Any Motorcycle Mechanics in the House?

topic posted Thu, July 28, 2005 - 7:09 PM by  Roxy
I've taken my bike in twice to the shop for the same problem, but they can't seem to figure out what exactly the problem is.. and that's the problem.

My bike stalls on me while I'm riding. The engine just dies down. Then I have to drag the bike to the side of the road while drivers are glaring at me.
I turn the bike off. I turn it back on. Sometimes it starts again. Sometimes
it doesn't.

But here's the weird thing. It only seems to happen when it's hot outside. At night and when it's cold I have no problems. And it also happens a lot more when I'm running low on fuel.

Any ideas girls??
posted by:
Roxy
  • Re: Any Motorcycle Mechanics in the House?

    Thu, July 28, 2005 - 8:38 PM
    What does your Mechanic stay about it? (So we are not repeating ourselves). And I hate to be Master-of-the-Bleeding-Obvious but have you checked the oil?

    As well, you may wish to post in the regular Motorcycle tribe if you haven't already. Wealth of information in there too.
  • R
    R
    offline 87

    Re: Any Motorcycle Mechanics in the House?

    Fri, July 29, 2005 - 8:03 AM
    EASY AS PIE!!!
    THis is not anything that a mechanic can fix.
    It is called Vapor Lock.
    When you are low on gas, the heat will evaporate your gas in your tank, thus putting less actual liquid fuel through your lines It will be mostly fumes and wont' start, or will die.
    I have seen this many many times, and yes, even been a victim myself.
    The only thing that you can really do about it is to keep your tank at least half full.
    Sorry I couldn't be more help with a quicker or better fix. But that is what it sounds like to me.
    Good luck.
    • Re: Any Motorcycle Mechanics in the House?

      Fri, July 29, 2005 - 10:23 AM

      *If* it's vapor lock, all you gotsta do is unscrew the gas cap a leetle bit to get some air in. I've had my bike die on me due to vapor lock, and unscrewing the cap a tad caused the bike to come back to life and run just fine.

      However, in this case, I'm wondering how the bike dies. Does it cough before dying, or does it just cease to run quietly? If it coughs, etc, then try the gas cap thing to see if it brings it back to life. If it dies suddenly, then it may be something related to the coil, ignition, etc.

      Just a thought.
      • Re: Any Motorcycle Mechanics in the House?

        Sun, August 7, 2005 - 12:16 AM
        I had this problem with my first bike, but to a ridiculous degree. After a few miles, it would die and wouldn't run more than thirty seconds with the gas cap closed. I actually had to ride it to the mechanic with the gas cap unlocked and ajar (probably a remarkably stupid thing to do).

        What the mechanics did to fix it, after much examination of the bike and conferencing, was to remove the component (can't remember what it's called - sorry) that was required by California Emissions Law to prevent fumes from escaping. With it removed, there was no vapor lock.
  • Re: Any Motorcycle Mechanics in the House?

    Tue, October 4, 2005 - 9:43 AM
    Blocked fuel tank breather, not allowing air into the tank to replace fuel volume as it is used,...........although this would still cause problems at night, and in cold weather.

    If it's a single cylinder bike, maybe the Cgnition Coil is breaking down when hot. Unlikely to be more than one coil faulty at a time, so not as applicable to twins, triples or fours.

    Again, if a single, how many miles has the spark plug done? i never let these run for more than the recomended amount of miles. They will still run, but can cause all sorts of flukey problems.

    If it's got more than one cylinder, you need to be looking at what affects all the cylinders. Water in the fuel. Very unlikely, due to it being temeprature affected, which is why i am exploring the electrical "sparks" side of things.

    I've looked at some of the answers that you have been given, and the oil level check one made me laugh. the only way that would affect it, is if it was soooo low that the bike was 2nipping up" as in partially seizing, in which case it would very soon be a wreck!!! :o)

    I'm not familiar with USA emissions crap that some over there sound as if they are fitted with, and that seems well possible.

    I know this is a female only site, and confess to being a British male, riding for 35 years, so hope that's ok. Why was I looking in the first place? Hell, I'm a man aren't I??? :o)

    K.x
    • Re: Any Motorcycle Mechanics in the House?

      Fri, December 23, 2005 - 2:02 AM
      guy # 2 here,

      what kind of bike is it? You all sound really intelegent.

      Carbs or FI?
      • Re: Any Motorcycle Mechanics in the House?

        Fri, December 23, 2005 - 9:53 AM
        I will echo guy #2...as I was reading I wanted to know your bike.

        I ride a 2001 V-twin fuel injection bike. I have had an irritating similar problem that doesn't happen as often, but is still annoying and I wonder if a couple of the suggestions here could be part of it...when I refill the tank, when it is only about 1/2 full I often go a very short distance, sputter, loose power and often stall. I have gone through it enough now to know to shift down and blow out what ever is slowing up the fuel flow (I have often thought that there was something in the fuel pump, but since it is an intermittent problem, I have never followed up on it, just learned to deal with it) It acts similar when I get so low it automatically switches to reserve, so I am sure it is a vapor lock issue.

        so please provide a bit more info...
        • Re: Any Motorcycle Mechanics in the House?

          Sat, December 24, 2005 - 10:50 PM
          Ladies merry Christmas

          Makes and modles please.

          Thanks,

          Highsider
          • Re: Any Motorcycle Mechanics in the House?

            Sun, December 25, 2005 - 10:05 PM
            Mine is a 2001 HD Fatboy V-twin fuel injection
            I also was riding it in New Mexico at high altitudes...Albuquerque is 5200 and it happened there and higher (I specifically remember Taos and Riudioso) I can't remember the last time it acted up (and I have probably jinxed my next ride...) but I have been riding in the Los Angeles area for the last three months...

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