Bike shut down at 82 mph??

[wardie]

On my way back from the Moto GP I was averaging between 75-82 mph on I 70 . I did this for about 20 minutes ...I was planning on piting to get gas in about 25 miles but thought I had plenty of fuel? Gas needle near E, no gas warning light came on all of a sudden the bike shut down. Lucky to get to side of road where I tried restarting to no avail. I put bike on side stand removed tank bag and could see a small amount of gas in tank??

Pulled choke bike started and revved fine??. Removed side cover and manually turned petcock to Prime just to be sure no petcock problems. Made it to a gas station where she only took 3.8 gallons so she wasn't out of gas? Did another 200 miles and had no problems.

Pulled off I 76 at Youngstown near Rt. 46. Gas gauge needle was on "E"! but no gas warning light ever came on? Bike took 4.0 gallons might of fit .2 more but she"s a 4.8 gallon tank so planey of fuel.

Questions

What caused the bike shut down?
Why when I pulled the choke full on started right away when no chock wouldn't start?
Why only 3.8 gallons?? Don't think it ran out of fuel.

Last fuel stoip no gas warning light but needle on "E"...gas warning low level probably working but gass guage isn't ??

Anyone run into this or something similar?? Wardie

PS Moto GP and Indy Mile were great!

[Flying]

The gas gauges are going to be off, can't help it because of the shape of the gas tank. Last time I let the fuel gauge go to ""empty", I still had ~75 miles of gas left in the tank.

I'd guess a really gummed up fuel filter would cause your problem. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SBEfL9ngl3E

[NevadaWolf]

This is my best guess..

The way our petcock is designed, the normal ON setting has a tube that extends up into the tank, and only allows fuel to flow when the bike is running. The PRIME position is flat against the top, lower than the normal ON and allows the tank to empty fully regardless of it the bike is on or not.



In pregen bikes, I believe this setting is what gives them the RESERVE, that last gallon of gas after a sputtering "you are almost out of fuel, idiot".



That *might* explain the sputtering to a stop and only putting in 3.8-4 gallons. The last gallon was below the normal filter. Or the filter is clogged?

I ran into this once when my bike sputtered to a stop about 30 miles sooner than planned. Flipping to the Prime got me to the station and about 4ish gallons added. Just make sure you turn it back to ON before you park for too long, else you might find all that gas now on the floor.


I'm clueless on how the choke works, so someone else will have to answer that.

[Flying]

The choke does bypass the idle circuit in the carb, so this suggests that dirty fuel may have blocked off your starter/idle? jets and you fixed the problem with new gas.

[NevadaWolf]

I just realized how dumb my post sounds. :/ ignore me.

[Alex]

There is no separate low gas warning light; the only instrument is the fuel gauge itself.

[wardie]

I suspect that I have a vaccuum /petcock problem. Bike just shut down like an electrical problem. Opened gas cap could see gas on left side where petcock is so it should run. Cranked once or twice no start. Put choke on started and revved fine?? Crazy. Just as a precaution turned valve to PRI.

Left it that way all the way home and experienced no problems.

I posted earlier that my bike moans and many have said it's because the bike is venting.

The bike can sit for two weeks in the garage and it still moans?? Is that normal? It's weird like some kind of whale moaning.

I am wondering if at that speed with a tank bag on if it is drawing more gas than the vaccuum system can handle?

[wardie]

That's about what the bike has on it. I watched the you Tube link can't believe they put a cheap easy to clog little filter in the line??

I'm yanking that and installing a quality in line filter.

[Flying]

Originally Posted by wardie

I posted earlier that my bike moans and many have said it's because the bike is venting.

The bike can sit for two weeks in the garage and it still moans?? Is that normal? It's weird like some kind of whale moaning.

Perfectly normal, that's just your bike purring like a cat. All of our bikes do it unless if we modify the venting holes in the gas cap.

[wardie]

Nice know know that I can make something I'm riding "moan" LOL

[wardie]

Dr. Yeager mentioned possibly vapor lock and I hadn't thought of that. It was hot??

[wardie]

Ok removed gas tank and fairings. Adjusted the choke and throttle cables, put free play into spec. Looking to see if theIr is a cause for the sudden engine shut off. Don't see any bad hoses or anything like that. Did notice setting valves is going to be a lot easier on the gEN11 MORE ROOM

[DaBlue1]

Originally Posted by wardie

....Questions

What caused the bike shut down?
Why when I pulled the choke full on started right away when no chock wouldn't start?
Why only 3.8 gallons?? Don't think it ran out of fuel.

Last fuel stop no gas warning light but needle on "E"...gas warning low level probably working but gas guage isn't ??

Anyone run into this or something similar??

I had a similar issue a long time back. The fuel filter could not keep of the flow of fuel to the carbs after a while. At low speeds it was good. After it warmed up and higher speeds, the filter decreased the flow of fuel. it even shut down once at highway speed, started right back up with choke after a couple of start cycles.

It is also possible for the the bike to slow down while riding on a flat surface if the fuel is too low. The carbs tend not to fill up as fast. I had it happen before. Any amount of throttle more than 1/4, resulted in a non response.

Low gas, go slow.

Because the fuel system is a gravity feed system. It requires the weight if the fuel itself to feed the carbs. As the fuel becomes less, the flow can slow. Also if you have a tank venting problem or clogged fuel filter, the same symptoms can result.

[snot]

When my bike moans I take her for a ride. I tell my hubby she is crying because she is stuck in the garage and wants to play.

So, even the 300s cry when they are alone.

[CZroe]

It happened to me im Alabama, December 2008. I think I rode into a cold front and the tank formed a vacuum, because every other time it happened (thousands of miles apart) was after a condition that one would form. For example, I warmed the bike up fully while waiting for my relief at work so that I could beat the rain home. My relief was so late that the bike had been running for over 30 minutes and the rain dumped on me as soon as I left. A couple blocks later and it sputtered out. Every other time has been caused by riding off after having it parked for ~15mins. That gives enough time for the hot engine to conduct up into the tank which will cool rapidly once the air starts flowing again.

Also, many people have added fuel filters and had similar problems, so I'd look there too.

[csmith12]

You need a flux capacitor in order to go 88. Duh!

[wardie]

Indeed good sir indeed

[wardie]

After a lot of searching, testing and evaluation plus hindsight I believe I got some bad gas which caused the problems. Bike has never shut down since..

[BravoDelta]

Originally Posted by wardie

After a lot of searching, testing and evaluation plus hindsight I believe I got some bad gas which caused the problems. Bike has never shut down since..

That's great. Mine used to shut down and after lots of frustrating days, the problem was attributed to a faulty Roll over sensor. Kawasaki replaced the sensor and it's been going good for the last 2 years

[CZroe]

Originally Posted by wardie

After a lot of searching, testing and evaluation plus hindsight I believe I got some bad gas which caused the problems. Bike has never shut down since..

That's what I thought at first too, until I realized that adding more gas worked because I opened my tank and not because I diluted bad gas.

Try this: Run your bike hard for 30+ minutes. Park it for 10-15 minutes. Get back on and run hard again. It will probably sputter out in a couple blocks. This is how I could reliably reproduce it but it happened without all that in the middle of sustained high-speed travel twice in 30,000 miles (once due to rain; the other must have been a pressure and temperature change).

[oblivion007]

I've had my bike shut down on me twice. Once doing 90, the other 85. My guess was it overheated and my buddies guess (one of my mechanics) suggested it might have gotten hot enough to make a bubble in the fuel line? Forgot what he called it. After about a minute it would turn on again.

[jkv45]

Originally Posted by oblivion007

I've had my bike shut down on me twice. Once doing 90, the other 85. My guess was it overheated and my buddies guess (one of my mechanics) suggested it might have gotten hot enough to make a bubble in the fuel line? Forgot what he called it. After about a minute it would turn on again.

That could be a problem with tank venting as well.

If that happens again, just open the gas tank filler and listen closely (remove your helmet) for a rush of air - indicating a vacuum in the tank and a problem with the venting.

It's also possible that there's a partial blockage in the fuel system (filters/screens) that goes unnoticed until you are consistently running WOT and drawing larger amounts of fuel than usual.

You shouldn't be overheating when running at high speeds - there's a ton of cooling going on - unless there's a blockage in the radiator.