Todd- if you did the rebuild right, then it's gonna have some good compression. Point of note- I haven't found Kohlers that like to start in cold environment... especially if they're on hydros... so much that I've been contemplating conjuring up an in-out box to disengage the hydro for cold-start and warmup, then shut down the motor, engage the box, then restart with cold-hydro, but warm engine...
Anyway, having a fresh rebuild in cold weather really makes it tough yet. As the guys mentioned, battery and cables are top priority. Don't even think of going to multi-vis for break-in oil. DO check to see that your spark-plug isn't being contacted by the piston or valve... if the ground electrode is smashed, there's contact... which means you've got the wrong plug. Another thing to note- the Automatic Compression Release may be out-of-whack, or you may need to unhook one of the two springs (note on it is in the Kohler manual) in order to get it to fire up-to-starting-speed.
FWIW, I'm not overly thrilled with the SG-start K-motors, but i've got one ring-gear start K301 in my Loader-Mutt that's probably got 25 hours on it since rebuild, and it started up okay (with a hydrostat and 8gpm hydraulic pump hooked to it) in a 15F garage tonight. It wasn't happy about starting, and took a minute before all that oil (engine, hydrostat, and hydraulics) warmed enough to actually flow... but it did warm up and play nice.
One of these days, I'll be pulling down an SG, and looking for ways to improve the performance... I think that increasing the cranking speed by 50% would totally change the attitude of cold-starting K-motors. Now, I WISH I could figure out why the K241's always demand choke (even for warm start), while the 12's only need a quick stab when cold... strange, man!
Anyway, having a fresh rebuild in cold weather really makes it tough yet. As the guys mentioned, battery and cables are top priority. Don't even think of going to multi-vis for break-in oil. DO check to see that your spark-plug isn't being contacted by the piston or valve... if the ground electrode is smashed, there's contact... which means you've got the wrong plug. Another thing to note- the Automatic Compression Release may be out-of-whack, or you may need to unhook one of the two springs (note on it is in the Kohler manual) in order to get it to fire up-to-starting-speed.
FWIW, I'm not overly thrilled with the SG-start K-motors, but i've got one ring-gear start K301 in my Loader-Mutt that's probably got 25 hours on it since rebuild, and it started up okay (with a hydrostat and 8gpm hydraulic pump hooked to it) in a 15F garage tonight. It wasn't happy about starting, and took a minute before all that oil (engine, hydrostat, and hydraulics) warmed enough to actually flow... but it did warm up and play nice.
One of these days, I'll be pulling down an SG, and looking for ways to improve the performance... I think that increasing the cranking speed by 50% would totally change the attitude of cold-starting K-motors. Now, I WISH I could figure out why the K241's always demand choke (even for warm start), while the 12's only need a quick stab when cold... strange, man!