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Ok, should have asked this sooner, but in the morning I do the following:

Turn ignition, wait till rev counter needle drops, full cold start lever, thumb the starter (no thotttle). I do hold the clutch in but that's old habit (will holding clutch in do any harm??)
Very soon after it fires up, I back off the cold start lever to about half - leaving it to idle approx 2000 revs.

If I let it idle for say 2-3 minutes (enough time to put on helmet, glasses & gloves) and then ride off, it's perfectly fine.
If however I ride off after 10-20 seconds, with the fast idle lever a little engaged, it has a pronounced step in the power at very low throttle openings - i.e very small throttle it's very hesitant, and a bit more no change, but then a sudden surge. It settles down after 2 minutes though.

So should a cold engine still pull as cleanly as a warm one at low revs? or is this definite flat spot usual? I feel like I'm riding like a learner first thing in the morning

Thanks

Oh, and does a Futura have the same engine characteristics as a Falco - i.e needs loads of clutch slip in town, pain in the arse, but makes overtaking on any road, and flying out of roundabouts a bit addictive

I think a lot of this behavior would be down to the chip. I also always start using the cold start lever and the clutch pulled in, I think that is good practice.

I back off the idle streight away to 1,500 and since I'm fully kitted up before I fire it up, ride it immediately. After a mile or so I close the cold start lever. It is bound to be a little erratic for the first few hundred yards, and I'm happy not to get to any sudden surges until after the first mile or so. Different kettle of fish after that though.

Same as Keith for me .... and yes, it's not as smooth when cold ... but nor am I so that seems fair.

i always used to to start the falco the same way, only difference is i waited until the display registered a temp reading before setting off, usually by the time i got earplugs in , helm and gloves on i was good to go. But the few times i did run it from cold then yup it was definately more snatchy.

The futura seems to be a lot smoother in town, requiring a lot less clutch slipping, she overtakes quite nicely in standard, but it's a bit slower than my falco as i remeber as the falco had 15t sprocket, rene's and the airkit.

Will do some mods once the zx6r is sold :)

I do try and wait until a temperature appears on the display,its more to do with the fact that when I turn the fast idle off on the move the bike will jolt forward !!!! and as normally at so speed Im afraid of it stalling.

I have the FP chip and believe me, there's NO WAY I can pull away until she hits 49'c. She ticks over no problem but any attempt to use the throttle will have me of the bike so I wait patiently until the magic number, the revs jump, I slam the cold start off and we're ready.

Above 49'c, then that's a different story

...and the tall gearing, fit a 15t front sprocket, you wont believe how much better she is in traffic

Thank gents. Seems I'm not doing anything drastically wrong, which is good. I did worry initially that on some mornings I was riding off before I'd got a temp reading, but it seems to make no difference until the temp is up to around the 50'c mark - then the throttle action smooths out. I certainly won't be getting an FC chip if you can't ride the bike until up to temp. Just wouldn't work for me and my weekday commuting life, but I guess you get the benefit of that chip when the bikes warm.

The Fut's probably a little more tractable at lower speeds - bit less power (113 hp) and a little more torque. Possibly the extra weight (about 20 kg) helps here?? But the standard gearing is a bit on the tall side for town riding - at, e.g., 30, 4th is too high - becomes a bit snatchy - and 3rd is too low. A smaller (15-t down from 16) sorts this out very well, in addition to the other grin-inducing benefits it brings.