On my way to a work meeting and I just got off of the interstate. As I approached a stop light I pulled in the clutch and the engine died.
Restarted it and the engine chugged along a very low RPM. For a few red lights I had to use my back brake only so I could keep the rev's up to prevent the engine from dying. It became apparent that the issues was getting worse. Even in the upper RPM's I could feel the engine lugging.
It will start now, but only when I give it a LOT of throttle. Even then, the engine sounds like shit.
It was a cool day so the engine temp never displayed more than 170 degrees.
I am currently on the side of the road hoping to get a tow truck soon.
Since you've said it will start w/plenty of throttle I'm assuming the battery isn't dead and that the starter will still spin the engine fairly rapidly.
Did you fill up recently, or is the gas in the tank somewhat old?
Based on the symptoms you've described the problem could be as simple as bad gas and/or water in the fuel.
Also could be as simple as having one or more spark plug wire(s) that could be arcing/shorting out against metallic objects other than the spark plugs.
The other day I installed a battery and started one of my motorcycles for the first time this year. The motor fired up almost immediately, but within 30 seconds it started running rough and missing on one or more cylinders and required some finesse via my right wrist to keep it running. Thankfully, after the motor warmed up for a few minutes the missing and rough-running symptoms gradually went away.
I'm fairly confident that a pocket of water/condensation may have formed in the bottom of the tank during the motorcycle's fairly long (6+ month) period of non-use after the prior battery failed unexpectedly last year. Note that normally I would fill the tank w/fresh fuel, add StaBil or a similar fuel stabilizer product and allow the motor to run a while to circulate the treated fuel before shutting off the engine for an extended period of storage. However, when the battery in my Speed Triple failed last fall I didn't take the time to hook up another battery so I could perform this preventave maintenance pre-storage procedure.
I hate ethanol/oxygenated fuels! :pissed:
In any case I hope your problem turns out to be a simple fix.
I have about 18k on the bike now, I think. I really, really hope that it is spark plug/missing cylinder issue. I use the bike almost every day for work. I ran it for about 120 miles on Thursday and put filled the tank. I am about 1/2 through the tank now.
I have a friend with a 2002 VFR and the exact same thing happened to him on a short ride. We got barely 30 km's from his house when the bike started to run rough like it was missing. Turned out to be a fried R/R. He replaced the R/R with a factory Honda replacement (he knows a guy at the local Honda dealer and got a great price), and the bike has run great since.
Had the pulled clutch stall while rolling happen once and noticed a melting connector shortly afterward. Not sure if it was related but have since removed the melted plastic and cleaned up the still good connectors and taped.
I would venture to guess it's not a bad fuel issue. I've had that before on my Concours and it was obvious just a half mile after filling up. I don't think you would get half way through a tank w/o noticing something going wrong. R/Rs are usually the first thing to look at with VFRs. Good luck! I've never been totally stranded like that.
Buy a voltmeter/multimeter and do some basic testing yourself. There are tons of posts on how to troubleshoot the most common electrical issues with the VFR.
Pull the right side plastics off and look for the big white plastic connector that will have three yellow wires going into it on one side. That's the stator to R/R connector. Look for signs of burning/melting. If it's burnt, for a temp fix to get it home you can cut out the connector and wire nut together. If this is your problem, you are looking at replacing the stator, R/R and battery all at the same time to be sure you fix the problem. Otherwise you can go through the testing procedures detailed on this site to determine if it's just the stator, just the R/R or both. Your battery is probably toast either way.
Thanks guys, but it's already at the dealership. I have a fair amount of ability to troubleshoot, but I don't currently have a garage and my tools are in storage.
I'm cheap, but I am more lazy than I am cheap. ;-)
Ok. So I heard from the dealership today. Apparently, there was a problem with the spark plugs/electrodes/coils. I will get more details later, but the dealership stated I needed a new cylinder head (or front cylinder?).
Anyway, I purchased the bike for $3500 or so. Invested another $650 in OEM hard bags, and now the dealership is giving me a quote of approximately $2800 to repair my 2002 VFR.
So, my next question is: who wants to buy a non-running VFR with new OEM bags for $1500?
None of that makes any sense, unless you somehow blew out a plug and caused some catastrophic failure. I vote for second opinion at a well-trusted local shop.
I will definitely have to get more details soon. I took the call at work and, quite honestly, I was too shocked with the price of repair to digest it all. I have never, ever had a bike fail with such a hefty repair price in my life. Frankly, the reason I went for the VFR was for the "bulletproof" engine!
Oh well, I will probably end up selling it for parts, lose a bunch of money, prove my wife right, and be out of a bike for a while.
Buy high, sell low - such is the way of the Black Samaraui!
Surely even a stripped plug thread can be helicoiled. Sounds as if the dealer is trying to pull a fast one, as I've never ever heard of a faulty plug or coil taking out a cylinder head! Get them to explain just how this can be...
Sorry to hear about your bad luck. Sounds to me like the dealer is trying to make a quick buck or two off of you so I agree to get a second opinion. If you decide to part the bike out please let me know since I have been looking for a replacement front wheel with rotors.
I should get the bike back sometime next week. I am not in a hurry as it is dreadfully hot out there, but I have decided to fix it myself one of two ways: purchase a front cylinder head or an entire new engine and replace.
Challenges:
1. Never performed work of this magnitude before.
2. Probably don't hae the proper tools.
3. I currently live in an apartment complex and do not have a garage. I have covered parking so I suppose I can throw a cover over the bike until it is fixed.
Again, I don't have all the details of the issue yet but I hope to have my VFR up and running in a few months. I am quite certain I will be reaching out to you fine folks for advice when I start the repair. If you are willing to stop by sometime the beer is on me! :-)
Dude - the bike only has 18k miles, you dont know if the dealer is on the up and up and it really needs a head or is trying to rob you blind. The whole scenario just doesnt add up. --- My guess is the head repair is BS.
-----Find a buddy who knows what he is doing and take him to the dealer! ---- If I was there I would be saying to the dealer - "Show me!"
--- From the original description most of us just thought was the basic electrical stuff. That's way cheaper to fix.
How do we go from bad coil to $2000 to repair, did the engine seize? I can see it running like shit with a bad coil but that kind of engine damage? Maybe it was the cam chain perhaps? 6th gen bikes have a history of loose cam chains, slapping cam chain noises.
You could always consider a 3rd party non factory Motorcycle dealer, theyd be more open to repair a Head if needed, I eeek at having to pull a Head in an Apartment complex parking lot even if you have the tools and know what your doing, the real question, is why a new head, only one reason I can think of.
End of thread · 30 posts recoveredWayback Machine snapshot 22 Jun 2012