2005 VLX 600 question

[Rocker]

Just bought the bike and drove it from Myrtle Beach to Columbia this past Saturday. The bike has 3900 miles on it and ran great once it warmed up, but ran like CRAP when first cranked. The bike starts fine with the choke in but when I went to crank it last night I pulled the choke out (figuring it was best for a cold engine) and it would not start! Pushed the choke in and it fires right up. I let it warm up for a few minutes but once I got going though, it skipped badly. I turned the idle screw to no avail....Any suggestions? The gas is good because I had to fill up on the way from the beach! Any help would be appreciated!!

[highlandman]

Clogged air filter maybe?
Mine is a little cold natured, and the VLX has that rep, but the choke works the way you would expect -- out for cold start, halfway for a couple of minutes tops, then in.
Did you notice what the gas mileage was on the trip?
-Glenn

[Rocker]

Thanks for the response Glenn! I checked the air filter last night and it looks fine. I got about 56 mpg on the trip back. Like I said it ran great once it got warmed up for about 15 minutes. Before then, it wasn't real easy riding! What I don't understand is that when I pull the choke out, it will not start at all. If I leave it in, it starts?!?!?!

[holtnepenthe]

Your carbs might be little clogged. It sounds to me like the idle jets might need a little bit of cleaning. You can try running some seafoam through the gas tank, and that might fix your problem. If not, you may have to remove the carbs and do an extensive cleaning. If you just got the bike, it's not a bad idea to clean the carbs anyway.