Bike's dead :(

[mikelcfc]

went up the road this morning and it just suddenly died, no warning or anything, tried to fire it up again and it wouldnt turn over. been on charge for about half hour and its tryin but seems a long way off doing anything:(

[shifter]

First guess, rectifier has failed.

[petevtwin650]

Have you been running with lights and heated grips Mike? Don't really understand why it should stop if you were underway. Could be the Reg/Rec or a safety switch, or loose battery lead, but you'll have seen that, I guess, when you connected the charger.

[mikelcfc]

everything seems ok, finally fired up abut was whining so me thinks somethings poorly in the engine.

also it seems to be taking a lot of charge out of the battery when i try to start it

[ravingdavis]

Sorry to hear that mate. I remember telling you yesterday you made a mistake by buying a curvy :)

Best of luck getting it all sorted

[petevtwin650]

Sorry to hear that mate. I remember telling you yesterday you made a mistake by buying a curvy :)


Yeah, but at least a Curvy is nice to look at, even when it's not going :p

[mikelcfc]

right it starts, but wont tick over, i have a spark on both plugs,, but it seems to be dragging when i try to start it and seems to be a lot of resistance.. , i think its only running on the rear cylinder but not sure,

[shifter]

All still sounds rectifier, do you know how to test it?

[mikelcfc]

npe

[shifter]

Got a multi meter?

[mikelcfc]

yup

[mikelcfc]

Well reg rec seems ok so i think il throw it at the main dealer to tell o whats up with it

[ravingdavis]

Well reg rec seems ok so i think il throw it at the main dealer to tell o whats up with it

Keep us up to speed on what they say about it mate.

[mikelcfc]

how unhealthy could it be to start it on choke and ride it round for a bit?? could i be doing far more damage to it??

[sunshine]

the choke will only really cause the plugs to get rather black. no engine damage im aware of

[daved407]

All the extra fuel gushing around in the cylinders can have the affect of washing the oil from the bore. Its something I hear of a lot on big singles. I guess the theory is true. Not sure how long you got to do it before the damage is obvious. A guide in my opinion is dont.

[mikelcfc]

well cleaned all the carbs up and have managed to get it to tick over at about 1300 ok, but any less it dies, i thought it was idlein lower than that before but ive seen on here thats about right, will put some pro fst in it to help any carb icing and take it for a ride and see what happens.

[mikelcfc]

right went out on it and it seems it was a bad idea, was fine for the first 5 mins, but then it lost power and starting sounding like a tank, then started spluttering, then died.:( pushed it 1.5 miles home and cant turn the engine on the back whhel, tried turning it from the front sprocket and its not having it :(

[G]

Did it have plenty of oil in it :confused: that sounds terminal.

[daved407]

Id say oil straight away too. Maybe plugs out and oil into the cylinders and see if the engine can be gently rocked.

[mikelcfc]

had plenty of oil in it when i went out and a few days after i pushed it home it had none in it, god knows were that went. not sure weather its worth stripping the engine down or just getting a second hand engine, its not like its got low miles or anything.( 31k) but engines seem to be like £350 for one with 40k and no guarantee

[daved407]

Is it at all possible that what you may have seen in sight glass was fuel oil mix, maybe caused by riding round on choke or leaking past the fuel tap, and as the bike warmed up the fuel evaporated? Leaving little to lubricate the engine. Ive had fuel tap issues on other suzukis and guess they use similer parts across the range.

[mikelcfc]

possibly , ah well, what should i do, just drop the engine and strip it or is there anything else i could try , it really sounds poorly though:(

[daved407]

Im no expert on SVs I just know the theory from my own bikes and working on other vehicles. Whether you should strip an engine down or replace an engine depends on your ability to wield a spanner (or have a mate that can). By the time you have added up all gaskets and parts from stripping an engine a 2nd hand one maybe cheaper, not to say the same wont happen again though.

Can you afford to spend the time stripping an engine. I think fitting a replacement engine could be done very quickly in comparison. There are several people on this site that know far more about the SV than I for really good advice.

[petevtwin650]

Before spending silly money on an unknown quantity engine, cost up buying a whole SV and breaking yours to sell as parts. There is a lovely looking 2002 CGB one on here for sale at £1500 quid with only 12k miles. So not only will the engine be newer feeling so will all the other bits too. Hopefully :)

[dizzyblonde]

Why the hell would you think the engine is foobarred if you haven't explored every angle?
You say it would only tick over at 1300 anything less it would die, and you swore it it did it at less before.


....well I know on that score, a healthy curvy sits at tickover between 12-1500 comfortably. Anything less will result in it giving you a gasp of disappointment, when she goes back to sleep. Mine are set at no more than 1400.

How does it die? does it just stop mid flight dead, does it gurgle to a stop?
Have you checked choke plungers, when they are gummed up you're better off betting on a three legged donkey to beat you up a hill
How long have you had your current battery? and most of all....is there any petrol in the tank? I've been most embarrassed after the fuel light broke, and thought my engine had blown up again!
Oh yeah, try a new air filter or in the least check the old one for muck n dust

[yorkie_chris]

If it's sounding like a tank and there's no oil in it then it's probably well fecked.

But do double check everything, no point replacing an engine for what turns out to be a loose wire...


Drop the oil through a white cloth and tell us what it looks like, and measure the quantity which comes out.

[dizzyblonde]

had plenty of oil in it when i went out and a few days after i pushed it home it had none in it,

Did you check it on the side stand?, or properly?...when its stood up straight.
What I'm guessing at, because if you had a proper leak, it would be all over the floor, is that after your bike has warmed up a bit, it has worked its way back down into the engine, and you have looked and thought

....aggggghhhh wheres me oil gone!:smt101

If its on the low side of course ;-)

[rusty76]

Mike,

Mine's getting part chopped this month. You can have it for whatever I'm offered part-ex

[mikelcfc]

right, not had much time to look at it lately, but took the plugs out and it turns over fine..... would i be right in thinking that could indicate the the exhaust valve may be shagged?

[yorkie_chris]

Drop the oil through a white cloth and tell us what it looks like, and measure the quantity which comes out.

.