We have an Eiger automatic at work that started acting up the other day. Seemed to happen when our temps got down to around freezing in the morning. Bike starts fine, idles fine, but when you first start to drive it, it sputters and backfires, quits and is just plain ignorant. You can play with the choke, which helps a little - full choke seems to work best.

After about 5 minutes of this behaviour, the thing seems to work pretty normal. Any thoughts? I thought we should let it warm up first, but we let it run for 10 minutes before driving it today (in neutral), same thing happened.

 

Wish I knew what to tell you. My new 5 speed Eiger does the same thing. Seems to hit it right off on the idle but after a moment it might just die. Mine is included in the recall so that may have something to do with it. It seems to be OK after a few moments but it still will not "race" the motor from idle to half or three quarter throttle with having a miss or shall I say hesitation. I have 48 miles on it and will be going to the shop soon. Other than that little problem I love the machine. Let me know how yours comes out and I'll post when I get mine back from the shop. May be a couple of weeks before I can get the 100 miles on it .

Carpe Diem,
Dewbaby

 

You may have gunk in the float bowl that ocassionally blocks the main jet. Or it could be just an idle problem.
You should be using the choke when you first start it, but after it warms up, it should run fine.

If it runs bad during warm up it might be idling a little lean. Lean conditions and/or exhaust leaks can cause backfires.

Richen up the idle mixture a quarter to a half turn. On my Vinsons and KQ, it's done by turning the idle mixture screw counterclockwise. You may need to adjust the idle speed up a little after doing this too.
Let me know if this helps.
Mark

 

I experienced horrible cold weather starting with my 03 Eiger 400 4X4 but I found the problem. The problem is the air vent tube leading from the Keihin CVK32SS carburetor through a hole in the plastic bodywork terminating in a hole on the back side of the fuel tank plastic. My Eiger was assembled incorrectly by either Suzuki or my dealer. I am not sure who routes the line in question or when it occurs. The air vent line was routed to the edge of a plastic cover and bent hard around the corner instead of being routed through the as-designed hole that allows a smooth bend in the line. The 5 minutes of cold start warm up time everyone mentions is the key to finding the problem. When the air vent line is pinched and cold the ability to flow air through the tube is reduced. The air vent tube is located close to the exhaust header. It takes about 5 minutes for the area to warm up and then warm the air vent tube enough so it expands and relaxes the crimp allowing almost normal air to pass through it. I needed to replace the air vent line as it was permanently crimped and routed it correctly through the as-designed hole in the plastic cover. My Eiger would then start normally with full choke for only about 30 seconds accepting throttle inputs right after that. This was tested at 15 degrees Fahrenheit in Northern New York.

Good Luck