Problem starting, odd exhaust, and cutting out- HELP!

Hi guys,
Ok so today i tried to start my bike this morning (as usual as i ride my bike everyday) It was a lot harder than usual. when i pressed the button the motor struggled to turn itself over (kinda like a flat battery- i hope) and then you hear clicks like a realay before eventually it kicks itself into life.

Secondly today when riding my bike after it eventually starting, i found it owuld cut its self out under braking. it did it 3-4times on a 15miles journey

Thirdly i checked the pressure at the exhaust just by putting my hand over each one in turn. the first thing i noticed was the was significantly less pressure on the right hand side (as you look at the back of the bike) than on the left. Also the gas coming out of the the right hand side was always cold where as the the left was warm. I noticed condensation on the left but none on the right. Even after a ride of about 15miles the right hand exahaust still hadnt warmed up like the left.

so here are my questions
1. Firstly is the exhaust thing normal?
2. are these symptoms linked somehow?
3. and finally arrgggh can you help me!?

oh its a vfr800vtec 2003 with 35,000miles on the clock

any help guys owuld be much appreciated!

Cheers
Joe

 

Hi, I'm fairly new to the board so I'm definitely not an expert but since no one else has replied I thought I'd throw a few things out. On the hard starting, my first thought is your battery is going bad. Not sure if a weak battery could cause the problems under braking. On the exhaust issue, is your exhaust stock or aftermarket? If stock, has it been modded? I just modded my stock muffler, gutting just the can on the left, thinking I'd get more sound without being obnoxiously loud (worked pretty good too!) Since then I've noticed I get more exhaust out the gutted can than the stock one, even though the gutted one has the curvy, flattened inlet pipe. When it's cold out, I do see some condensation coming from both mufflers though. If your exhaust is completely stock, then it sounds like you have a restriction in the right-side muffler somehow. Just a guess but maybe the catalytic converter has disintegrated and pieces have blown into and plugged the right muffler. Come to think of it, if the cat has failed, I could conceivably see that causing starting and running issues as well. Have you noticed any difference in the way the bike runs or sounds?

 

Sounds like ze battery!


As far as the exhaust though..not sure what your deal is with that. Don't have a 6th gen to tinker with. But laws of physics say fluids will follow the path of least resistance. If one of the mufflers has a slightly longer connecting pipe than the other it will take longer to warm up.

 

That's what makes me think there's a restriction there, the right-hand muffler is the one with the direct shot from the mid-pipe. The left-hand one has kind of an s-curve shaped pipe leading to it, and to top it off it's flattened, I guess to improve clearance as the suspension compresses. If all the exhaust is going out the left side then there has to be a restriction in the right one.

 

+1 on the battery, sounds like it won't hold a charge.

After scurrying down to the garage, my 03 Viffer flows slightly more exhaust through the left can than the right. Beings how the exhaust is set up as a 4-2-1-2, the gasses from all 4 cyls is combined and the split between the cans, so it is not uncommon for one can to flow more than the other due to the flow dynamics of the exhaust.

An easy test to see if a muffler is obstructed is to fire up the bike and block the muffler (with your hand) that you think is working properly. If the other side picks up the slack, and your hand isn't forced off, you should be good.

Hope that helps, good luck!

-Adam

 

Thanks for the posts fellas!
Ive got micron end cans on if that makes any difference! Ok so im about to block the left hand exhaust and see if the gas flows through the right.

Also this morning when i started her up i noticed that the clock and the trip had reset it self.... i figure a quick way to test the battery would be o just jump it of another vehicle, if it spins up nice then hey presto we know it the battery/charging system. what do you think?

I will be annoyed if its the battery as apparently the mechanic replaced it for me on the 5th of december 2008. Do these bike suffer from the age old problem of reg/rec failures and alike?

 

Clock reset definitely means the battery voltage dipped way too low. Did you have the battery on a battery tender over the winter? er, well...where are you located? Winters make a difference on batteries. I'm not sure if the 6th gens suffer from the R/R issue or not. I know they had some wiring harness recall....


I'm sure she'll jump but if you charge up the battery and she dies on you again or the engine quits when you brake at a stop then you definitely have charging issues.

 

i live in the UK, and ive ridden all through the winter. it has been the harshest winter for 15 years but i would expect the battery to last more than 5months. will have to wait and see. cheers!