Motorcycle Repair: SU, oem battery, battery cables

Question
QUESTION: First the basic about bike
its a custom job shovel mostly fxwg mid 80's stock motor std case kick and electric primary has belt drive setup the ignition is a dyna "s" up and an su carb the problem is it turns over kid of slow and this makes it hard to start especially when its cold once its warm it starts fine and will start with only one or two kicks.  but when cold will have to turn over so much that the solenoid will start to over heat and if im not car full it will melt  i have installed a new oem battery and dual ground straps with not much results i am staring to think maybe it a gas delivery problem maybe gas cap vent is clogged otherwise it runs great

ANSWER: Your problem sounds like its not turning over fast enough to catch. Check your battery cables at both ends and if the cables are old replace them. Try this for me, jump across the big posts with a screwdrive on the solenoid with a screwdrive. Does it turn over faster?
Mike

---------- FOLLOW-UP ----------

QUESTION: I tried this and it still turns over the same the battery is a brand new from Harley all cables are new in fact i have two on the ground side and another ground on the starter stud it self.  the mechanic at the shop said all old shovels turn over kind of slow compared to newer bikes and i should just get rid of the SU carb.  but the bike runs great once its started and is only hard to start for the first time when it's cold some times i can crank it 10 or 15 times for 10-15 sec each before it will start but once it starts and warms up it will fire off fine.  I  don't like running the starter this long as it tends to over heat the solinoid

ANSWER: I am not to familier with the SU carb, so bear with me. If it turns over when cold but does not catch, then it sounds like the bike is not getting enough fuel to start. Does your carb have a choke and does it have a pumper on the carb?
Mike

---------- FOLLOW-UP ----------

QUESTION: Yes to both it does have a manual primer pump and a choke.  the guy who built the bike told me the the best way to start the bike cold was to pump the tickler and puddle up the gas then with the ignition off to turn it over with the kicker to draw the gas into the cylinder then switch on ignition prime carb again then start it.  I tried this but still is just as hard to get started

Answer
you never said if you have solid lifters or not. If you do have solid lifters check them. If they are to tight, it will be had to start. Also, check the timing, if its to far advanced it will turn over slow and will be hard to start
Good luck and happy riding
Mike