Sorry in advance. long but trying to adequately explain....Bike is 06 C50 with 13k on her. History: I bought used out of town about 1 month ago-from best I could tell- an honest person. PO claims to have spent 1K having the "electrical system redone" was going to mail me a copy of the receipt but never did. I don't think the PO was lying. Yesterday, I took a 310 mile trip. Bike was fine for about the first 160 miles or so with no problem but I noticed it was taking longer than usual to start but would - it maybe did that twice. Around 185 miles on trip my buddy and I stopped for a pee break and it wouldn't start - of course we were in the middle of no where-with a light rain. I didn't want to wear out the battery so we waited about 5-10 min and it started. Rode fine as long as under power. after about 70 miles or so it cut off at a stop light- of course it was pitch black dark in rough part of town.. wouldn't start.. thought man, its done.. after about 10-15 mins started back up. As ride progressed problem seemed to get progressively worse. Bike will cut off at idle but would start back up. Made it home--- now have no confidence and very afraid of taking to dealer as problem seem ambiguous. Any suggestions GREATLY appreciated!!!
Need Help ~long~
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I suspect an ignition switch problem, but others will weigh in here too with their opinions. There are threads here about the switch & how to repair it. I've never had the issue with my bike, but apparently it's a fairly common problem. Don't lose heart, you've got a nice bike and will come to really like it.
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After reading through the ignition switch thread, I'm not so sure it's the cause of the problem you described after all. You did not indicate your bike was 'dead', only that it was hard to start. I'd wait until some other members comment before tearing into it.
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Sounds like what happened to my CBR. There was an air line disconnected that ran to the fuel injectors. It took me forever to find it because it was such a little hose and it was on the bottom. It looked like it was just wires that ran in.
Additionally, I have had the fuel pump burn out in an old VW rabbit due to a bad connection. It was, also, just as you said. It became harder to start, sputtered and ran rough at highway speed, and would play hard to start when I made a quick stop at the store.
Additionally, I have had the fuel pump burn out in an old VW rabbit due to a bad connection. It was, also, just as you said. It became harder to start, sputtered and ran rough at highway speed, and would play hard to start when I made a quick stop at the store.
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Why ? What problems was he having that caused him to spend a grand on electrical system THEN sell the bike ? Obviously they didn't get it fixed.
I would do the procedure linked in "how to fix your ignition switch" and if you still have problems after that, my first suspicion would be that you got a bike that has flood damage. You could check battery connections, particularly where the negative cable grounds to the bikes frame. Check for tight connections and corrosion.
I have seen battery cables corroded behind the covers and not be able to see it.
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I'm thinking this is not an ignition switch issue. Symptoms just don't seem right. Battery connections, overheating. What electrical accessories are on the bike? Driving lights, LEDs, tail light modulator,? I'd get a copy of that receipt pronto. That's a lot of money for an electrical issue. Could be diagnostic time hunting for the issue and process of elimination parts swap.
bike has light bar and according to PO a new battery. I keep the battery on a tender and will try my best to contact the PO of course im not counting on anything but will try._ I live about 200 miles away._ The FI error would come on the speedo and what concerns me was the difficulty starting and the sudden cut off at idle.
472- will check the ground and look carefully for corrosion. I did a VIN check b4 buying and it was clear but you never know. PO seemed honest and I agree the problem was clearly not fixed. I do recall PO stating it had a new starter, stator and new electrical system whatever that means. Bike is from a much smaller town than mine so not really sure what if anything was done. thanks
im also wondering if simply the light bar drains the battery on long trips period and thus leads to this symptom? Sounds like a weak battery .. has any one with a light bar who has had a similar problem tried to replicate issue with out using the lightbar to determine if thats the culprit?
I've seen that happen twice. The first was on a trip with a friend of mine. She thought her bike had some type of alarm system on it cause she had to turn the handlebars to the left in order to start the bike... Turns out her dad loosely tightened the battery, turning the handlebars was just luck... We tightened the cables and problem disappeared. The second happened to me on a trip. Bike would take more and more to start as I rode. Finally it died in a gas station. Everything would work but she simply wouldn't start. Turns out one of the cables to the fuel pump came lose, so no gas to the engine... Hope your problem ends up being as simple as one of those two.
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I would seriously test your fuel pump relay and maybe test it's motor.
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