a particular cold morning when the Rocket won't start, get the starter out of the bag and see if it is harder to spin by hand than when it is warm. If there is a tolerance fit to any part of the starter the materials that it is made of may contract enough to tighten components. Just a theory but I have tried about everything else. :? 8)

..these bikes are just plain hard to start in cold temps..some are worse than others..mine included..I've got the odyssey 625 (highly overrated IMO) and the beast still won't start when it drops down to 50* or below..the oil is to thick and using a thinner oil was suggested against by someone on here smarter than me..which is everyone.. :lol:..these bikes are fun, but they're not without their own set of frustrating problems..a novelty ride me thinks.. ..certainly not a dependable everyday rider..flame on..

You folks who are having cold start issues, after you've checked the condition of all connections and sensors involved in the starting process, have you checked to see if your Rocket has an oil drain down problem? Maybe too much oil ending up in the crankcase after the bike sits awhile??

How things are going so far...

It has been a while and many of you have provided some really helpful information.

I did pop out the crank position sensor as suggested and that seemed to help for a bit. I learned two things, that there were a few metal filings which I removed and that the oil is returned to the tank properly and not filling the sump (I only got a fraction of an ounce of oil).

The bike starts great at 60 degrees F and fails to start when cold at 50 or below still. I thought the high idle problem had improved, but it seems that was only short term.

I am guessing that it is the TPS and so I have made an appt to have the bike worked on this Friday. Of course, the warranty ran out on Mar 10th. I guess it is my own fault for trying to solve this problem myself and not getting it in to the dealer for warranty work. Let's hope this doesn't cost me too much. They are already estimating I might be without my ride for 2 weeks. Big bucks to get it fixed would just be adding insult to injury.

I really need to save up and get my own TuneBoy.

Thanks to all of you for trying to help

Bring it over to my place and we'll take a look with my TuneBoy. Can't adjust tunes but we can read sensors.

I may have a fix for your starting problems, could save you a few $$ and keep you on your ride.

Or, I can come to your place if you've got the tools, I'll bring my Mini and my cable.