Author Topic: Help Please (Read 5211 times)

Bandit Jap · « **on:** May 08, 2005, 07:47:09 PM »

After riding through country lanes and duel carriageway's for 5 hours today my bandit 600 was purring all the way, I entered a motorway on the last 10 minuets home was doing about a 100mph for a short sprint slowed back down to 60mph for a minuet then left the slip road when it felt like I was running out of fuel. I struggled to stop it from stalling at the traffic lights, I reached down and turned my tap onto emergency revved a few times and the bike began to idle ok ish, but I limped back to my local garge, it felt like I was loosing power. When I filled up I noticed I still had plenty of fuel left.
It took several attempts to start the engine, then it fired up and seemed ok for the next 60 seconds all the way home. I returned to the bike 20 mins later and it fired up first go, I will ride it again tomorrow to see if there are any problems.
Any ideas what would cause this?

B6Matt · « **Reply #1 on:** May 09, 2005, 12:27:54 AM »

Hmmmm...sounds like fuel-related problem, starved for fuel. Could be a clogged fuel filter. How does the inside of the tank look? Rusted at all?

I would check it out thoroughly, change the fuel filter, and run some fuel system cleaner through it.

Does it smell like it's running rich? If so, then it might be something else.

BJap, what year is your B6? (Judging by the pic, it's a 1st Gen.) How many miles?

Paul? Waddya think

Bandit Jap · « **Reply #2 on:** May 09, 2005, 03:40:17 AM »

The fuel tank inside looks fine, I have done about 45k and its a Nreg 1996.
I have only had the bike for about a month and have already put carb cleaner in the tank.

When i first got it, it was stood in a gargage for 3 months and it did smell rich but i thought i cured it when i cleaned it.

tacoman · « **Reply #3 on:** May 09, 2005, 02:45:41 PM »

The reserve on my B6 (97) must be turned on when I still have a lot of fuel left (probably around a gallon or more). I've noticed mine will sputter a little after switching to reserve. Probably the carbs sucking a little air before the switch over. Did you put a lot of carb cleaner in your tank? You may have loosened up some crud.

Bandit Jap · « **Reply #4 on:** May 09, 2005, 08:07:34 PM »

Yes i put enough for 1 full tank.

Red01 · « **Reply #5 on:** May 09, 2005, 10:35:19 PM »

Keep in mind you have a 5 gallon tank and about 1 gallon of that is reserve... which compared to bikes I've had in the past, is quite large.

If you got 5 hours of riding out of 4 gallons, I'd say you were doin' pretty good!

Bandit Jap · « **Reply #6 on:** May 10, 2005, 09:24:30 AM »

After reading this its all making sense, my bike has started up perfect and is running ok.

I must have run out of fuel as simple as that. The only reason I was concerned is that when I looked into my tank and saw fuel I thought it could not be that, but now i realise the reserve holds quite alot in the tank.

Usually i refill when i get to 120 miles on the clock and put in £7 worth of fuel, but this time it took just over £10 worth of fuel when my clock was on 100 miles, I think i drank lots due to staying in the high revs zone through out the day. As usually I potter about, but on that day I was ... well lets say enjoying myself on fast roads.

Thanks every one for giving me help.

I think its just me and getting to know my new bike.

tacoman · « **Reply #7 on:** May 10, 2005, 05:04:46 PM »

The best thing is to turn it to reserve at about 120 mi. This way you won't be fumbling for the petcock while on the road and the bike won't suck air. When I was 16 and a new rider I forgot to do this. I was in the middle lane on the interstate during rush hour. The bike started coughing and sputtering. I couldn't find the petcock and all I could see were semi grilles in my rearviews. Very scary, I did manage to get to the shoulder and keep my shorts dry, but I never made that mistake again.

tacoman · « **Reply #8 on:** May 10, 2005, 05:09:56 PM »

The best thing is to turn it to reserve at about 120 mi. This way you won't be fumbling for the petcock while on the road and the bike won't suck air. When I was 16 and a new rider I forgot to do this. I was in the middle lane on the interstate during rush hour. The bike started coughing and sputtering. I couldn't find the petcock and all I could see were semi grilles in my rearviews. Very scary, I did manage to get to the shoulder and keep my shorts dry, but I never made that mistake again.

txbanditrydr · « **Reply #9 on:** May 10, 2005, 05:28:06 PM »

For emphasis, Taco?????

Red01 · « **Reply #10 on:** May 10, 2005, 07:36:09 PM »

Maybe the 600 is different than the 12 in this regard? I have no trouble running my bike in the "ON" position until it's slow to respond to throttle input, but still will cruise at steady state, then casually reach down and twist the petcock to "RES" without missing a beat. Can do it in a couple seconds and rarely loose more than 1-2 mph, if any speed loss at all. In fact, this process has worked on every CV carb'd bike I've ever owned. On non-CV carb'd bikes, I could still reach down and switch on the go, but would loose more speed as the bike would actually run out of gas and just be turned over by the wheel turning until fuel flow was restored.

txbanditrydr · « **Reply #11 on:** May 10, 2005, 08:48:54 PM »

IMHO the 600 IS different than the 1200.... I had a lot more time to switch over on the 600. The 1200 just seemed to shut down in a few seconds rather than the 10 - 15 I was used to. Freeway speeds and heavy traffic made for a real eye opener. Now I switch to reserve when the little fuel pump starts blinking. BTW I have a HUGE reserve apparently - topped off after switch over (mandatory) and only needed 3.7 gallons.

Red01 · « **Reply #12 on:** May 10, 2005, 11:35:45 PM »

Yes, tex, that is larger than normal. Even though the 2G's have a 0.3 gal. bigger tank, the extra fuel is almost always found in the reserve portion. Sounds like you got an extra 0.3 gal. on top of that, for 1.6... unusual, but not unheard of. Seems the standoff in the tank isn't always the same size as the actual amounts do tend to vary.

tacoman · « **Reply #13 on:** May 11, 2005, 01:38:04 PM »

The B6 is not blessed with a gas gauge or a low fuel level light so theres no warning when it starts to cut out. The bike I had my episode on when I was young was an old Honda CX500. When it went dry, it lost all power and you started slowing right away. The B6 is better, it will surge lightly for awhile before cutting out. For a less experienced rider, if you've logged over 100 mi and you're going to be on a crowded freeway, switch to reserve. In panic mode the petcock seems to disappear.

Mustang-Mel · « **Reply #14 on:** May 30, 2005, 05:50:16 AM »

So far, I have managed to gleam 200km before a slight shudder in rersponse on a full tank and doing in-city riding with a lot of starts and stops. With highway riding at speeds of between 120km - 140km I get up to 250km before I have to switch to reserve. Finding the fuel cock is no hassle. Just glide your fingers along the bar beneath the tank from the seat upwards toward the handles and mid way, you will hit the cock. Works everytime.