955i a cold blooded beast?

[ERR]

The Daytona has never was an easy starting bike but yesterday was a real challenge. It started OK in the morning (stored in a unheated garage). Went to get lunch and it cranked v e r y  s l o w l y. It eventually started but not wanting to be stranded I took it home hooked up the battery tender and took the Tundra.
 
My Z750s can sit for a month unused and will fire up right away.
 
This is the first winter with the Tona. Will it be sitting in the garage until warm weather returns?

[TalkingHead]

Hard to say. I had a 955i Speed Triple and it generally fired up right away but I had an electric heater in my garage. I don't recall it ever having a hard time starting coming home from work though (unheated parking garages).

[GRN]

I know some 1050 owners find it a bit tempermental in cold too, mine has been fine so far. Some bikes are happier with lighter wt. oil in cold months, I used to do that with that with the ST13, but found last fall that it didn't really care.

[bubba zanetti]

Never had an issue except this fall when I was leaving Elkford and it was -12 overnight. It cranked a wee bit slower but still fired up. That was a pretty serious test. Ran fine on the way home even at -10. or about 10F

[JoBu]

I've never had an issue with mine either.  Oh wait, I live in FL...nevermind.  
 
But, on a more serious note, from what I understand the 955 hates it if you even crack the throttle when it is starting.  If you are doing this, perhaps that could be a cause?  The couple of times I have forgetten and cracked the throttle, it seemed to take forever for it to finally fire.  
 
I hope whatever the reason, it is something simple like the aforementioned...
 
Cheers,
 
Joe

[ERR]

Thanks for your thoughts. I've always run Mobil 4T as per Triumph specs and hate to change just to get it to start. As for the throttle, I didn't touch it since it always starts without it. The real problem was a very slow turnover of the engine.
 
Makes me wonder if the battery or alternator are up to snuff. The battery tender goes on after every long ride where I use my heated jacket. It never takes more than an hour or two for the charger to go into maintenance mode.

[garry]

The real problem was a very slow turnover of the engine.
 
Makes me wonder if the battery or alternator are up to snuff. The battery tender goes on after every long ride where I use my heated jacket. It never takes more than an hour or two for the charger to go into maintenance mode.

Sounds like your battery or charging system isn't up to snuff. Your battery should be fully charged after a long ride. I can't imagine a heated jacket pulling enough current to slowly discharge the battery when riding. Now if you have a bunch of other powered farkles, then maybe that's expected. Worth checking it out. I never had any issues with my Sprint RS starting when cold. Crank a little slower, yes. But it seemed to fire up pretty normally with temps around freezing.

[JoBu]

Makes me wonder if the battery or alternator are up to snuff. The battery tender goes on after every long ride where I use my heated jacket. It never takes more than an hour or two for the charger to go into maintenance mode.

I have to believe you are heading down the right path.  From everything you have described, it points to the charging system.  I hope it is something simple and CHEAP...  
 
Best of luck...
 
Cheers,
 
Joe

[Tar Snake]

I'm not sure about cold weather (I live in So Cal) but if you get another battery try one of those gel batteries, I have a Westco in my BMW and that bike sits a more that my Sprint but even after being unridden for a month it will fire right up.

[bubba zanetti]

Sounds like your battery or charging system isn't up to snuff. Your battery should be fully charged after a long ride. I can't imagine a heated jacket pulling enough current to slowly discharge the battery when riding. Now if you have a bunch of other powered farkles, then maybe that's expected. Worth checking it out. I never had any issues with my Sprint RS starting when cold. Crank a little slower, yes. But it seemed to fire up pretty normally with temps around freezing.

Ride with a heated vest in cold weather and no charging issues. It could be as simple as your connections at the battery not being tight enough. I have had that happen more than once. Clean everything and do a methodical step by step. Check the voltage you are getting while the bike is at idle and at about 4000 RPM. You should see something 12.5 - 13.5 Volts at 4000 even with a heated vest. This what I get.  

If you age getting good voltage it will be your battery, if not your alternator is suspect or you are discharging through a short somewhere - back to inspecting the wires carefully especially at any metal contact points.

Best of luck

[ChuckBecker]

I must agree that if slow cranking was the symptom, the battery and charging system must be the suspect.

[Prubert]

I have a 2 year old westco battery in my 01 Sprint ST.  When it sits for more than 5 days it turns over real slow but turns none the less.  I can drain the battery when I run with my Gerbing jacket on full blast with the grip heaters and the High beams on.  Anything short of that and it keeps it's charge.

Check your battery, it is probably going south with the colder temps.  Batteries hate temp extremes and old ones that are grumpy usually fail when it gets hot (above 90) or cold (below 35).

Do you have any farkels on the bike that may draw some power?

Go with the westco AGM battery, I have been using them for 5 years on 3 different bikes and they all have preformed flawlessly!

Later.

[HipGnosis]

 from what I understand the 955 hates it if you even crack the throttle when it is starting.

I have to respectfully disagree.
Last winter, when I was jonesin' for a ride and it FINALLY warmed up into the 30's, I tried to start my 2000 RS.
I tried repeatedly to start it w/o cracking the throttle (few seconds cranking, quite a few seconds pause..  repeat).
I wore the battery down.  I recharged it.  I tried some more.
The plugs were fouled.  I replaced them, which ain't exactly easy in a 30 degree garage  (and found that not all plugs that fit the engine use the same socket).
I tried starting it with the new plugs... cranked it twice w/o throttle.. nothing.
Cranked it over with the throttle ever-so-slightly cracked and it fired right up.
YMMV

Jim