Backfire on decel to accel, Curvy.

I'm new to this forum and forums in general, therefor please accept my apologies if I get this wrong.

I've very recently (I.e. Last Thursday) bought a 2001 SV650, as far as I can tell it is all stock, with no mods and has 25000miles on the clock.

For the first few short rides all was well, but....

I filled the tank with normal unleaded petrol and set off, rode approx 30 miles and pulled in for a quick brew. When I restarted the bike I could hear a clicking from the front end of the bike. On inspection turns out the clicking was the front HT cable shorting to the radiator. As I was a fair way from home I rode back gently, however my bike then started to back fire.

Problem....

Basically what happens is I accelerate well through first, second, third etc.. if I then come off the power and slow the bike using engine breaking, but without changing down a gear go back on the power (say the traffic lights change) the bike makes a really loud bang from the exhaust.

I've stopped the shorting out by wrapping the HT lead with electricians tape and spraying it with WD40, however the backfire has stayed. Also although the bike runs really well, it does stall every now and then when I come to a stop.

With the exception of the back fire and the stall the bike runs really well, sounds dead nice, accelerates well, stays at speed well.

Therefor, my question is...

Why is it backfiring? How can I stop it? And is it doing damage to my bike??

Many thanks in advance for any replies,
And.

[yorkie_chris]

I'd give it a service tbh, change that HT lead (sparky tape isn't good for that), new set of plugs, balance the carbs, new air filter, check for air leaks etc

Cheers buddy, I'll take your advice. Thanks for replying so quick.