Total Motorcycle Community Forums

okay so here is what hapened on 2 days ago.

1. i got to a drive-thru coffee on the bike.

2. kind of balance it on the tank and slowly take off, make right turn and it i see it about to slip off the left side of the tank.

3. so i quickly grab it and accidentally smash it on the tank...

4. so now me, my jeans, and my bike are covered in Caramelato, w/e it was called.

5. so i go home, forgot the engine was hot + i didn't want the cofee to dry on the bike...

6. then i get the hose and spray all the coffee off the bike, had the hose running on the bike for 2-3 minutes...it was ALL OVER!

7. i turn the bike on, after 2-3 seconds, it stalls and turns off.

8. i tried to turn it on again, NOTHING!

9. so i got a few peeps to help me push it to the side of the house where i usually park it (it was uphill).

10. i leave it in the sun for about 2 hours, try again, and it turns on fine.

11. now 2 days later.

12. i woke up this morning, 7:30ish, turn on the bike and let it warm up.

13. it's fine for about the first mile or so/

14. then at a red light, i noticed it wanted to stall/

15. thought i was out of gas but nope.

16. so i pulled over and turned it off.

17. now whenever i turn it on, it idles @ around 1,200rpm which it did before.

18. BUT it only idles at that rate for around 5-6 secs max, then it drops to maybe 300-400rpm.

19. then goes back up to around 1,000 rpm.

20. then drops back down to 300-400 rpm.

and when going from N to 1st...the bike chickens itself back and forth and if i don't rev it enough, it turns off.

can anyone help me w/ this?

Did you get coffee IN the tank? Maybe the bike just keeps coming down from a caffeine high and wants to die? That really is kind of strange however. Not sure what could cause it. Check all wire connections? Who knows?

Sounds like water in one or more places: the carb float bowls, the tank, and possibly the airbox.

Open up the airbox first and dry it out, along with the airtubes to the carbs.

Drain the carbs. Usually there's a drain plug on the bottom of the float bowls. Water will sink to the bottom of the bowls, so there's really no way to "blow it out". You have to drain them.

Put some Sta-Bil or Sea Foam in the gas tank to absorb any excess moisture in the tank.

Lastly, check the spark plug wires at both ends for moisture.

I was thinking spark plugs too. Make sure they're on nice and that they're dry.

I'm going to move this to "Trouble Shooting" - more gearheads hang out there. Good luck!

Cheers,
Loonette

MontyCarlo wrote:Sounds like water in one or more places: the carb float bowls, the tank, and possibly the airbox.

Open up the airbox first and dry it out, along with the airtubes to the carbs.

Drain the carbs. Usually there's a drain plug on the bottom of the float bowls. Water will sink to the bottom of the bowls, so there's really no way to "blow it out". You have to drain them.

Put some Sta-Bil or Sea Foam in the gas tank to absorb any excess moisture in the tank.

Lastly, check the spark plug wires at both ends for moisture.

can you please give little more specific instructions?

sorry but i'm really a newb when it comes down to mechanical stuff.

Dude...why would you ride off with a cup of coffee balanced on your tank? Um...huh?

I was smiling after point #4, and totally thought this was going to be some kind of joke.

Dude, everyone knows you sweettalk the hottie behind the counter into putting the Caramelato in your CamelBak!

HAHAHA, it was burning at 110 degrees, i had just gotten home from a long ride on the 405 and 10 freeway full of traffic and hot engines.

anyway, i was dying for a ice-cold coffee and didn't have a car..


P.S. after i washed the bike, i went with my neighbor's car and got one...got it for free

Im gonna vote plugs as well...not too hard to find...

4. so now me, my jeans, and my bike are covered in Caramelato, w/e it was called.

There goes any street cred as a bad assed biker