Poor starting after being left for a few days

[ZXR400H]

Right my bike is trouble to start after it has sat for a few days i.e. the weekend, so come Monday morning I'm left wondering if its going to run, Is this common on the 400's? As mine has always been troublesome but seems to be getting worse recently. I'm pretty sure its not the battery because a) its only six months old and b) I've charged the battery on my oximiser which indicates its a good battery and c) the engine seems to turn over fine.

Now i know this is a bit of an open ended question but has anyone else had this problem, is it common, and probably most importantly where to start looking? the bike is a 1989 H model.

Thanks in advance

Ricky

[Chris1984]

spark plugs maybe

[extonyg]

could be lots of things.........valve clearances, float valves leaking.......
does it just turn over for a long time before it starts?.....does it backfire when it starts?.......splutters before it starts?

[ZXR400H]

Thanks for the reply's, it had new spark plugs about 1500 miles ago and the valve clearances were checked and adjusted about 4000 miles ago, it turns over for a while then splutters into life but then usually dies then when restarted usually fires up as normal. Would this indicate fuelling?

[WelshD1K]

mine did ^^ when my plugs where dead

[ZXR400H]

Plugs shouldnt be dead after 1500-2000 miles though should they?

I'm also starting to think it maybe the colder damp mornings that are causing the problem as it was abit of a pig to start all last week in the mornings but generally better when I was leaving work early evening.

[extonyg]

i would be checking valve clearances as this was the cause on mine and because i had left it too long i now have had to replace the rocker arms as it has worn them down.if the clearance is too small it holds the valve open causing lack of compression causing poor starting.

[zimm]

i would be checking valve clearances as this was the cause on mine and because i had left it too long i now have had to replace the rocker arms as it has worn them down.if the clearance is too small it holds the valve open causing lack of compression causing poor starting.

+1

just rebuilt the topend on a mates H1 that had exactly the same symptoms, and cause