This is probably a dumb question but a few of you guys seem
quite knowledgable about bike engines and this is nagging the
hell outta me.
I had a great ride yesterday for about a hour and a half no probs,
speeds up to 65. Got to an intersection and the bike cut off and
would not start back up. the more i tried the weaker it would sound.
Finally choked it and gave it some good revs and got it to go just as
the light turned green. It seemed fine after that but i cut my ride
short because didn't want to get caught out there.
Is there something i need to have done to my carb or do you think
it could be battery related. I just thought i'd throw this out there
before i start worrying and spending money at the dealer.
thanks

cor

The more info the better...

Got to an intersection and the bike cut off and
would not start back up.
Can you describe how it cut off? Like "clack" dead stop or like it started to starve for fuel?
the more i tried the weaker it would sound...
Sounds like you were just putting quite a load on the battery trying to get it started and would be a normal reaction from the battery. If in doubt, put it on a charger or if you know how to use a Multi-meter, check it both with the motor off and with the motor revved up a bit.

When you finally got it started, did it start normally? (any backfire or other strange noises?)

Is there something i need to have done to my carb...
Have you done any work on your bike recently...?
Had you just filled up the tank?

Had it just rained or for some other reason gotten the bike wet, like washing it?

Smoke coming out the exhaust? Unusual fuel consumption? How many miles on the bike since last tune up? Have you modified anything affecting the wiring, ever?

Were you out of gas? (Don't feel bad, I'm sure everyone has done this once or more).

I ran it out of gas once and that's what it was like. Flip your petcock forward. It may be a little hard to start at first since you emptied the fuel line, but once you get running you'll be fine.

And for goodness sake flip the petcock back as soon as you gas it up. You don't want to run yourself out of reserve fuel. :thumbsup

It seems most likely to be you were running out of gas. The hard start could be a battery problem but it wouldn't make you stall.

How old is your battery? If it's 3 years or greater it may be time for a new one.

How many miles did you have on your trip meter since last fill up?

Well i bought the bike in July from a dr who had two other bmw
bikes and he only put 3000 original miles on it. i just got it up
to 4000. The oil has been changed and it usually stays on a
charger.
i haven't done any work to the bike yet other than checking fluids
and maintaining air pres.

I guess it kinda died like running out of gas but i definitely wasn't
out. i cheat and keep a couple 5gal cans of gas in my garage and
keep the tank about 3/4 full.

i guess i should replace the battery for gp but do you think carb
could be a problem so soon?

And is this really a problem i'm trying to describe since it only happened
once or am i paro?

Maybe you got some bad gas with little bit of water...? Look in your 5 gallon gas cans and/or just fill up your bike from a gas pump.

Unless the battery tests bad I wouldn't just replace it. If it is fine then it will charge back up as you ride it and should start the bike just like normal.

But if the previous owner put 3000 in three years that means
it could have sat alot. Would the battery be about due anyway regardless
if i charge it. What's the life of one anyway? 3-5 yrs. :?:
and how long does it take to gunk up a carb?

There's a lot of variables when it comes to your battery. Charge it, then see if it holds a charge. If it can't, then it needs to be replaced.

Fuel starts to break down after about a week without stabilizer in it, but if your bike was running easy before, then I doubt your carbs are that gunked up.

Why not just take it to a shop for a full service (sync carbs, check valves, new plugs, ect) It's much easier to find out what's wrong when they can look at it.

This may not be it, but it can't hurt to check. If the tank has a vent hose that dangles under the bike (I know there's a couple down there, not sure if tank is one) make sure it didn't plug up with a piece of road crud. If one of those hoses plug up, it may starve for fuel. This happens on dirt bikes alot. I don't think modern bikes let air into the tank through the gas cap anymore, so it has to get in somewhere if any gas is going to get out. One other thing it could be is fouled plugs. My mother-in-law's Suzuki Intruder 800 did it. Ran like crap @ low rpm's, stalled, and started hard. Two new plugs cleared it right up. This happened just out of the clear blue like that too- low mileage bike in good cond. Plugs are cheap... :wink:

Good advice guys, thanks.

...If the tank has a vent hose that dangles under the bike...make sure it didn't plug up with a piece of road crud. If one of those hoses plug up, it may starve for fuel....
Drew, yeah this is where I was going with the "has it had water on it" questions...Had some bikes where it didn't drain very well when it got wet so would get a fuel starvation stall about 5 minutes after taking off...open the gas cap to relieve the pressure and allow the tube to drain and all good.

If it was sitting for that long, maybe a small animal made its home in the vent tube...

Steve advocating a "stealership"... if you are over you head in diagnostic wise/tools or need that peace of mind, a trip to the service department is a good option. For sure can't hurt (the bike).

Again...another dumb suggestion but you never know...could it have been something to do with the cut out it you let out the clutch whilst in first gear? Maybe a fault with the switch or you momentarily let the clutch out? I have done this and been confused as to why it wouldn't start thinking I was in neutral?

Good thought, Tyler! Perhaps a little funkiness in the kickstand switch would cause a sudden cut-out?

I had a friend who's bike kept stalling out at completely random times...turned out it was the kickstand switch. Take it off, zip tie it/tape it closed, reinstall, and *voila*.

i guess that's possible. i think i was holding the clutch in and stepping
down to neutral because the light had just turned red and it's a long
red(busy intersection). I usually try to make a habit to end up in first
gear so i can go at an instant, but i could have goofed and let off the clutch too soon or something dumb.
Never thought about a kickstand switch. My money is a little tight
right now but i've pretty much decided to just take it to the Honda
shop for a good once over: plugs, carb check, valve check, etc. It
definitely can't hurt.
The timing sucks 'cos i just ordered my new pipe plus the dryer died
so had to get a new one and the holidays did me in. Needless
to say but i'll be working alot to pay for all this. :cry:

Well, at least you've got another sweet ride for while the Hornet's out of service. New Maxima... yum! :drool

Stalled out today too. Well not really stall. We stopped for a couple of minutes (literally), so I shut off the engine and it wouldn't restart. Had to push start it. Was wierd. Maybe the extreme temp change here in LA? I don't know. Next time I shut it off though, it started up with no problem. Needed the choke though. No problems later on the day when I shut down to eat and started up again after leaving the restaurant. Go figure.

Good thing these aren't [stereotypical] British vehicles -- we could troubleshoot (and talk smack about) British electronics for days! :D

At first read, I wondered if perhaps the engine switch were going funky (thus leading to the above comment). But if the next start required choke, then I'm wondering about fuel quality and fuel delivery.

SSS: could dj have an obstruction in the fuel line, or perhaps a sticky carb? What about air quality? Would a dirty (full) filter give him such troubles? Or would that cause more frequent problems?

This is the reason i went for fuel injection. I got tired of the little things cropping up here and there. That's actually the biggest reason i got the 919 over the 599...well, that and the bigger engine...and the dual exhaust...and... (j/k ;) )

Carbs can be great (i love carbs - just not on a bike), but i got sick of waiting for my bike to warm up enough to idle correctly before i could take it anywhere. That and winterizing is MUCH more critical with a carb. You don't do it once and you can have problems from then on. With the FI you just stick a little Stabil in it and take it out if it's nice...or don't if it's nasty. And if it winds up sitting for more than a few weeks just give the battery a quick charge. So much easier than carbs...

It could be a fuel problem. No way to tell from here.

I had my 500 start to idle low then stall once it was warm, it was because a shop tuned my pilots too rich. With a few adjustments it was all good.

Does your bike have problems at idle?

Start trouble shooting starting with the easy stuff first. I'd start with the battery.

Had a great ride yesterday with no probs. Filled up at the
station this time. Maybe my problem was with the gas in my
5 gal can.
Do you guys ever mess with the idle adj.?

Adjust it according to your owners manual. If it's there already leave it be.