Strange happenings with my bike

[Mom]

Give it to the bloke we sold ours to (no point in selling it to him, he wont pay), he probably needs spares

[Theantidote]

mr tigadee i feel your pain...but bikes aren't well known for common sense...it'll be something weird ass but if you just plod through it i'm sure you'll get to the bottom of it....or get it running as best as u can and if u can afford it trade it for a little younger something...

[Tigadee]

Give it to the bloke we sold ours to (no point in selling it to him, he wont pay), he probably needs spares

Hahaha... oh wait, you were kidding, right?

mr tigadee i feel your pain...but bikes aren't well known for common sense...it'll be something weird ass but if you just plod through it i'm sure you'll get to the bottom of it....

Thanks.

Well, it sure is looking like it's something unfathomable... As the saying goes, "last place you'll ever think to look" and all that!

or get it running as best as u can and if u can afford it trade it for a little younger something...

Trade it.

Thinking that more and more now! Especially now that the pillion (Mrs Tig) has said again how she had enjoyed being on the bike...

Did George check the R/R? The two I've had fail (VFR750 and VTR1000) both gave similar symptoms to what you described.

Thanks but wot is a R/R? I will ask him if he did...

I would now unwrap the kill switch wires from the plug, back to the switch. If there's no issue there, do the same with the main harness from inside the headlight, back past the headstock. That will need the tank off. Those are the likely places to find a broken wire.

Will have to find some time [and skills] to do that...

[Maha]

Give it to the bloke we sold ours to (no point in selling it to him, he wont pay), he probably needs spares

Pseudo sold I think you'll find...

[nzspokes]

Did George check the R/R? The two I've had fail (VFR750 and VTR1000) both gave similar symptoms to what you described.

When I looked at it I put a voltmeter on it and it was very constant at at just over 14v. But then I didnt ride it down the motorway.

[buggerit]

The problems you describe are headlight brown out when trying to start and motor stopping intermittently.
Brown out is low current to headlight caused by large current going elseware or poor earth.
You have checked battery terminals and battery cable earth to chassis but wiring loom also has its own earth point to chassis
that needs checking,this earths everything apart from startermotor.
If loom earth ok I would put amps clamp on main battery + cable and see what reading you get when you attempt to start bike.
If amps are high I would suspect a short in elec system,possibly large enough to shut down bike when travelling.
This would rule out a fault within the starter or between starter switch and starter solenoid .
I would then be looking for a short between battery and fuses.
If you have a low amps reading on testing and the earth is ok I would suspect poor connection between battery and fusebox
which could possibly be ignition barrel or plugs etc.
If it was a safety system problem or kill switch problem ,I cannot see how they would cause headlight brownout so I am
inclined to look elseware. Good luck

[Tigadee]

OK, last (hopefully) update.

As of Monday, there have been no issues. With my limited knowledge, I am guessing it was one of two things (or both):
1. Side stand switch - It's been disconnected and no starting issues since
2. Bad fuel - No hiccups on the motorway since I switched back to 98 fuel. Due to financial constraints last month, I started using 91.

Couldn't be that simple, aye? So could be other things too which may have been sorted along the way, like the starter switch, kill switch, battery contacts, earth, etc. Who could know for sure...

Thanks everyone for all your helpful advice and suggestions. Even if never applied, still a lot of useful knowledge to store away.

[unstuck]

Good to hear, long may it last.

[Tigadee]

Well, now I have another albeit small problem...

Need to find a replacement front brake light switch. That seems to have gone because I replaced the rear light bulb thinking that it had blown or something, but the new one does the same thing (shows rear brake on but not front when braking).

A universal one off TM is about $10, and one from Red Baron is $24.30 (2 days from AUS)... Internet prices range from $16 - 20.

[neels]

As of Monday, there have been no issues. With my limited knowledge, I am guessing it was one of two things (or both):
1. Side stand switch - It's been disconnected and no starting issues since
2. Bad fuel - No hiccups on the motorway since I switched back to 98 fuel. Due to financial constraints last month, I started using 91.

Couldn't be that simple, aye? So could be other things too which may have been sorted along the way, like the starter switch, kill switch, battery contacts, earth, etc. Who could know for sure...

Side stand switch can affect starting and running, if you look at the diagram there is a connection to the ignitor as well as that interesting Yamaha diode block that controls starting, so could have been the cause of both problems.

Well, now I have another albeit small problem...

Need to find a replacement front brake light switch. That seems to have gone because I replaced the rear light bulb thinking that it had blown or something, but the new one does the same thing (shows rear brake on but not front when braking).

A universal one off TM is about $10, and one from Red Baron is $24.30 (2 days from AUS)... Internet prices range from $16 - 20.

Had the same thing on my XJ600, I managed to pull the old one apart and smooth out where the plastic was worn inside it stopping it from closing properly, it's had a metal contact that sort of slides down one side of the case that was sticking.

Otherwise I'd go for a genuine Yamaha part rather than try and make a universal one fit.

[buggerit]

When was the last time you topped up your oil?

[Tigadee]

Had the same thing on my XJ600, I managed to pull the old one apart and smooth out where the plastic was worn inside it stopping it from closing properly, it's had a metal contact that sort of slides down one side of the case that was sticking.

Thanks, I'll have a go at it tonight!

When was the last time you topped up your oil?

Engine oil? Just three or four months ago (oil & filter change).

[nzspokes]

Thanks, I'll have a go at it tonight!



Engine oil? Just three or four months ago (oil & filter change).

Brake light oil is low.

[Coolz]

I bought a front brake light switch for a xj600 from the local Yamaha dealer about 6 months ago. Cost me $20. It wasn't OEM but looked the same and was half the price. I've had no issues with it so far.

[Theantidote]

i'm crossing all my extremities in the hope that you've resolved the issues...and to answer your question...yeah it probably could be just that simple...
the earth point clean up is easy and wont take long...even when u know very little...make sure you have a good fairly new piece of sandpaper handy and clean those contacts, dont forget to clean the contact point on the bike as well as the wires...squirt with wd40/crc lock it back up and it's pretty freaky how much better the bike starts and runs just doing that...
good luck man and enjoy riding in this frikkin cold weather...fek that the fire is tooooo nice to leave