What the f*ck is wrong with that bike!?

Steffano2002

Bike died again this morning... I really think that I bought a Bandit designed exclusively for dry & warm weather conditions only! :mad:

As soon as it rains a little I lose a cylinder, perhaps even two. I don't get this and it just makes me want to set fire to the fu*king thing. I hate sh!t that doesn't work and I don't have a ounce of patience in my body so a little irrate to say the least right now... And to add insult to injury I had to push the fat b!tch to get to work :mad: :mad: :mad:

Why does my bike not work in the wet? It has to be electrical. I know it is. But when I look in the "engine area" when I have this problem I don't see anything wet! It's doing my head in....

madrab

does someone want some icecream? and a hug?

is it always the same cylinder? possible coil problems
have you checked to HT leads, sparks?
possible cdi issue?

Steffano2002

madrab wrote:

does someone want some icecream? and a hug?

Please. And a kiss on the forehead too

madrab wrote:

is it always the same cylinder?

I would say it is. Cylinder n°4 (miserable little git!).

madrab wrote:

possible coil problems

Indeed, but they cost a fortune so can they be checked somehow?

madrab wrote:

have you checked to HT leads, sparks?

HT leads seem to be in perfect order to me. As for the spark plugs, I would be suspicious if I was having problems in dry weather also. But it only ever happens in the wet so IMO: unlikely.

madrab wrote:

possible cdi issue?

What's CDI?

The Doktor

Steffano2002 wrote:

HT leads seem to be in perfect order to me. As for the spark plugs, I would be suspicious if I was having problems in dry weather also. But it only ever happens in the wet so IMO: unlikely.

Change your Plug leads and caps or at least measure the resistance of them.

Steffano2002

The Doktor wrote:

Change your Plug leads and caps or at least measure the resistance of them.

But the plug leads are connected to the coils. We're talking €240 EUR here...

The Doktor

yep, and you disconnect them to test them.

madrab

you could try and swap your coils around & see if the problem stays on no.4

your cdi is you bikes brain, it sends the signal to the coil to spark
http://www.4strokes.com/tech/testcdi.asp

Steffano2002

Well, I'm going to be bringing the nike to the guys at Priory, the Suzuki dealer, and get a full service done.

I need carb heaters, spark plugs, chain & sprockets, brake pads front & back and I need to get the valves checked. I'll also get them to see if they can find what the problem is... All this is going to cost me an absolute fortune... :mad:

ANTO D10 DUB

check the pick up's , there on the right hand side behind the small casing in front of the clutch .
if there's damp getting in there it would do the same thing , i dont know if theres 2 or just the 1 pick up on the suzi , if its 2 there'll be one on the bottom and one on top .

ANTO D10 DUB

btw best of luck

echomadman

before you drop a ton of money on a service go and buy a can of this stuff
http://www.maplin.co.uk/Module.aspx?TabID=1&ModuleNo=30030&doy=9m2

lift the tank and pull out the coil and leads that are giving you grief, spray them liberally with the silicone grease and put them back in.
I suspect the insulation on one of your HT leads if worn out and is shorting to ground in the wet, used to happed on cyl #3 on my bandit 250.
Btw the leads aren't attached they screw into the coils and plug caps, if you go to an auto-electrics place you can get lengths of HT lead and replace the troublesome one yourself for less than a tenner.

Steffano2002

echomadman wrote:

before you drop a ton of money on a service go and buy a can of this stuff
http://www.maplin.co.uk/Module.aspx?TabID=1&ModuleNo=30030&doy=9m2

Thanks, I might give that a go alright!

echomadman wrote:

lift the tank and pull out the coil and leads that are giving you grief, spray them liberally with the silicone grease and put them back in.
I suspect the insulation on one of your HT leads if worn out and is shorting to ground in the wet, used to happed on cyl #3 on my bandit 250.

That's what I'm suspecting also!

echomadman wrote:

Btw the leads aren't attached they screw into the coils and plug caps, if you go to an auto-electrics place you can get lengths of HT lead and replace the troublesome one yourself for less than a tenner.

Indeed, that is correct. I found that out on Dorset Street last night when the bike died on me, again... I'll get some wire (€2.50 a metre I'm told) and replace the HT leads then spray them with Silicone Grease!

If it still fooks up after that, I'll be setting fire to it

Steffano2002

ANTO D10 DUB wrote:

check the pick up's , there on the right hand side behind the small casing in front of the clutch .
if there's damp getting in there it would do the same thing , i dont know if theres 2 or just the 1 pick up on the suzi , if its 2 there'll be one on the bottom and one on top .

Sorry Anto but I don't know what pick-ups are... What do they look like? What do they do?

ANTO D10 DUB

it sends the charge to tell the coil's when to light the plugs , it a part of the timing setup , the pick up's are fixed to the crankcase and sit beside a rotor arm.
the arm spin's on the end of the crankshaft itself , you'll see little markings on it like TDC (top dead centre) .
it where the pick up meets the rotor , you'll see a little circular steel patch if thats fouled just rub it down with light sand paper to shine it up .

UGottaLuvBikes

Dont't know if this will help u at all. I used to have a little 100cc bike - Suzuki TS100 - that would not start in thet cold/wet without a lot of swearing etc.
Ended up wrapping an old blanket around the engine in the evening, around plugs, HT leads etc.. Started every time after that.
Low tech I know , but cheap as chips. You never know!?

macnab

I remember years ago cutting the finger off a rubbber glove and sliding it over the spark plug cap then wrapping insulation tape around the HT lead to prevent shorting out in bad weather. Yamaha RD80DX...RIP.

Steffano2002

UPDATE:

Hi guys,

Well, I haven't suffered this problem since posting that message I'm happy to say! I think it is due to the weather and the temperatures getting better almost every day. Even in the rain I didn't have any problems so I really do think it was all due to carb icing.

Will be getting carb heaters installed for next winter (not going through all that cr@p again!).

Furthermore, I do cover my bike every night now (was too lazy in the past ) with a motorcycle cover my mother got me in Argos for Christmas. Maybe this is helping a little also...

Whizzo

I used to have an RF600 and on frosty mornings wouldn't start. When I would eventually get it going I needed loads of throttle and it would cut out if I tried to idle. Probably obnly running on 3 cylinders. Not sure if it was a Suzuki thing or not. Used to be covered at night. Thieves sorted the problem for me eventually.:mad:

Esel

CDI = Capacitor Discharge Ignition.

WD40 is good if the problem is damp-related.