Now.........more problems

[89max]

So I finally got to take the bike out for my inaugural ride of the season. Put everything back together from the COP install, started it up, let it warm up, and set off. Rode about 6 miles to where I work, just to show off that I was the first to ride, and when I went to leave, it took a little more cranking than normal to start. So I set off for a short little ride around town. Went about three miles and stopped at a red light. When the light turned I went to pull out, it stalled. Wouldnt start.

So I pushed it off the road, and after about ten minutes it started back up. I made it back home, but it died again in my driveway. When it was running, it ran great, perfectly normal. But once I got it started again at home, I noticed a pretty bad hesitation/dead spot right off of idle.

I called a friend that I work with who's in a Goldwing club, and he told me that a lot of guys with Goldwings were having identical problems. The cause of their problems has been from ethanol sitting over winter. The fix for them was just running some ethanol treatment thru a couple tanks of fuel.

So, im hoping for the same results. Sound right to anyone?

 

[SpecOps13]

Ethanol Sucks... Most everyone here adds Sea Foam to their tank...
I'm just getting my 89 finished up, it's been a RPITA.

Good Luck

PS: I don't run Ethanol.

 

[dannymax]

I'd try the 'shotgun' and 'peashooter' before anything else....sounds like your pilot jets may be clogged.

Run a search on them in the box at the top of the page.

Keep us posted.

 

[89max]

Yeah, I'm hoping mine will clear up. I don't know where to get non-ethanol fuel. I put sta-bil in it in the fall, just like every other year, and made sure I ran it through good before I parked it. But I had a guy tell me that regular sta-bil doesn't do anything for ethanol problems. If this is the case, I'm gonna have three cars to deal with too.

 

[Redbone]

Seafoam seems to work for a few of us here.

 

[SpecOps13]

Non Ethanol Gas Pennsylvania: http://pure-gas.org/index.jsp?stateprov=PA

 

[tugla]

i had a similar issue after putting on my cop's but like a week afterwards. was letting the bike warm up with a touch of choke and everything was normal, then choke off, was low idle but it was cold out. bike dies, didnt think anything was wrong until i tried to start it, all it did was crank and crank and crank......... pulled the plugs i thought they would be flooded but it wasnt. full choke no choke, full throttle no throttle no difference....... after about 20 mins i got it to light, lots of grip in it, had to leave the choke on 1/4 min and kept the idle up at lights and stops, above 2000...... anyways died in the driveway also and didnt start back up ..... that was last year. wondered if it was fuel or ignition.........

anyways fired up real nice today and purred like a kitten, so if you find out its not anything to do with ethanol id be real interested in hearing what you found.

 

[89max]

Thanks for the list Dave. Figures though, the closest place to me on there is at least 1.5/2 hrs. away from me. As I was riding home I was thinking, "I should really shotgun this thing". Ill have to try that if it doesnt clear up with this ethanol treatment doesnt work.

Ill keep everyone updated. Ive had this bike since July 08 and it hasnt given me one single hiccup until last fall when I had an occasional misfire from a bad plug boot, leading me to do COP's. Now all this. Aaagghhh

 

[gamorg02]

when my mitsu cops were bad they did something similar to me. i know its a pain but before you go any further maybe try just the old coils and plugs....

 

[89max]

Well I took the Mitsu's off and bought Denso's. I could still hook the stock coils up and try it. They're still hangin in the bike, I didn't take them out. That was my first thought, that I had a bad coil (s) that was getting heat soaked, especially since it started after a couple of minutes. But then it ran great the whole way home, sitting through three red lights, and getting plenty warm. The way it hesitated off idle sitting in my driveway after it died the second time is what's making me think it's fuel related.

A then hearing about all the other people around here (my area) that are having very similar problems is what made me go back to the store and buy that ethanol treatment. Its made by sta-bil and it's kinda gold colored. If anyone knows what I'm talking about.

 

[tugla]

i know RAwarrior uses blue sta-bil but thats for winter storage, think it helps with ethanol, not 100% on that

 

[gamorg02]

thats true you did switch, i'd still give it a try.

 

[95spfldmax]

a guy tell me that regular sta-bil doesn't do anything for ethanol problems.

You need to use the marine-grade Stabil. Seafoam already is.

 

[yukonerdave]

i had similar issues last year and it turned out to be nothing more than a pinched breather hose off the fuel tank. it was inside the battery box i think getting squeezed. Probably not your issue but maybe worth ruling out before you go changing your plugs / cops.

 

[89max]

i had similar issues last year and it turned out to be nothing more than a pinched breather hose off the fuel tank. it was inside the battery box i think getting squeezed. Probably not your issue but maybe worth ruling out before you go changing your plugs / cops.

This might be another thing to think about. I did have the battery out and in my basement on a tender all winter. I had everything moved around messing with the coils and could very well have gotten something pinched when I put the battery back in.

Another though that was going through my head during all of this was whether or not the fuel pump was running, because it just seemed like it wasn't getting enough fuel. I couldn't hear anything because of all the traffic going around me when it died at the light, but once I got coasted into a parking lot, I could hear the pump clicking occasionally, like normal. And I mean after cranking for a while, not that it was just sitting there running while nothing else was going on.

Thank you, I'll definately check that out!

 

[89max]

You need to use the marine-grade Stabil. Seafoam already is.

If seafoam takes care of the ethanol as well as a storage stabilizer (which I know it is), I'll just start using it in everything. I also have three cars that have been sitting since fall, but I ran regular Sta-bil through them as well. I hope none of them a screwed too.

 

[dtoebaert-5311]

So I finally got to take the bike out for my inaugural ride of the season. Put everything back together from the COP install, started it up, let it warm up, and set off. Rode about 6 miles to where I work, just to show off that I was the first to ride, and when I went to leave, it took a little more cranking than normal to start. So I set off for a short little ride around town. Went about three miles and stopped at a red light. When the light turned I went to pull out, it stalled. Wouldnt start.

So I pushed it off the road, and after about ten minutes it started back up. I made it back home, but it died again in my driveway. When it was running, it ran great, perfectly normal. But once I got it started again at home, I noticed a pretty bad hesitation/dead spot right off of idle.

I called a friend that I work with who's in a Goldwing club, and he told me that a lot of guys with Goldwings were having identical problems. The cause of their problems has been from ethanol sitting over winter. The fix for them was just running some ethanol treatment thru a couple tanks of fuel.

So, im hoping for the same results. Sound right to anyone?

I had exactly the same problem (stock bike) after winter storage. Somehow managed to get it to another gas station, filled her up & everything OK. I'm trying to find bleu Sta-bil over here in Europe now. Apparently the water segragates from the fuel (the ethanol allows for some water to remain 'suspended' in the fuel). I bet there was a lot of white smoke coming from your exhausts?

 

[89max]

I had exactly the same problem (stock bike) after winter storage. Somehow managed to get it to another gas station, filled her up & everything OK. I'm trying to find bleu Sta-bil over here in Europe now. Apparently the water segragates from the fuel (the ethanol allows for some water to remain 'suspended' in the fuel). I bet there was a lot of white smoke coming from your exhausts?

Not really any smoke that I noticed. I didn't look behind me while it was running and I was riding. Didn't notice anything in the mirrors either.
Not saying there couldn't have been, I just didn't notice any.

I'm really hoping it'll all just clear up.

 

[dannymax]

Every spring I run a can of BG44K thru the max, my truck too. It's really good stuff but strong....for the bike, pour 1/3 can in each of 3 tankfulls.

Your vehicles can handle a whole can per tankful.

I've never had a problem with my max.

 

[RaWarrior]

Yeah, there's three flavors of sta-bil now. The original red stuff, the "marine grade" blue stuff and a new "ethanol treatment" gold stuff.

I used a dose of the blue stuff this past winter. Still, I think the best way to keep carbs clear is to use them. I started the bike every so often and let it run until it reached normal temp. Let it idle for a while, then revved it a bit to get all the carb circuits flowing. Predictably, it was a little hesitant after sitting for 3 months, but cleared up pretty quickly...just kept romping the gas until the lag went away.

I've seen seafoam work wonders for clearing up dirty carbs, but I just don't see how it works as a stabilizer. It's over 95% naphtha, also known as white gas aka camping fuel.