VTR1000 Cutting Out @ cruising speed

[sakimanic]

Hi all, needing some help, my 00' VTR1000F is having probs at cruising speeds, fine at low speeds or nailing it, but when cruising motorways with not much thottle movement, all power goes out and sound like its only firing on 1 cylinder- Botany Honda servied it and cleaned plugs & air filter and they dont know.

It doesnt cut out completely but the sound muffles and they is no throttle there or anything for about 1 minute, a few times I have had to pull off the motorway and come to a stand still, then itll clear.

I think its def a fuel system issue of sorts

Can anyone shed some loght on this?

[Wheeliemonsta]

Botany Honda servied it and cleaned plugs & air filter and they dont know.

Gidday Sakimanic,
Some how I find your above statement difficult to believe... "They don't know" simply wouldn't be an acceptable answer in a modern well run workshop.

Is the bike completely stock or have you got the usual "pipes & air cleaner" mods...?

One thing that is absolutely critical on all carburetted VTR's is the carburettor balance - it just has to be right or the bike will run like a bag full of assholes

Another thing that needs to be kept well in check on any big V Twin are the valve clearences, from the brief symptoms you are describing I'm picking the problem may well be solved by shouting the old girl a thorough service & tune...

Cheers

[Fatjim]

Sounds electrical, maybe the kill switch is dodgy. However.....

It could also be the carb berathers being clogged. The bike will go like this after braking really hard and the solution is to turn the breather pipe round 180 degrees.

[Teflon]

Hi all, needing some help, my 00' VTR1000F is having probs at cruising speeds, fine at low speeds or nailing it, but when cruising motorways with not much thottle movement, all power goes out and sound like its only firing on 1 cylinder- Botany Honda servied it and cleaned plugs & air filter and they dont know.

It doesnt cut out completely but the sound muffles and they is no throttle there or anything for about 1 minute, a few times I have had to pull off the motorway and come to a stand still, then itll clear.

I think its def a fuel system issue of sorts

Can anyone shed some loght on this?

Sounds like a problem my mate had.. it was something to do with the carb.

I know SuperCross cycles in Hamilton fixed the problem. Give them a call, they maybe able to help you.

[Squiggles]

kink in the fuel line perhaps.... Is it fine for low revs or short bursts when nailing it but not for sustained mid-high revs?

[vifferman]

You need to get yourself on a VTR1000 forum - this is a common problem, with an easy solution. Make sure the carbs are balanced (this needs to be done at least every six (6) months), and make sure your idle is set about 100-200 rpm higher than what the manual says (the tacho isn't very accurate, typically reading high, so what might look like the proper idle may be a smidgeon too low). Also, check the tank breather hose - it only needs a slight kink, or a bit of road spooge in the end, and the fuel flow suffers. There's no fuel pump - it's gravity feed only - so those big 48mm carbs can easily choke if things aren't just right.

[YellowDog]

Yes mate, you definitely do need help. The first thing to do is to change your garage! They don’t seem to be concerned about your heath or safety.

I had something similar a few years back when my bike would sometimes lose and gain power when cruising. The speedo light would also flicker. My problem was related to the battery connection and was resolved by scratching down to bare metal and reconnecting clean cables to the poles.

Your problem sounds like you may have a pulled wire somewhere. Maybe around your cut-out switch. The reason it only happens when cruising could be related to a specific temperature or vibration level. A decent service department will find it for you.

Good luck to you.

[YellowDog]

Teflon, that front wheelie gif is awsome.

Excuse my ignorance, can someone tell what bike that is? Its height makes it look like an 07 Tiger to me.

[sakimanic]

Hi, thanks for advice - that is the statement I was looking for- Lose & gain power when cruising. I will def check batery connection tonight. Cheers

[sakimanic]

The "they dont know" is more I dont want to spend any more chching looking for it- Botany Honda thought it was a plug & air filter prob so I had a standard service and it has def got better but is still losing power for around 1minute when at cruising speeds (around 85 -110kmh) It just goes dead then comes alive again. Thanks I will get valve clearance done

[Hinny]

Just may need to modify your idea of cruising speed. On the rev limiter in top gear is not to be regarded as cruising speed.

[vifferman]

Hi, thanks for advice - that is the statement I was looking for- Lose & gain power when cruising. I will def check batery connection tonight. Cheers

If you can get hold of a voltmeter, check the charging too (should be about 12.8V at idle, and around 14V at 5,500 rpm). The motor dying for no apparent reason can sometimes be a symptom of the R/R being on its way out. The one fitted to the VTR is too small, so it overheats and dies. The one on my '97 VTR had a burnt wire in the connector plug ("Aha!", I thought) but when I replaced it the unit carked it completely.

[YellowDog]

Hi, thanks for advice - that is the statement I was looking for- Lose & gain power when cruising. I will def check batery connection tonight. Cheers

Don't be fooled by it looking OK, the caked grease on the connectors had to be scratched off with sandpaper.

[sitting duck]

Hi

Try these forums. Had a quick look but nothing that fitted your VTRs symptoms exactly but some good places to start looking.


http://www.vtr1000.org/phpBB2/index.php
http://ozfirestorm.proboards34.com/index.cgi

[MacD]

Two simple things to check first:
1. fuel tank breather as Vifferman suggested. I've seen the simple act of carrying a pillion cause one of these to kink and block.
2. side stand kill switch. Sometimes the vibration at a certain rev range can cause these to fault. Temporary solution is to disconnect it (assuming it's a earthing type).