CB left me stranded :(

[Ant132]

After i 'restored' the inside of my fuel tank i thought the bike was going to be fine. But today i was going to college and going along the road at 40mph, traffic cleared up and i went to accelerate and it was very reluctant to do so.

I went to change down a gear but when i pulled the clutch in i felt the bike want to die until the clutch was released. Realising something was obviously wrong i coasted to a halt (at this point the engine had cut out.) Bike would turn over but not fire.

I managed to pull the fuel line off and petrol flowed out freely. I never had any tools on me to check spark or anything, so i locked it up in a nearby car park and walked the rest of the way. At the end of the day i walked back to the bike and went to start it. To my surprise it started and i let it warm up whilst i got all my kit back on, i rode to the petrol station and filled up as i was pretty low.

The bike got me home fine minus two minor things. At the lights (twice on two seperate occasions) it 'went' to cut out, as in i heard it want to die suddenly, but it saved itself almost instantly. Like it had been turned off and back on very quickly, if you know what i mean.

I was about 10 minutes into my journey when this happened.

Any ideas? Cheers, Ant.
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1980 Suzuki TS50 ~ 1984 Honda CB400N ~ 1992 Triumph Trident ~ 1998 Suzuki Bandit 1200

[Eddie Hitler]

Check all the earths (usually 2), and check the wiring for wear/short circuits etc.

[Blue_SV650S]

If it starts and runs fine, then after a given time feels fuel starved, then it sounds like the breather hole is blocked. Next time it happens, release the fuel cap and see if you can hear sucking (vacuum) with the cap off (and allowing time for the fuel to re-fill the carb) try re-starting.

I especially suspect this as you say you have had problems with the tank ...
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The purpose of life is to fight maturity.

[Ant132]

[Blue_SV650S]

[Ant132]

The thing is, after the fuel tank problem, in the process i had bought new float valves and throughly cleaned the carbs (they were put back on Saturday morning), new fuel line and a new fuel filter along with a tank treated with the Frost restoration kit. So i wouldn't be expecting any problems in the fuel department to be honest.

I did check the breather at the time (first thing i checked) and it made no difference at all. The fact it started and ran fine after it had been left - if the carbs were blocked or the breather blocked wouldn't it continue to refuse to start? It could be that something has had time to cool down and is no working again - but 'what' is another question

Thanks
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1980 Suzuki TS50 ~ 1984 Honda CB400N ~ 1992 Triumph Trident ~ 1998 Suzuki Bandit 1200

[Blue_SV650S]

[Ant132]

Yeah, i think you're right. But wouldnt a blockage in the carbs give me a more consistant problem. My first thought was some sort of heat related problem, especially as a couple of threads down i read of a guy having a similar problem to me and Itchy gave an interesting diagnosis of 'vapour lock' to do with the heat. I will also give that a try next time.

On a different note, what symptons would overheating of the engine give? Or head gasket leakage as i suspect i 'may' have a leaking HG aswell

Ant
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1980 Suzuki TS50 ~ 1984 Honda CB400N ~ 1992 Triumph Trident ~ 1998 Suzuki Bandit 1200

[Blue_SV650S]

[Ant132]

This is a quick paint illustration of the currect set-up. The original picture shows the old set-up which turns out to be too short a route, if run with an in-line filter, as it kinks.

New set-up (as shown in pic) is pipe from tap, round the back of the carb and underneath the bottom of the carb, then filter, then back up straight to carb spigot.

https://i101.photobucket.com/albums/m62/ant-147/carbset-up.jpg

I could check for any crap in the carbs, but the fuel tank is immaculate inside now and new fuel lines and filter, i find it hard to believe that crap would have got it, but possible so i will check. The in-line filter looked full of fuel when i broke down, i pulled the pipe off and petrol came out freely.
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1980 Suzuki TS50 ~ 1984 Honda CB400N ~ 1992 Triumph Trident ~ 1998 Suzuki Bandit 1200

[Blue_SV650S]

WTF .... dude, you have an air lock ... plain and simple!!

You might be able to 'flick' the air bubble out, but with it like that its bound to cause problems ...

The tap itself should have a little gauze filter in it ... the in line is a good idea, but shouldn't really be needed and with the line ran like that ... well you now know what can happen!!
____________________
The purpose of life is to fight maturity.

[Ant132]

I was advised by my MOT tester to situate it like that, so i did. Is this a bad way?
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1980 Suzuki TS50 ~ 1984 Honda CB400N ~ 1992 Triumph Trident ~ 1998 Suzuki Bandit 1200

[Blue_SV650S]

[Ant132]

Ok, will do that in the morning. The reason we had it like that is because doing just a short bit of pipe doesnt allow for an in-line filter to be fitted without kinks. In the manual it doesnt show there being a filter, just a straight tube, thats it.

Hmm, i really hope it is just the fuel line

Ant
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1980 Suzuki TS50 ~ 1984 Honda CB400N ~ 1992 Triumph Trident ~ 1998 Suzuki Bandit 1200

[Blue_SV650S]

[Ant132]

Right, im just going to fit a straight bit of tube tomorrow as i know the bit you mean in the tap, i checked that before re-fitting the tap and its clean.

I will take it on a nice long run tomorrow and hopefully it will be ok Will let you know.

Edit: I could get another square filter but the thing is, with it fitted, the fuel line is kinked on the end. I do have a smaller filter somewhere, i'll try and sort it out and if i can fit it without any kinks then i'll leave it be.
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1980 Suzuki TS50 ~ 1984 Honda CB400N ~ 1992 Triumph Trident ~ 1998 Suzuki Bandit 1200

[Ant132]

Here is the old set-up, its not very clear but the red line shows the bends.

https://i101.photobucket.com/albums/m62/ant-147/tapset.jpg

The yellow line shows where the tap spigot ends so i cant shorten that tube anymore to try and stop the kink. The sharp bend towards the end shows how the fuel tube kinks.
____________________
1980 Suzuki TS50 ~ 1984 Honda CB400N ~ 1992 Triumph Trident ~ 1998 Suzuki Bandit 1200

[Blue_SV650S]

Any joy??
____________________
The purpose of life is to fight maturity.

[Ant132]

Was just to about update Thanks for enquiring mate

The excellent news is that the bike is FIXED! The morning after i started the thread, following your advice, i re-routed the fuel tube to a short straight line with an in-line filter, similar to how it was originally but with no kinks. I've done around 80 miles today and yesterday without a hiccup, and when the problems arose it started within 2/3 miles.

Thanks for your help.
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1980 Suzuki TS50 ~ 1984 Honda CB400N ~ 1992 Triumph Trident ~ 1998 Suzuki Bandit 1200

[Blue_SV650S]