My VMax let me down yesterday....

[Chief Gunner]

Cruising at 75-80 mph to work yesterday morning, all was fine then all of a sudden she started dying on me, like she was out of gas. ..WTF? I know that was not it because I had just filled up....I had to bail off onto the left center shoulder and prayed that I did not get nailed by aggressive San Diego cages on their way to work.

Once I pulled over the Bike would not start so I called for roadside assistance I got with the AMA . The Tow truck came and got me and dropped me and the bike off at my local Stealership.

Once I got the bike off of the tow truck I turned the ignition keyswitch to on and flipped the Run switch....fuel pump was clicking away like crazy. I switched it to "Off" then back to run and listened for the pump to prime, sounded normal the 2nd time and she fired right up when I pressed the start switch.:ummm:

I know I got spark (got those caps that illuminate when spark is sent to the plugs) . I'm thinking there might be something going on with the fuel delivery system under a load;either the pump, a clogged filter , fuel line or the carbs. Bike has fresh OEM plugs, air filter and I run Sea foam through her on every 3rd-4th tank and the electrical / charging / ignition system all checked out last time I check them (week ago)....

Even though the bike idles fine and revs well when the throttle is rolled I did not feel comfortable hoping on it and trying my luck so I reluctantly agreed to let the Stealership check it out, told them to synch the carbs since I no longer have a monometer (after it got run over in the garage by my kids dirtbike). So now I have to play the "wait & see" game and worry about how much $ I'm gonna get screwed for.

Very Frustrating because I am very good at maintaining my bike to the obsessive / compulsive level and I am very careful whenever I touch it to do work.... it's my ass after all.

I will let you guys know what caused it in case it happens to any of you. I just wanted to know if anyone else here ever experienced this?

 

[dannymax]

Cruising at 75-80 mph to work yesterday morning, all was fine then all of a sudden she started dying on me, like she was out of gas. ..WTF? I know that was not it because I had just filled up....I had to bail off onto the left center shoulder and prayed that I did not get nailed by aggressive San Diego cages on their way to work.

Once I pulled over the Bike would not start so I called for roadside assistance I got with the AMA . The Tow truck came and got me and dropped me and the bike off at my local Stealership.

Once I got the bike off of the tow truck I turned the ignition keyswitch to on and flipped the Run switch....fuel pump was clicking away like crazy. I switched it to "Off" then back to run and listened for the pump to prime, sounded normal the 2nd time and she fired right up when I pressed the start switch.:ummm:

I know I got spark (got those caps that illuminate when spark is sent to the plugs) . I'm thinking there might be something going on with the fuel delivery system under a load;either the pump, a clogged filter , fuel line or the carbs. Bike has fresh OEM plugs, air filter and I run Sea foam through her on every 3rd-4th tank and the electrical / charging / ignition system all checked out last time I check them (week ago)....

Even though the bike idles fine and revs well when the throttle is rolled I did not feel comfortable hoping on it and trying my luck so I reluctantly agreed to let the Stealership check it out, told them to synch the carbs since I no longer have a monometer (after it got run over in the garage by my kids dirtbike). So now I have to play the "wait & see" game and worry about how much $ I'm gonna get screwed for.

Very Frustrating because I am very good at maintaining my bike to the obsessive / compulsive level and I am very careful whenever I touch it to do work.... it's my ass after all.

I will let you guys know what caused it in case it happens to any of you.

Sounds like a float stuck or a bit of dirt got under the needle valve causing the fuel pump to keep running, flooding the engine.

Did the pump keep running when you were trying to get it re-fired on the roadside?

 

[Chief Gunner]

I could not tell, freeway noise was too loud to hear and I was more worried about getting hit (narrow shoulder) so I bailed and stood on the concrete divider, been in some scary scraps and situations before but there's nothing like getting stuck on the Martin Luther King freeway in any city.

 

[davidon]

i just had the same thing happen to me but im six hundred miles from home. Check all relays and switches AND tighten all connections. I think my problem is;was a loose connection..i hit a bump at speed and it sputtered and died.

 

[gamorg02]

sounds fuel or electrical (not spark) related to me

 

[johnpclynch]

Mine had a small hole in the line between the filter and the tank, the fuel pump would suck in more air than fuel. The engine would stall now so I'd pull in and switch the ignition switch on and off for a few mins so I could get another mile or so.
Lucky I wasn't far from home

 

[wildweasel_pt]

I had exactly the same thing (check my threads). One of the times i wans't even able to start it (looked like a tired battery). Waited for half an hour and it cranked nicely... Must have been electrical. It auto solved it self. Never happened again and its riding normally now... I wasnerver able to find the fault. It died on me like if i had hit the kill switch. then i turned it on again and the pump went like crazy everytime and cranked beautifully... Done this 4 times in a row (run for 3 or 4 miles) until it didn't crank and i called road assistance. When i got home it was fine... WTF??? Never happened again. My riding mate was kinda perplex with all this. We never knew what happened and its fine now...

 

[Chief Gunner]

Just got back from the Stealership and a ride, bike is just fine. Somehow my gas tank vent had a piece of lint / piece of slimy gray cloth in it....Vapor lock is what they said. Surprises me since I run premium gas and Seafoam in her.

I had them synch the carbs and check the compression on all 4 while it was there. She's all good and I got out of there for under 200 bucks. So it looks like this one ended well.

 

[Mayhem]

How's about that! I'm having this very same EXACT issue. The tow truck literally just dropped me off less than 45 minutes ago.

I was running along just fine and she started acting like she was out of gas. I was forced the side of the road as she just died. The fuel pump just kept clicking away (from what I could hear over highway traffic). She would start up, go about 50 yards and die again. Then she just plain old died.

I'll check the gas tank vent.....if someone would be kind enough to explain where it is? :whistling:

I've had this bike (previously a Triumph Speed Triple owner) for about a month and I'm simply fracking loving it.....well....I am a bit p!ssed about being stranded on the side of I-25 in rush hour traffic but I'm sure I'll get over it as soon as she's back up and running

 

[mckzx9]

That is crazy. This is exactly why I love this site. Everyone can share their stories and help each other out. Now I know if this happens to me I won't panic. Sounds likes it happens alot. Glad to hear it all worked our for all of you. I love my vmax and it's nice to know all of you do as well. So I don't think I'm crazy. I heated and air conditioned my garages just for her. unk:

 

[Mayhem]

I found the vent line - No blockage that I could see.

Of course the bike is acting fine now.

I ride a 100 mile round trip commute so I'm hoping the issue doesn't repeat itself at 4am in the middle of no where!

 

[jfeagins]

If the pump starts out pumping lots and lots when you first go key on, perhaps one or both the little pump diaphrams have come outta place inside the pump not allowing it to build proper pressure? I'm thinking if that were the case, the bike would have a tendancy to run low on fuel in the upper RPM's on the hwy, and yet could have plenty of flow to run more normally around town at lower RPM's. There's a thread here someplace, I think with pics, covering this not uncommon occurance, and how to disassemble the pump for an inspection thereof. Might be worth a check.

 

[Mayhem]

Thanks for the info!

Ill be digging into this issue more over the weekend and will follow up with what I find.....if anything.

Glenn

Sent from my DROID X2 using Tapatalk

 

[rusty]

Just got back from the Stealership and a ride, bike is just fine. Somehow my gas tank vent had a piece of lint / piece of slimy gray cloth in it....Vapor lock is what they said. Surprises me since I run premium gas and Seafoam in her.

I had them synch the carbs and check the compression on all 4 while it was there. She's all good and I got out of there for under 200 bucks. So it looks like this one ended well.

Hey Chief, Where is that vent.:ummm: Just another thing to check before I ride. Thanks........Rusty:biglaugh:

 

[alorio1]

Last year my bike quit running, I was close to a friends house so I called him and he towed me to his house and we started investigating problem. We found the fuel tank outlet leading to fuel filter and fuel pump plugged. We could not blow or suck fuel from tank outlet , so he blew a little compressed air into the outlet of tank which opened it up. I thought I would find something in the bottom of tank when I cleaned the tank out but found nothing, all was clean. You might want to give yours a shot of air and see if something may be obstructing your flow to fuel pump, just for the hell of it.

 

[Mayhem]

Just an update - My fuel pump is toast. The internal diaphragms are accounted for. The actual pump diaphragm that acts as a plunger is torn...No pump at all.

If anyone has a used pump please PM me as I'm looking for one. Will most likely be ordering one soon if I can't find any good deals.

 

[SpecOps13]

CaptainKyle here on the site likely has several or will very soon... He's got to strip some new parts bikes...

 

[Mayhem]

Hey All,

I finally received and installed my new fuel pump, fuel filter and new NGK Iridiums.

When I pulled the old fuel filter I dumped out about a 1/2 teaspoon of rust! I'm thinking one of my next projects will be to seal the fuel tank.

Anyway, she runs like a champ now!

Glenn

 

[CaptainKyle]

Hey All,

I finally received and installed my new fuel pump, fuel filter and new NGK Iridiums.

When I pulled the old fuel filter I dumped out about a 1/2 teaspoon of rust! I'm thinking one of my next projects will be to seal the fuel tank.

Anyway, she runs like a champ now!

Glenn

I am thinking you should do the fuel tank right away & save your self a lot of trouble pulling & cleaning carbs. It only takes about half hour to remove the tank.

 

[Rollie]

I am thinking you should do the fuel tank right away & save your self a lot of trouble pulling & cleaning carbs. It only takes about half hour to remove the tank.

++1 on doing the fuel tank. I am also adding a magnet on the out - side of the fuel filter. Couldn't hurt .