Twigs wroteTook my 888/955 for a ride on the weekend.
Travelled 100kms north of Sydney and parked for the night on Saturday.
Sunday on return trip rode 15kms with fuel warning light on and filled tank (12 litres it took) with 98 octane fuel
Rode another 50kms and pulled up for a cool drink for 15mins, all good at this stage.
Took off to head home and as I pulled out of the car park noticed the engine not pulling cleanly and felt like fuel starvation. Rode another 10kms with engine surging slightly and when I stopped at traffic lights it stalled. Started again immediately but I had to keep the revs up and work the throttle to keep it going.
Pulled into a service station and it stalled again. Fired it up a few times and it would idle for a minute but the then the revs died down and it stalled.
Fuel pump primes no problem.
Sat there for an hour (looking for any obvious signs that might cause the issue) and tried again with bike cooled down and it idled fine. Jumped on and rode another 20kms on the freeway and it seemed to run ok.
As soon as I got into traffic and the bike got hotter (temp gauge didn't read any higher than 85degrees) then it started losing idle and stalling. Pulled up and got the wife to get me with the trailer.
Similar happened 2 years ago and I changed the fuel filter and gave the tank a clean and never happened again. Coincidence or do I need to change the filter again? Is there something else I should look at? Why did it run fine when cool but not when hot?
Look forward to your feedback gents.
Mauro
I had a very similar experience with my SP3 a couple of weeks ago. I managed to nurse the bike home (only a few miles, fortunately), and when I got it in the garage it idles perfectly. Then (no idea why I did this!) I opened the filler cap and there was a very loud rush of air - I think into the tank. The general opinion among those I asked was it could be a problem with the tank venting system, such that as fuel is used by the engine, a vacuum is formed in the tank which reduces fuel flow. I've had a quick look and can't see anything amiss, but then I don't really know how the venting works on the SP3; I think it's easier on the SP4 etc, where there is an obvious vent tube at the front top of the tank. Maybe I ought to check the filter...
FWIW I've started the bike a few times since, in the garage. Fuel pump primes as it always has, the bike starts first prod, and it idles smoothly. Haven't take it for a run though - my wife doesn't tow trailers and the last time I called out the breakdown service I waited several hours to get collected...
PS - no reason to suspect the fuel; I filled up my 1198S at the same pump (albeit on a different day, but not by much) and haven't had any problems.
