Engine bogging down

[coacha]

I vote bad gas. I had that issue on the Gator 1000 IBA ride. Bike died on me and had to drain the float bowl. Running fine now.

[leadbelly]

Originally Posted by Blueraven

Nope, no fill up during the ride. Actually, it was at the end of the day that it started to happen. I have used about 200KM of gas, about 1/2 to 2/3 of the tank left on the gauge. I will try seafoam and alcohol in the tank.

You have 1/2 to 2/3 of a tank left after a 200 km trip?

Wow you are getting some real good milage. I know my bike sputters a bit when it's about to run out of gas, and can actually go quite a ways after the first "burp".

My vote is with CoachA, suckin' up old, bad gas.

Did you find anything wrong with the wiring?

[ringadingh]

I get 300km on a tank most times, 325 was my best and it sputtered into the gas station.

[leadbelly]

My records indicate about the same 330 km per tank and taking it easy on the throttle.Going by what Blueraven is indicating, he would be getting a minimum of 400 km per tank or better. So I figure he was sucking up bottom gas or his gauge is wonky?

[ringadingh]

Riding real easy does make a big difference. A few years ago in WV I had 185 miles showing on the trip meter and my low fuel light wasn't even on yet. It was a day of easy riding compared to my usual.

[Blueraven]

The light came on at 211km. The gauge really changes after the 1/2 way mark. I am getting 33mi to the gallon by my calc or 6.7l/100km. I will be looking at the wiring more closely tonight.

[ringadingh]

You cant really go by the gauge too much, if I fill mine to the brim I'll go almost a 100 miles before it moves off the full mark. then its goes to empty the next 80-90 miles. I use the trip meter and go by that.

[Blueraven]

Ok, so here's the update. No wires shorted on coil. Did find that the right rear spark plug socket going into the wire was out about 1/2 inch. Checked the rest of them, ok. I checked the PC III commander wiring and it looks ok. I don't think it is bad gas because I filled up and it did it again within 20-40KM of driving and happened several times including idling at the stop light. Could that 1 wire cause all this?

[ringadingh]

Yes, it can cause it to stumble and run a bit rough. While its idling pull a plug cap off and youll see the difference in the idle.

[Blueraven]

Even on just one of the 2 spark plugs for the SAME cyclinder?

[ringadingh]

Yep, give it a try and youll see for yourself. I just did this on the weekend and was surprised that it made a noticeable difference.

[cnc]

I wouldn't dismiss the bad gas possibility completely unless you drained the tank before refilling.
When It happened to me it took a a couple of fill ups to get rid of all the symptoms even with seafoam.
Just a shot in the dark here. You say it started again after riding a while. I wonder if you could have a tank venting problem. When it starts stumbling open the filler cap and see if it cures it.

[leadbelly]

Is it carb or fuel injected?

[Blueraven]

FI

[Blueraven]

Well, putting the tank on, a GREY wire came off the PC COMMANDER III. couldn't figure out where it came from. Noticed that it came of the THROTTLE sensor (YELLOW /white strip) wire. NOT EVEN SOLDERED. F**K! Could this attribute in the engine issues? Re-soldered and increased the idle screw a 1/4 turn. Ran engine and idled much better. Hope this fixes problem. Test ride is next.