Author Topic: Recurring problem with 600 (Read 3431 times)

Johnny Strommer · « **on:** June 08, 2006, 09:05:16 PM »

Hey folks, I wish I could change my username, sold the V-Strom and bought a CBR954RR.

In any case, here's the problem:

My wife owns a 2002 Bandit 600, which has low miles, and is in excellent condition. Last summer I balanced the carbs and shimmed the needles as per this site. The engine runs great.

Twice now, my wife has been stranded on the side of the road after "losing power" suddenly during a ride. About 30 minutes into a ride, the bike starts to lose power as though it is running out of gas. She has to pull over, and when she pulls in the clutch, the engine dies.

The first time it happened I suspected vapor lock in the tank, as it took about ten minutes for the bike to re-start then it ran fine for weeks afterward. I told her if it happened again to pull over and pop the filler cap, listening for a "swoosh".

It happened again today, she did as I recommended and she heard nothing. Even after opening the filler cap and re-closing it, the bike would not re-fire for 10 minutes. Once it did start, she had no further trouble on her 30km ride home.

Both times it has happened she has had 2 bars on the electronic gauge, and she could see fuel in the tank. Turning the selector to prime or reserve did not help.

Any advice?

99er · « **Reply #1 on:** June 09, 2006, 09:09:04 AM »

You've had the tank off and likely kinked the extra long fuel line that Suzuki supplies. Take a good look under there and cut it to proper length. This was a common problem with many jetting folks...
Marc/Atlanta

Johnny Strommer · « **Reply #2 on:** June 09, 2006, 10:54:24 AM »

Marc, thanks. Will check that 1st thing this afternoon and report back.

John/Canada

Red01 · « **Reply #3 on:** June 09, 2006, 12:48:59 PM »

If that doesn't cure the problem, it's sounding suspiciously like a coil problem. If it does it again, check for spark when it dies.

As for your username... just sign up again and use something new. You've only got 10 posts, so it's not like you're trying to preserve a high post count or anything.

Johnny Strommer · « **Reply #4 on:** June 09, 2006, 11:06:58 PM »

Sadly not the fuel line, all is well in that regard. My wife reports that when it died, she was about 500m from a gas station, and when she got it going again (10mins), she fueled up. The bike took 14.9L, which means she had over 5L remaining in the tank at the time the bike died.

The coil problem sounds like a potential culprit, as the bike did it twice ONLY after the bike was hot, and would not start until it cooled for 10 mins.

How can a coil be diagnosed in the garage? I will search the board for more answers as well.

99er · « **Reply #5 on:** June 10, 2006, 07:53:58 AM »

Never heard of a coil failure on the Bandits but there's always a first and I "haven't been around" all that much!

Make sure you have proper fuel flow by checking the petcock flow on prime and with vacuum applied on the other settings.
Marc

tacoman · « **Reply #6 on:** June 12, 2006, 02:28:07 PM »

I haven't heard of coils going bad much either. Did she ever try putting the petcock to the reserve or prime? I had a gixxer with a bad petcock that had a vacuum leak in the run position and would do all kinds of weird stuff so I just left it on reserve.

Red01 · « **Reply #7 on:** June 12, 2006, 03:55:24 PM »

It's not common for the coils to go bad, but it has happened. It's just the symptom sounds like a coil thing.

Unfortunately, the only way to check this is to check for spark next time it dies... before it has a chance to cool and recover.