or shutting off or dying.... whatever you call it, it sucks.

Back story is I recently did a complete engine rebuild on my 21, and have only put a few hundred miles on it. I was having issues with it dying out while I was rideing and having a hell of a time getting it to start back up. I replaced the spark plugs and fixed an exhaust leak where silencers meet pipes. The next time I took it out for bike night it died three times on the way home... twwo happened as I tried to pull away from stop lights, and I thought maybe the light was too much on the charging system. But the third time I was cruising down a straight away at a medium speed (not WOT but not putting it either).

The difference is this time I was able to kick the bike back to a start after only a couple of kicks each time... so does it sound like an electrical/charging problem or a tuning/carb issue to you guys???
_________________
Mike

Very difficult to say, but I would probably go with a loose electrical connection, bad charging system or reg/rec, or dead/dying battery.

What I would do is go out for a ride (in circles so you're never too far away from home!) and wait for it to cut out again. Carry a nice long flat blade screwdriver with you, and as soon as it cuts out whip the clutch in and turn the fuel tap to off. Loosen the drain screws on the float bowls and see if there's any fuel in there! If there is, then it's doubtful it's fuel startvation, and you've ruled it out of the equation.

There's definitely no problem with running the lights with a fully operational charging system. When I used to have lights I would run with them on all the time for safety/visibility. If the charging system or battery is not tip-top though it can cause all sorts of problems with the ignition system. The battery on my MC21 had the nerve to fail recently after a good 10 years of service, and it failed over literally the course of 10 minutes! It was fine when I went out. I did a rather spirited run for about 15 miles out and back, and then a plug chop, and all was hunky dorey. By the time I had ridden along the beach and back home (only about 5 miles total) it had breathed it last breath and was unrecoverable!

Check the battery condition and the regulator/rectifier output. Remember even most "sealed" batteries can be opened and topped up, and keeping an eye on the levels will significantly increase its' lifespan!
_________________
Andy.
NSR-WORLD.COM

Please keep all responses to Forum posts on the Forum so that others may benefit.

Please DO NOT PM me for technical advice. My time is precious, and you will probably receive a faster response on the Forum anyway.

Check us out on Facebook! Please "like" our page!

Do you run a fuel filter ?
I bought a 2nd hand tank, that was a tad ordinary on the inside. I treated it, but as a precaution, i now always run a fuel filter. The first 2 tank loads of fuel actually blocked 2 filters !!!
It would ride for a bit, then die. Wait for the fuel to trickle through the 3/4 blocked filter, fill the carbs, and off i went again. Problem was it was burning the fuel faster than it could flow through the blocked filter !! It stopped about 5 times on a 30km ride.
Your issue is probally an elec problem, but just giving you a left field option.
_________________
Winning isn't everything, but loosing isn't anything

check your pick ups, left side of bike underneath the cover



should be part 3 or 7 on that pic

mine was dirty, and the wires were rooted, electrical tape and a clean fixed it up, bought a set from mario as a spare too, but i've got 2 now since i picked up some spares from the bikes previous owner

Thanks guys I think I will throw a filter on just in case but seems to be electrical after doing the test Andy described, so I will start with 666's sugestion and go from there... still need to get this thing tuned though I think
_________________
Mike

Well, heres the update:

I took the bike for a ride the other day after checking the things listed above with no luck. after riding for 15 minutes stopping, and riding for another 20 minutes the bike died while driving down a straightaway. Kicked and kicked with no luck, and was unable to bump start.

Tore into her and found the following:

1. Battery is good
2. Getting good fuel flow
3. No Spark on either plug
4. Fuses good
5. Ignintion turns on lights and gauges...etc.
6. Side stand safety switch working
7. No visible wireing issues

So I am again at a wall, does anyone know if the PGM being bad would react like this...any way to test it? any other recomendations? How do I check the Regulator /Rectifier and what should the out put be?
_________________
Mike

re the regulator, Electrex has a great fault-finding guide that is posted in the Workshop area. Roughly, you should have low-mid 12s when bike is idling, about 13.5 volts at 2500 rpm, and 14.5v at 5k rpm (not more than about 15v in any event). hope that helps - good luck.
_________________
-Jim
'93 MC21

Some very similar symptoms to mine when the battery failed recently. It worked, and then it died! That suddenly.
_________________
Andy.
NSR-WORLD.COM

Please keep all responses to Forum posts on the Forum so that others may benefit.

Please DO NOT PM me for technical advice. My time is precious, and you will probably receive a faster response on the Forum anyway.

Check us out on Facebook! Please "like" our page!

mhunter1175 wrote: 3. No Spark on either plug

Ok, well you have found the symptom then, all we have to do is trace it back! Is there 12v at the coils when the ignition is on?
_________________
MC21SP Plaything
BMW F800GS Bumblebee
Triumph 9551 Daytona Big boys toy
FJ1100 Sporting relic
GTS1000 oddball

So there should be 12v then yeah?

My MC18 stalled out when running yesterday and i cant get it running since with clean plugs new batt etc.

I get 0.6v to either coil with the bike on, something screwed then ?

Latest:

With help from my friend Mark Brown, I have found the following;

1)one of the pickup coils seems to be bad, no continuity.

2)there is no spark at either plug so I'm worried there must be a problem with PGM also...


Anyone know how to trouble shoot or test this theory without another pgm?
_________________
Mike