Bike stutters then stops

[Johnny5]

**UPDATED WITH PICS PLEASE SEE MY POST AT THE BOTTOM OF THE THREAD**

I have an '84 honda magna v45. I didn't do anything special to winterize it this year, i rode it regularily up until xmas, then a couple times after that in janurary on nice days. Then parked it until last week, just starting it up for a few mintues once a week.

Anyway i took it out last Wednesday and rode to work and it started right up without any problems and rode well. Then yesterday i rode it for about an hour. I went and put fuel in (on top of the fuel+stablizer i had in from before xmas, maybe half a gallon of was left in it). Then on the way back from getting fuel it seemed to run rough.

This morning it wasn't starting up well, so i opened the choke a bit, then almost fully to get it to stay running and waited and gradually rolled it back to the off position but the bike was having a hard time idling without shutting down, so i started to ride to work with the choke open a bit but the bike was stuttering like mad and did a few backfires from the piples, and the rpm's kept jumping from 1k to 5k in first gear and violently rocking the bike like it was about to stall, so i pulled over and shut it off.

Then when i tried to start it up again it kept stuttering and shutting down again. Sometimes i would start it and the engine would fire but the rpm's showed zero, then the next time it would rev up but as soon as i went to go into first gear and start to roll the bike shut off. I waited about half and hour, then finally got it to stay started again by opening the choke and i made it home with it stuttering all the way and almost shutting down, it conked out at me at the last stop sign before my house and i had to walk it the last bit. It seemd ok when i was rolling in 2nd or higher, but when i was going slower it kept stuttering in first.

So just now i got home from work and started it up first try, and have been letting it run, it's idling at 1000k but sounds a bit rough and burpy. My oil levels all seem fine. Could it be the fuel i put in yesterday? a car mechanic friend thinks there might been water mixed in the tank from condensation due to the rapid temp changes this week and my garage which is not heated. Or did i flood the engine this morning by using too much choke? Maybe i should have let it warm up longer until it was idling at 1k without choke? Any ideas? Obviously it needs a tuneup but should i risk riding it to the mechanic as is if i can keep it running long enough?

[frekeyguy]

Might be fuel.

Might be carbs.

Might be plugs.

How old are those plugs? and when were those carbs cleaned out?

Also, if your having lack of electrical power you might see rpm jumping up/down

[matthew]

if you do have some water in the tank, you can put some gas line anti freeze in the tank to absorb the water

[Johnny5]

Thanks guys. What about too much choke starting it up? did i flood it maybe? I forgot to mention that in my original post but i think you replied while i was editing it. I bought the bike last September and it ran perfectly fine last Wednesday on my first ride since storing it and until today it's always started up fine on the first shot, even on the coldest days this winter. I haven't checked the plugs and i have no clue when the last time the carbs were cleaned. For sure it needs a full tuneup but i'm just wondering if it safe to ride it to the mechanic as is now. When it was jerking around i was worried it was gonna seize the engine but when i got home i checked the oil levels and they are all ok, the oil light never came on

[jay-d]

Situations like these can be difficult to sort out.. so process of elimination starting with the cheapest fix first.

That would be.. fuel. Drain all your old fuel and put some fresh fuel in there. From there, you can check your spark plugs and if that still doesn't solve it, might be that it needs a good carb cleaning.

Even though you put stabilizer in, old gas can get gummy so maybe your jets are clogged? But, as I said, start with the cheapest and work your way deeper in to the engine.

[JZ67]

You say that the bike with fuel & stabilizer ran fine then you added fuel and the problems started. I'm also thinking that is sounds like water in the fuel. Alternatively it could be anything mentioned above. For your sake I hope it isn't the rubber diaphrams in the carb that have split. Those bloody suckers are crazy expensive.

[Johnny5]

I didn't get a chance to do anything with the bike last night. But this morning i went out and it started up fine and it seemed to be at normal power when i revved it while standing beside the bike. so i figured sweet.. the problem worked itself out. So i got on and as soon as i sat down on it and flipped the kick stand up boom.. dead.. Then i remembered i had my tank raised up last week to look at the air cleaner, and i had to tug on it a bit to get it up enough to put the little stick thing in to hold it up, so i thought hmm maybe i pinched the fuel hose when i closed it.

So i raised the tank and i see there are two hoses. One big one and a smaller one. The smaller one was pinched and looked almost totally blocked. And it was very sticky and looks like some fuel forced itself out around the end where it connects.

Is this the problem? The thing is when the tank is in the down position it doesn't have a lot of room and it appears it may have already been pinched before, but i've never had the problem until yesterday. I tried to pull it through to the other side more to straighten it up. But now when i tried to start it i got nothing because the battery is weak from all the problems yesterday and constantly trying to start it up. I have it on the tender now to charge it up.

I'm attaching a couple of pics of the hose in question. The thick one and the thin one have to travel under a piece of metal that runs between the frame and where the seat attaches. They are very pinched together with the thinner one not having much breathing room at all. Could this be the reason the bike runs fine when i'm not on it then dies when i sit down, the bottom of the seat comes very close to those hoses so maybe it's pushing on them just enough to force that small hose to kink? And would that one small hose being almost blocked be enough to stop it from running? There is a reserve tank and i'm guessing thats the hose for that?

Click pics to enlarge

[00ninja]

+1 on the spark removal tool. Hopefully your bike's tool kit came with one.

Since your plugs sit in a tunnel (similar to my Ninja) remember to spray some compressed air into that tunnel prior to removing the plugs. This will remove any dirt and debris that can fall into the into the engine after the plugs are removed.


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[Johnny5]

+1 on the spark removal tool. Hopefully your bike's tool kit came with one.

Unfortunately i didn't get the tool kit when i bought the bike. The seller didn't have it so i guess it was lost over the years as the bike changed hands. I Guess i will have to look to ebay for one, just further complicating.. delaying things.. frustrating.. :/

[Rotten_Ronnie]

Unfortunately i didn't get the tool kit when i bought the bike. The seller didn't have it so i guess it was lost over the years as the bike changed hands. I Guess i will have to look to ebay for one, just further complicating.. delaying things.. frustrating.. :/

Try an 18mm deep socket, you can order "Jet" brand in from Parts Source. I have one for my Klr and it works quite well.

[koogeorge]

Hey Johnny5 , just out of curiousity what was the problem with the bike. Did you finally fix it? and how?

[00ninja]

Try an 18mm deep socket, you can order "Jet" brand in from Parts Source. I have one for my Klr and it works quite well.

^^
Good point.

Johnny5 - If you're not sure what size of socket you need just take your new spark plug with you when you pick up your new socket. This way you can test the different socket sizes for fit before you buy.


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