this bike only ran for one week and quit.

when i got this bike (86) it ran absolutely perfectly. yesterday both the tank and battery went dead and empty (fuel light sensor came out), i got a jump and it ran great until the battery went dead again.i charged the battery and it ran smoothly again. i got up today and it seemed to be running good. drove around town some even. i came home and put it in the garage. when i got it out it started food, drove down the block and all of a sudden it will barley idle with the full chock and dies if you touch the gas. at the moment it wont even start with the chock. it was cranking so the battery still had plenty of charge so it must be something other than the battery. any ideas.

thanks.

 

Did you check the plugs? This will usually tell you if it's one cylinder that's causing the problem. My guess is that it's just one and you have a float height issue. The symptoms only help a little, you need to check some thing out and let us know what you find then we can help out more.

 

i removed one plug. the bike ran on one cylinder and the removed plug had a strong spark.

it sounds to me like it has to be a fuel issue.

 

I used a can of carb cleaner. i dont know if it had any effect but the bike will run now. problem is that it seems to be idling quite slow and often when i stop it stalls. doesent do it if i put the choke slightly on, but i dont like this idea.

it was stalling if i give it gas real quick, but this seems to have cleared up with the carb cleaner. for the moment at least.

here is a some what noobish question, should i be using a 12v or 6v battery?
I bought a 6, 75 amps.

 

6 Volts?????.....you must be 80 years old or owned a British car!

you may have a failing fuel pump or clogged fuel filter.
If you hear the pump clicking constantly you may have a fuel pick-up problem or leaking float valve, causing flooding.

The '86 is too simple a machine for much to go wrong........

 

Well. one thing is clear. the charging system is not working. i took the battery to get it checked at the parts store. they charged it and checked it, they said it was at 12 volts. so i hooked it up, let the bike warm up and rode. I still had to leave the choke on just a little to keep it from stalling when i gave it alot of gas. i rode for about 15 minutes with 15 minutes of idling before, then it just slowing lost power..

first things first i suppose, i need to get the charging system working. then worry about why it isent idling fast enough.

 

Pretty sure it's not the charging system.

How far did you ride? 4-5 miles is about what the bike will run on fuel just in the float bowls. To eliminate fuel, drain the float bowls when this happens. What do you get?

 

once it slowed to a stop and had no power it only took a couple starts until it was dead. i dont know what a float bowl is. iv never worked on a carb b4. i guess im about to learn.

mike

 

be aware that a motorcycle will usually discharge its battery if left idling because electrical output is not sufficient until about 2500-3000rrpm to charge battery.

 

x2 on the R/R, if it is not holding a charge then that seems to be the culprit more often than not.

 

when i get back to it ill have to check the voltage coming from the system to the battery. havent had time to do anything since iv been working so much. dont even have time to eat.

 

here is an update.

i had the battery on a charger and still have the same or at least similar symptoms.

it will not run without the choke on. and still it runs sparatically. if you give it gas it stalls. when it doesent run and the choke is on it it sputters.

it has got to be a fuel problem. if it isent charging the battery that is a separate issue. i think it is charging. just goes dead while im trying to get it running again.


my plans are to fully check the fuel from the tank to the carbs, then the carbs themselves. there is no carbs available on ebay. hopefully if need be i will be able to find cheap ones to replace mine with.

at least i do know i will save about 20 a bucks a month in insurance alone.

thanks for everyones help.

 

Carbs...bummer.

From my limited experience...if it won't run well with the choke off...your carbs are running lean...because when you pull the choke on a little bit. It enriches the air fuel mixture with a little more gas...Also sounds like maybe your pilot jets are plugged? I'm not sure...I'm not a mechanic...but I did quite a bit of reading and research on the 85 vf700f this winter since I just picked one up in November. You shouldn't have to replace the carbs...just get them cleaned out and synchronized...maybe replace a few parts in them...but I have had several mechanics tell me that the Japanese carbs usually don't need alot of replacement parts when they rebuild them. I talked to the service depart. at my local honda dealership. And they quoted me about $250 plus tax for labor to clean and sync. my carbs. NOTE: this would not include any parts needed during the rebuild process. So yeah...anyways. Sorry for rambling...hope this helps a little...as far as the charging thing goes? I would get your engine running better first...and then see how the electrical system stands...since as someone mentioned before. The bike usually has to get to some higher RPM's for it to charge properly. And as you said the bike will barely idle (suggestively meaning a low rpm level?). So if you get that issue taken care of...maybe the charging will work better...

 

Yall will never guess what the problem was. Please. Someone try!

 

Hmmm.......not a clue, lets have it.

 

the freakin bike was out of frakinga.

this whole time it was out of freakin gas.

i think the peckcock is not working and the lower part of the tank isent being used.
i dono. runs great with a full tank.

 

LOL Doh! glad it was something simple amazing huh? gee they need fuel?

 

Uhm, did you try flipping to reserve?

Just remember to flip it back to On after you fill up, else you forget again and then really be screwed.

EDIT:

Oh and make sure to charge the battery with an 1-2 Amp charger, I'm sure you've massacred that battery trying to get a bike on E to run.