Cold Starting Problems & Rodents

My 2007 VFR (9 months/8,500 miles) has just started some odd cold starting problems. There are two parts to it, I can get one the other or both.

1) Fires up OK but them runs very very rough and dies. Hard to re-start and have to hold the throttle open to keep about 2000rpm until after about 30 seconds it has warmed up enough and it seems much smoother.

2) Once running OK but until the engine reaches normal operating temp. it overrevs to about 3000rpm on tickover.

I reported this to my dealer and he said he has another doing exactly the same thing. Aparrently if they clear the ECU history it works fine for about a week and then starts again. The good thing is they can tinker with this other guy's bike until they find the answer then they can just fix mine :biggrin: but I was wondering if anyone else has seen this?

On another topic, when mine went on for the 8k service, the dealer said he found mouse poo and nesting material (he showed me) in the airbox! He said he has had four or five other VFR VTEC customers with the same thing, never on any other bike. In fact one guy went for a ride and after about a mile or two looked down only to see a mouse sitting on the yoke staring at him! He stopped and the little chap ran off down the stanchion. When the dealer had a look at the airbox, another one jumped out in the workshop!

The moral is, of course 1) check your garage for mice and 2) don't park a warm bike near waste ground on a cold day :wink:

 

Not sure how them pesky little rodents find their way to the airbox, but I have found the same thing in the past when the bike was stored for a few mo.in the winter. They must be drawn to the heat after you have fired er up and shut er down. you can remedy that situation with some basic window screen material and some duct tape.:thumb:

 

As a minor league rodent authority(although not academically trained) and as a sometimes pro bike mechanic, i can say that rodent inhabitation in air boxes (depending where bike is stored) is common, but the screen method suggested above MIGHT work.
Sharp teeth, the need to knaw, hours of rodent boredom, however, could defeat such defensive measures.
in many cases the air filter has been disrespected and turned into chewedup nest material. Pee-Pee and doo-doo frequently need to be removed from the area.
Every creature needs somewhere too nest, so why not purchase a spare air box off ebay, pad it with soft cloth and leave it in a dark corner somewhere near your bike?? Or just set traps??

Far more damage is done when little rodent teeth, needing excercise, start dining on your wiring........perhaps some well-placed moth balls would serve as deterrents(not sure about the efficacy of this).

A HUNGRY CAT MIGHT BE THE BEST ANSWER!!

 

My neighbors cats roam freely and I let them hang around just for the free rodent extermination.

 

Ditto, I can't stand cats, but if they can keep snakes, mice, rats away they're ok to me.

To the OP, I bet they have chewed through wires and created a short or a break. Check the thermistor.

 

Fortunately, no; the dealer had a good check during the last service an all seems OK. Aparrently they like eating the foam in the airbox but had only had a couple of bites at that :crazy: