| Author | Message | ||
     Buellinator |
I was riding my RS1200 for about 25 minutes when the bike began to sputter like it was starved for gas. I had only put 98 miles on it since the last fill up which coincidentally is the last time it died on me. Last time it had done 152 miles so I assumed that I ran out of gas even though there was still gas visible in the tank. The reserve switch did nothing so I assumed it didn't work. After my wife brought gas to me 30 minutes later, the bike started and ran fine. I rode it a good distance a week later with no problems. This time though, I got gas within 5 minutes of stalling and the engine would turn over but not start. Took the air cleaner off and confirmed that all was well with the carb and it was getting fuel. I removed the plugs thinking they might be fouled but they were dry and a nice tan color. After re-installing them I checked the wires at the coil and though they seemed snug, I unplugged them and plugged them back in. The bike started right after but seemed to be running on one cylinder for about 30 seconds and eventually settled into a nice idle and ran fine on the way home. When I got home, I put some dielectric grease on the coil connections and snugged up the coil caps with some pliers. Could it have been a coincidence the first time that the bike restarted after gas was poured into the tank and it was the coil all along? Could it be bad plug wires? | ||
| Sparky |
If you removed the plugs and they were dry I would think that fuel is not getting to combustion. When there's no spark, generally the plugs should appear to be wet-fouled with gas. More likely your problem may be fuel tank vent blockage which would result in a temporary gas starving situation. So the next time it starts sputtering like it's running out of gas, pop open the tank filler to let some air in and see if it immediately clears up. | ||
| Rich |
I believe it's fuel related. Next time it happens, look inside the tank, see if there's an air bubble in the tank liner. | ||
| Cyclonemick |
Check for intake leak! | ||
| Natexlh1000 |
It could be a coil. My ironhead's coil went in a way that sounds similar. It would start and run fin until it heated up and then the engine would cut out. After I took it off, I saw that there was also a crack in the housing. | ||
| Buellinator |
If it was vapor lock, wouldn't the bike have started right away after taking off the gas cap? |
