Total Motorcycle Community Forums

Hey Guys.

Today I went for a ride. Everything was fine for the first 5 miles or so. All of a sudden as I turn the throttle for more speed the RPM’s start going down until the bike turned off. After trying over and over I finally got it to start by push-starting it. As I take off I feel the throttle a bit weird, the bike was kind of popping to go or not to go. After about 2 minutes the same thing happens and she turns off again. I try over and over to push-start and she finally turned on after about 15 minutes. Again, after about 1-2 minutes it happens again. It seemed that every time I got it to start, as soon as I stop giving it throttle the RPMs just drop until off even if I tried to give it more throttle. I finally had to get the bike towed

Any ideas?

One more thing, ever since I got the bike (about a month ago) every time I have the ignition on, the oil light stays on until I start the bike. Is this normal? I got the oil change as soon as I got the bike.

Thanks.

Is there fuel in the tank? Try checking the fuel line for kinks if it has fuel, might also try switching it to reserve.

The oil light is a low pressure warning light, so it will be on before the engine starts. If it doesn't go off after the engine is running there could be a problem.

Your Gas Cap vent is probably clogged. When this happens again, see if loosening the cas cap fixes the problem. (When the vent is clogged, a vacuum is created in the tank preventing fuel from going into the carbs.)

If this is the problem, you will probably hear a "Whooshing" sound when you open the tank as the vacuum is released.

I'm on the same page as TechBMW. As I read your description, the first thing I thought about was the gas tank vent. It does sound like the engine is getting starved for fuel. When it dies, open the gas cap and give it a try. This may not be the problem, but it's certainly the cheapest and easiest thing to check before moving on.

The oil light coming on when you turn the key is normal. As a matter of fact, if it doesn't come on when you turn the key, you have problems. It lights up when you turn on the ignition to tell you that the oil pressure sensor is detecting no pressure (there is none until you start the engine) and to assure you that the bulb hasn't burned out.

trujillo
a similar thing happened to me this afternoon on my gs500. Coming to a stop and starting was a pain. At every stop on the way home I would have to fiddle with the choke just to keep the bike on long enough to prevent killing the engine. Did the opening the gas tank idea work for you? I figure I'll try that tomorrow morning...