cbr250 engine shuts off randomly when clutch pulled in

[eljay]

I just got my new cbr250 yesterday and noticed something weird on my second ride. It happened riding home once but I figured that was just me and new bike getting to know each other.

Went out a few hours later and rode around and every once in a while when I pull the clutch, to either shift down or just stop, the engine just shuts off. Hitting the ignition button starts it again right away but it scares the crap out of me when I'm turning or supposed to be moving, especially on downtown streets.

The topic got beaten to death on this forum http://www.cbr250.net/forum/cbr250-p...nshifting.html but I don't know if there is any final resolution besides fighting with the dealer for months and filing complaints and whatever other negs I don't need in my life.

Any one else in GTA have this issue? This vid demonstrates my issue perfectly. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aCmDGmpFt6M It was made by the OP of the above forum link.

You can PM me if you don't want to air your grievance in public. I'd like to know that maybe after breaking the bike in and the weather gets warmer the problem will go away.

[Scuba Steve]

Get it back to the dealer ASAP, take it back every time it does it and make a stink about it if it is not fixed. Until they give you a new bike or fix it right. Do not let it go or let someone convince you it is normal. You paid good money for a new bike and they owe one that works right.

[toysareforboys]

My 1st bike, 2000 CBR 929 did that all the time too. Took the shop a year and a half to fix it. Turned out to be a defective kickstand safety sensor, if I was accellerating hard and pulled in the clutch to switch gears it'd die right away. As soon as I let out the clutch she'd fire right back up again (kinda like high speed bump start! lol).

If your bike wasn't new I would suggest hotwiring the kickstand safety sensor (on my bike you just twisted the wires together, yours might be different), but as Steve said, take it back asap before it causes something bad to happen.

And make sure you absolutely drive the piss out of that new 250. Don't be afraid to take it right to redline. Ignore the break in procedure in the manual.

-Jamie M.

[Brian P]

First rule out the obvious, make sure the battery terminals are securely connected. Failing that ...

Warranty. It smells like an electronic/sensor glitch. It is quite possible that the solution is not known at this time, but you have to get the fault documented and on record at the dealer during warranty.

Side-stand switch or wiring are a possibility. Still ... warranty!

[Low rider]

I say it's the sidestand switch.

[insert]

^^^^ sidestand switch sounds like it might be at fault here. but regardless of that take it back to them and get them to fix it. just because if something goes wrong, its best to have it documented. this way you can point back to problems starting at day one... basically, keep your *** covered

[Brian P]

I've just read the linked thread to the end. It appears that in the last few days, a couple of owners have gotten their respective Honda dealers to replicate the problem. Honda ended up buying back the bike of the person who started the thread.

The issue seems to be involving people who pull in the clutch and coast (letting the engine drop down from higher revs).

While not disputing that doing this shouldn't cause the engine to stall ...

... DON'T DO THAT, it is not correct riding technique.

If you are approaching a stop, you should be downshifting through each gear in turn (with a little throttle "blip" to match revs) as you slow down. Only when the engine drops very close to normal idle speed in 2nd gear should you then pull the clutch in and coast the rest of the way (while downshifting to 1st). You should never be coasting with the clutch pulled in (other than that last second or so after you have already slowed to whatever speed corresponds to idle speed in 2nd).

Now, if the stalling happens while you are attempting to do that (e.g. it won't respond to the rev-matching throttle "blip") then that's another matter.

This is not side stand switch, it is not clutch switch. It's likely to be something like a sticking idle-air-control valve. Either that, or the fuel injection programming is too stingy with the first squirt of fuel after a period of shut throttle. There's some words in there about the behaviour changing after a valve clearance adjustment (note: adjustment, not just a check).

[omnivore]

A faulty speed sensor could also cause this.

[whetaus-tr]

A faulty speed sensor could also cause this.

How ?

[whetaus-tr]

I say it's the sidestand switch.

Then how do you explain the problem not occurring during clutch out ?

What is triggering the sidestand when clutch is pulled in ?

[sleezyray]

I seem to recall this experience while just learning to ride my cbr 125. It might be a small bike syndrome but from what I remembered, if am in high gear (4,5) doing say... 70kph and I abrumptly start braking, rpms drop low and it stalls. Do not recollect the exact sequence that stalled the bike but ridding technique is what I attributed it to. Brian P Is right on with the little cbrs.

[DoubleJ]

Should not do it, safety issue! Back to the dealer, if no results then to the appropriate government agency. Probably a recall coming I would think. I have never had this happen in the 30+ years of riding all sizes of bikes.

[eljay]

Thanks for the input guys. It didn't happen this morning, though I'm a little more conscious of how I shift now and I'm not about to try to replicate it on road in rush hour. I'm going to see if I can replicate it intentionally off the road then take it back to the dealer if it keeps occurring. Actually if I can replicate it in a safe environment I will for sure take it back.

I'm aware it has to do with proper shifting, but I find it hard to believe that Honda would build an entry level bike where the penalty for not clutching properly is a surprise stall and getting pancaked in traffic.

[GateKeeper]

Do you have an experienced friend who rides, perhaps ask him/her to take the bike for a ride and see if they can replicate the issue, at least then you can rule out operator error, and you don't have to think it's you doing something wrong.

[Fiery254]

First thought was a faulty kickstand/clutch lever switch. However it seems to be a more serious issue than that. The dealer is the only person who should be looking to solve this issue. Educate yourself off the net by all means but you've just paid Honda a lot of money for a new bike and you shouldn't be modifying your riding style to overcome a mechanical issue on a new bike. And if you're going to lose your bike for a few weeks it's better done now than in the middle of June/July. Good luck getting it fixed quickly.

[Brian P]

If I understand this situation correctly, IF your bike has this problem, it should be possible to replicate by riding along at whatever speed and rpm and whatever temperature that you notice it occurring, then simply close the throttle and pull in the clutch. I'm not sure if the gearshift has anything to do with this - it shouldn't, aside from the neutral switch, the little CBR's don't have a gear position fed back to the ECU so the ECU would have no knowledge of whether you did a gearchange or not.

I suspect that they've gone a little too stingy in the interest of emissions and aren't giving the first injector pulse a big enough shot of fuel when coming out of a period of deceleration-fuel-cutoff, and they're probably leaving it in decel-fuel-cut until an RPM that is too small of a margin above idle. Minor production variations and tolerances could easily make one bike do it and another not ... or cause it to become an issue or solve the issue as a result of adjusting the valve clearances. (Others in the thread linked to have a similar suspicion.) If this is the case then the only fix will be an ECU reprogram.

[UJelly]

Sorry to hear OP.

So far my 250cbr has been flawless and it has 6000 km so far on it....no issues with extra vibration that other riders get or rattling noise that people have posted on the cbr250.net forum.
Maybe you got a bad batch =/

Good luck!

*EDIT*

I'll pull in the clutch and let the bike coast and see if i get the same problem when I go back home after work.
will update if i do get the issue or not.

[mxs]

I hate when manufacturers go crazy and start implementing things like this .... to just win another 0.01% (or who knows how low) on the mpg scale

[eljay]

Sorry to hear OP.


*EDIT*

I'll pull in the clutch and let the bike coast and see if i get the same problem when I go back home after work.
will update if i do get the issue or not.

Cool thanks. Make sure you both pull the clutch and release the throttle. If you stay on the throttle a tad it for sure doesn't happen. Let me know how it goes.

[Orangepeel]

I've had it happen once. Yup, when you coast along with clutch pulled in and let off the throttle.

Thought it was just me doing something wrong as a newbie. It hasn't happened since, knock on wood!

I have learned since to downshift when slowing, instead of coasting, and give a little blip on throttle to make things a bit smoother.