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Old 18-04-11, 05:42 PM   #1
benparker
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Default Front cylinder not running

Hi, so here goes my first post:

I've got a 1999 SV650s. About 2 years ago it stopped running on the front cylinder down the motorway while it was raining (tends to happen when it's raining). I took the bike to the dealer and they charged me over £200 to sort it out, I think it was just a dirty front carb. It never ran quite right after that and the same thing happened again about 6 months ago (in the rain on the motorway - not fun). Being a skint student I decided it would be easiest to buy a used set of carbs off ebay for £40. Fitted them and the bike ran fine. Idles very high, about 2500rpm when the idle screw is turned right down but absolutely fine when riding and fuel economy was good so left it.

You've guessed it, the same thing has happened again with the second set of carbs, this time it wasn't raining but happened immediately after I filled up. It would run on the back cylinder for about a minute and then the front one would kick in while riding and would be fine. However yesterday it took about 15mins just to get the back cylinder revving and the front took longer to kick in. I've checked the plugs, back ones lovely, front ones a bit white as expected but both have a good spark. Any suggestions on what to d now? My thoughts are that the same problem can't be a coincidence or am I best just buying another set of used carbs?

Any help would be much appreciated.

Ben
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Old 18-04-11, 05:49 PM   #2
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Default Re: Front cylinder not running

Bit of extra (probably irrelevant) info:

The bike seems to get through quite a lot of oil and the exhaust smoke tends to be a bit blue especially on start up.

When I propped the tank up a lot of water came out the overflow pipe on to the ground (not rained in atleast a week) guess this is normal though.

Thanks
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Old 18-04-11, 06:00 PM   #3
yorkie_chris
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Default Re: Front cylinder not running

Front cylinder issue is most likely water getting in front plug hole, a splurge of grease over the top of the cap and a fender extender sorts that.

No point fitting used carbs, strip the ones you've got and check for water ingress. Water out of drain pipe suggests tank drain might be blocked and rotted allowing water into the fuel system.
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Old 18-04-11, 06:05 PM   #4
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Default Re: Front cylinder not running

200 quid for what a fender extender on your mudguard could quite possibly have solved, or a bit of flappy plastic hung from the radiator to cover the front plug.

Dunooo whats going on now, but it was probably far simpler than your dealer made out....either that or they knew feck all!
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Old 18-04-11, 06:41 PM   #5
Chris Bird
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Default Re: Front cylinder not running

I had this problem on my first curvy. It happened the day after I picked it up from George White, they had it for 2 weeks, I got it back and the same thing happened again. They took it back for another 2 weeks and it seemed to come back okay. A month or so later, it happened again and the AA came out to me. The dude seemed to have a good idea about bikes and he had the bike apart on the side of the road.

Cut a long story short it turned out to be nothing more than a lose connection to the spark plug of the front cylinder.

The bike would run fine for about 100 miles and then when this lose connection got to hot and the resistance two much the problem would occur...

Trace back all the way from your front spark plug and look for loose badger.
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Old 18-04-11, 08:03 PM   #6
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Default Re: Front cylinder not running

mine did the same as mr.birds,i tightened the connector up no more trouble
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Old 18-04-11, 08:20 PM   #7
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Default Re: Front cylinder not running

Thanks for all the replies. I've just checked the HT lead and the coil with a multimeter and the resistances are all correct and the spark looks good to me so I don't think it can be that.

I checked the drainage hole and looked at the pipe inside the tank and it seems okay, no rust and not blocked.

I guess the next step is stripping the carbs then. Are they hard to do? Never done anything with carbs before. Is there a step by step guide anywhere?
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Old 18-04-11, 09:14 PM   #8
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Default Re: Front cylinder not running

Quote:
Originally Posted by benparker View Post
When I propped the tank up a lot of water came out the overflow pipe on to the ground (not rained in atleast a week) guess this is normal though.
No, it's not. The tank filler well drain is blocked, this may contribute to your running problems - the carb cleaning will have been removing the water that's getting in there when you open the cap.

See here.
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Old 19-04-11, 02:12 PM   #9
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Default Re: Front cylinder not running

Ahh I see, found that the rubber hose was kinked behind the tank, tanks now been drained but due to my impatience already had the carbs off so they're getting a clean as well, can't do any harm, I'll let you know if it all works when they're back on.

Thanks
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Old 19-04-11, 10:11 PM   #10
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Default Re: Front cylinder not running

All sorted, runs lovely now, there was loads of water in the tank, how it started at all is a mystery. Thanks for the help.
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