Hey guys, you were right @nigelrb - the rain was coming down last night! I did get to test it before work this morning and still made no difference, ran for 35 minutes and then started acting the maggot. I have managed to get a short 30 second recording of the moment it starts to mis-behave and then dies and it can be found here: https://drive.google.com/file/d/1vzz16otWttfaLe0m5jeiuQpH2QuzSoo2/view I hope that may offer some light on the situation?? One comment I got from a mate is that he had a similar issue on an old 250 trials bike. In his case the engine would heat up, something internal would expand and cause the engine to start to seize and she would then come to a stop. The engine would then cool and be ok a few hours later but obviously would re-occur when it was ran and would get warm again. Is that plausible?? In my mind, if the engine seized whilst being ridden it would be quite eventful rather than just spluttering to a quiet stop. Also... whilst I'm here, any ideas about: "I got a crank sensor and fitted that (made no odds). A mate of mine who was asking around for me in the UK spoke with a chap who said it could be the Camshaft position sensor/cam pulse generator. Is that not the same thing? I tried doing a search, and it seems to be, but wanted to make sure." Thanks for all your ideas everyone!
So, had everything off the darn bike yesterday, the pump is working right up to the moment it dies, getting fuel no issues into the rail, no blockages or kinks and so she is breathing fine. At a total loss and have thrown in the towel. Stuck it all back together, confirmed the issue was still present. There is a guy about an hour away that looks after a lot of the road racing bikes for the Irish RR championships and is considered a bit of a 4 stroke engine guru from what I can tell, so ended up popping out to him yesterday for a chat and he is going to take her in but cant do so until the 15th May, typically 2 days before I go away for two weeks, so it may be some time before I get back to you guys with any official issue. Thanks for all your input and I will be certain to keep you guys informed so if anyone else get this issue they can hopefully rectify a bit quicker than I.
I would be shocked if the honda engine piston/cylinder block expanded to the extend of seizing! What are you running temeratures? fuel vapor lock would show the symptoms you describe.
Hey Bonjo, Yeah, I'm in agreement TBH. I would imaging that a seizing engine would be a lot more catastrophic on an engine like this, rather than just slowly coughing and spluttering to a stop. His bike was an old late 90's 250 trials bike with an engine that I think was cast iron by the looks of it! LOL When running, the bike usually gets to 107-110. But again, thats the registered temp on the dash, so something else may be getting a hell of a lot hotter elsewhere. I am thinking @nigelrb is right. I knew I said I was done, but as the next guy cant take it until next Wednesday, I have been tinkering. After 30 minutes or so, the fuel delivery seems to still be giving fuel to the injector rail, but the flow becomes very much weaker than before. I have found a second hand fuel pump going for 40 quid, so have ordered it anyway (can always re-ebay it if it doesn't work). I am starting to think that the pump is prime suspect. If it arrives prior to Wednesday I will lob it on and check it out. I'll still send the bike off for a going over even if the pump does the job. Hopefully the answer is on the horizon and will be updating you in a week or so!
If you can find the right equipment you might be able to rig an inline fuel pressure gauge so when it starts playing up you can see instantly if pressure has dropped. Have you checked the fuel filter?
Fuel filter has seen better days, but I'd still say it was 8/10. Certainly no signs of any major crap in there. Inline fuel pressure gauge... You guys were big MacGyver fans back in the day weren't you!? Making and rigging up stuff was never my forte, but I might have a chat with a buddy and see if we might knock something up on Sunday.
Hi guys! So, just got off the phone with the mechanic and its a big relief! The girl lives!! Few issues with the bike, but thankfully, nothing massive. The cutting out issue was caused by the automatic choke not disengaging and so after a short while she would essentially flood herself and cut out. Not only was she not disengaging but was on full constantly. This had caused a lot of coke build up in the injectors as well and so had a knock on effect on the performance as the issue was going on. Apparently there was an awful lot of crap in the throttle bodies as well. The injectors have been cleaned through, the automatic choke issue has been fixed, she needed a new cam chain tensioner and apparently it has the wrong battery installed (from a 125! (not by me)). She has been fully serviced and he has put her on the dyno for nearly 90 minutes to blow any remaining crap through, she ran like a dream apparently, putting out 168 horses on the dyno, which apparently is decent enough. So I had one mechanic who could not diagnose, one that tried to sell me a €2500 engine replacement and in the end, with new front disks, cam chain done, full service and new battery it came to under a grand. So, all in all, good news! It it helps, he said he found the problem quickly as he had an idea of the issue as its the second he had seen in the last 12 months, so really hope this helps someone else avoid having no bike for months! Lastly, just wanted to say a big thanks to all of you that tried to help me get this sorted! You are all bloody legends!! Thanks, A.
Great result and so glad to hear. I hope the weather's good up your way for the weekend. I think you have to relearn how to ride. Frig knows how it got by with a 125 battery!! Another upside is that you've now found a mechanic good enough to keep in mind for the remainder of your biking days!! For me, it's yellow day tomorrow. First up I'll be putting on yellow rim tape - while listening to Coldplay's 'Yellow' of course, then off to the burger van for a bacon and egg butty, hopefully with a double yolker just to enhance the 'yellow' experience.
A Yeah, very pleased with the mechanic! Unfortunately I'm away for 2 weeks and can't get to collect her until 3rd June. To be honest, after 8 weeks of not being able to ride it, just looking forward to getting her back! Enjoy your yellow weekend!
yes the OEM non ABS battery is a tiny 6ah share with the 125 I believe. Your engine must have been stinking of petrol, surprised you didn't pass out while riding or mention it BTW where in the country is the mechanic who fixed your problem?
Well, back from the holidays, collected the bike on Saturday and she runs so much better than ever before. Took her for a 300 mile day trip just to make sure it was all good and glad to say there was not a single issue. I've obviously been running a sick motor for a while and just not noticing that it was getting worse as the power delivery was unbelievable. Thanks again for everyone giving help on this one, hopefully I'll be able to return the favour one day!
Hey I am having the same issue. What's was the Automatic Choke you mentioned? I would like to try to fix it myself I just can't find the component mentioned.
