Hard start after sitting in hot sun?

I rode to work this morning no issue started right up. At lunch it was 100 deg. Stopped of to run an errand and parked in the sun. When I came out 10 min later the bike had to turn over more than normal and I ended up twisting the throttle a little to start it. Anyone else run into this?

TuolumneFJR said:

I rode to work this morning no issue started right up. At lunch it was 100 deg. Stopped of to run an errand and parked in the sun. When I came out 10 min later the bike had to turn over more than normal and I ended up twisting the throttle a little to start it. Anyone else run into this?

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Simple answer: yes.

This is probably due to your California model FJR having a charcoal canister designed to capture petrol fumes. The sun heats your fuel tank, evaporating fuel which is absorbed by the charcoal, probably saturating it. When you come to start, fumes from the canister enrich the combustion mixture to the point where starting is difficult. Churning on an open throttle will usually get it going.

My 2018 UK FJR also has the canister, previous models did not. Mine suffered a similar problem once, wrote up my experience here, at first I didn't know I had the canister, but came to believe that it was the cause of my problem.

[Edited to fix the "here" link above.]

Or, vapor lock? I know that was more of a problem back in the 70s, not so much now. Maybe check to make sure your tank is venting correctly.

I agree with macatrophy. Almost certainly an issue caused by the Kalifornia Kanister. Gets saturated with fuel vapor sitting in the heat. When it starts up, you draw (hot) air through the charcoal and this results in an extremely rich run condition - resolves itself after a few minutes as the gas gets burned off. Have a look at the thread macatrophy referenced.

Look at the referenced parts fiche in that thread. You can bypass or remove the canister if it becomes a persistent problem. Just make sure you don't have unfiltered air going into the engine - restore it to the non-cali version.

Mcatrophy is correct, my CA spec 2013 hes done it since new when parked in the sun.

gregory said:

Mcatrophy is correct ...

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My, my! That's a surprise!

Wow, that seams like a recall issue. It really is a pain in the butt sometimes. Thank you for all of the responses.

My CA '05 has done this twice in 5 yrs ownership....

Both times my gas tank was full,

Mr. BR

I had about 1/2 tank of petrol. And Ive noticed this only happens when parked in direct sun above 80 deg f. Solution, always park in shade.

TuolumneFJR said:

I had about 1/2 tank of petrol. And Ive noticed this only happens when parked in direct sun above 80 deg f. Solution, always park in shade.

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Good remedy, that way you don't burn your back-side :smile3: .

Interesting observations. I have never had this happen on my 2014ES CA model. I have parked in the sun in AZ, NM, NV, TX, and CA many times. If it is real hot I cover the tank and dash with my jacket. I do that to protect the paint, keep the seat from burning my ass and balls, and prevent the LED display from turning black.

One of my riding buddies has a 2012 CA model and it has done that hard to start stunt many times after fueling up following a long hot weather ride. It always starts but it takes some effort. I'll suggest he open the throttle to see it that helps.

Art, I agree that opening the throttle helps. It always starts after maybe 5-10 seconds. Really just wanted to make sure that there is not problem coming down the road.