Not Hitten On All Four

[GlennTuc]

My 08 RSV feels and sounds like its only hitten on two cylinders. It won't even run in 5th gear without bogging down and I have to shift back into 4th. And then it will barely hit 50 MPH. I changed out the plugs, but I think it just made it worse. I may have some bad gas. I'm going to get some Sea Foam and try running it with that in it for a while. Any easy way to figure out which cylinders are not firing? Any ideas why it would quit firing on two cylinders?

 

Thanks,

 

Glenn

[Cougar]

Just for the heck of it make sure the all 4 plug boots are pushed in all the way.

I had one just hanging there , one time I changed plugs and the darn thing still ran *LOL* guess I could not wait to ride.

I also see that you have a new bike so it can't be a coil this soon *crossing fingers*

been sitting long? did you have any additive in the fuel while sitting?

[Cougar]

BTW, is it the REAR # 1 and # 3 ? or the front?

[LilBeaver]

If you suspect bad fuel and have a gas can handy. I'd just drain the tank most of the way and go get some fresh stuff. No sense in potentially damaging something or dealing with a poorly running machine if it is just bad fuel.

 

Draining the tank is really easy. Just go pick up a hose that will fit over the petcock (standard fuel line, I don't know the dimensions offhand) but for ~50 cents a foot or something, it is pretty cheap. Turn the petcock to the off position (run the bike for a few minutes first with it in the off position if you want to minimize spillage) then slide the hose that is there off, put your new hose on, then with the other end in the gas can turn the petcock to 'Reserve' or 'on' depending on how much you want to drain out. If it turns out to be something other than the fuel, you've got a can full of (probably) okay fuel ready to go.

[LilBeaver]

A way to see if you are getting spark is to run the bike, and rev it to where it chugs a lot (if possible) then hit the shut of switch (or turn the key off) while it is chugging. Then pull the plugs and take a look. From how the plugs look and smell you ought to be able to draw some conclusions as to whether they are firing or not.

 

Something else to try if you determine which is not firing (if that is the case) is to take apart the cap on the ignition wire (that you put over the spark plug) making sure to not loose any of the small pieces (the small metal plate, spring, or resistor) and check to see if you have any significant corrosion buildup on the spring. Then, when you reassemble, make sure the screw that holds that stuff in place is tight.

On second thought, checking to make sure the cap screw is tight might be something to try to see if you notice any improvement before you take it apart (that way if tightening it up does fix it, you'll know what the problem was).

 

Also, you did not say what the mileage on the bike is or (as cougar asked) if it sat for a while.

 

When was the fuel filter changed last? (Have you ever changed the fuel filter?).

 

(just thinking out-loud here for you).

 

And, if you go through and decide it isn't the fuel, plugs are good (and gaped properly), maybe a visit to the dealer for some warranty diagnostic/repair work would be in order... Hopefully it is something simple like bad fuel - but at any-rate

[Cougar]

~:sign yeah that:~ That (if bad) fuel should run fine in the lawn mower .

[GlennTuc]

Thanks everyone for your replys. I do believe it is the back two plugs that are not firing. The two front header tubes get hot, but the back two do not (finger test, OUCH). Also, I pulled the plug wires on the back two and it made no difference on how it ran or idled. Put another spark plug on the back two wires to see if they were sparking and got no spark. Could it be coil packs? If so it should be covered by the warranty, shouldn't it?

 

Thanks,

 

Glenn

[cecdoo]

Go to sears and get a laser IR thermometer, cost about 20bucks with the bike running aim the laser at each ex pipe rite at the cyl. you will see which cyls are running cold pretty quick. Craig

[GlennTuc]

I don't let it sit more than a couple days as it is my primary transportation. The only thing that keeps me off of it is snow or ice.

 

Thanks,

 

Glenn

[Seaking]

My 08 RSV feels and sounds like its only hitten on two cylinders. It won't even run in 5th gear without bogging down and I have to shift back into 4th. And then it will barely hit 50 MPH. I changed out the plugs, but I think it just made it worse. I may have some bad gas. I'm going to get some Sea Foam and try running it with that in it for a while. Any easy way to figure out which cylinders are not firing? Any ideas why it would quit firing on two cylinders? Thanks, Glenn

 

A little similar to what I went though last summer on my 06, which turned out to be the fuel pump dying a slow death before dying completely.. the SLOW death caused a lot of bad troubleshooting but netted me a lot of new warranty parts I couldn't get up here in Canada hehe..

 

Even though your bike is an 08, when was the last time the fuel filter had been changed? The filter is a beach to get at but worth the hassle.. considering the alternative..

 

Engine problem like yours is either fuel feed or spark generation.

 

below would be my list of backyard mechanic troubleshooting, but I'm sure the more experienced guys out there can add, correct or amplify this list..

 

(A) very bad fuel, so drain the tank, put in fresh clean fuel.. let it run the junk through the carbs and system. Add Seafoam to clean it out if dirty fuel is suspect.

 

(B) Bad Fuel flow: Most likely NOT the fuel pump as it's providing fuel.. If the fuel pump dies, the engine won't run. The rear cylinders can run on gravity fuel but the front requires the fuel pump. But because your bike runs, albeit poorly, it sounds like your fuel pump is working, so check your fuel filter, replace it if you didn't do it last year..

 

© Spark: Spark plugs, you said you changed them and it got worse? Did you have the proper plugs? Proper gap? Proper torque? Double check those..

 

(D) AIR: Check your Air Filters and boots.. if the wrong ratio of air gets to the carbs it can muck things up. My buddy's bike was acting all odd on a road trip and we discovered the pod was off it's boot for some reason. Once reattached the bike road beautifully since..

 

best of luck.. let us know what you discover..

[LilBeaver]

Thanks everyone for your replys. I do believe it is the back two plugs that are not firing. The two front header tubes get hot, but the back two do not (finger test, OUCH). Also, I pulled the plug wires on the back two and it made no difference on how it ran or idled. Put another spark plug on the back two wires to see if they were sparking and got no spark. Could it be coil packs? If so it should be covered by the warranty, shouldn't it?

 

Thanks,

 

Glenn

 

 

I knew I forgot something. Yes, if the rear two are not getting hot then they are not firing properly. Seaking has some good info there.

 

and yes, if it is the coils it should be covered under the warranty.

[GlennTuc]

I give up! Taken it to the dealer tomorrow here in Paducah. They probably haven't seen more than 3 RSVs in as many years, so I'm taking a chance. If they can get it to hitten on all 4 again, thats better than I can do. I just hope they can put it back together correctly. I'll post what they find out.

 

Thanks,

 

Glenn

[GlennTuc]

A little similar to what I went though last summer on my 06, which turned out to be the fuel pump dying a slow death before dying completely.. the SLOW death caused a lot of bad troubleshooting but netted me a lot of new warranty parts I couldn't get up here in Canada hehe..

 

 

Seaking,

 

What did they find out wrong with your RSV? Although I've seen a couple RSVs on their showroom floor at the local dealer, I don't know if their service department can identify an RSV two out of three times. I really don't want them cutting their teeth on my bike, but I feel I have no choice.

 

Thanks,

 

Glenn

[Seaking]

Seaking,

 

What did they find out wrong with your RSV? Although I've seen a couple RSVs on their showroom floor at the local dealer, I don't know if their service department can identify an RSV two out of three times. I really don't want them cutting their teeth on my bike, but I feel I have no choice. Thanks, Glenn

 

Hi Glenn, last summer my bike went through two events that had the mechanics baffled at first until we discovered what was happening..

 

(A) the bike would "run out of fuel" before getting to the reserve level.. even if I turned the petcock to Reserve it wouldn't help.. however, if I added more fuel it would run again.. So strange.. but it would do this always when the fuel got down to a certain level.. what was happening is that the fuel filter was sooo badly clogged, none of the previous owners had ever changed it since 2006. When the fuel level in the tank got down to a certain level, there wasn't anymore head pressure to help push the fuel through the filter and the fuel pump would basically not be able to suck enough fuel through the filter, thus shutting the bike down from fuel starvation. After a lot of humming and hawwing.. I changed the fuel filter and ting, all was good after that.. Fuel filters have that nice pink look to them.. the one I pulled out was gunk black..

 

(B) the second incident was worse. At various unpredictable times, the bike would simply shut down. No rhyme or reason why.. but so infrequent, no one could figure out what was causing it.. scary. However, what happened is that the bike finally died while on a road trip, several mechanics looked at it and couldn't see what was wrong so I got a lot of warranty work parts replaced for lack of any other trouble shooting.. But one mechanic looked at the fuel pump and saw that it was fried. No one looked at it till then.. it would work for trouble shooting... it worked 'enough' to make it look serviceable.. but when the last guy looked at it, the fuel pump had finally died. The electrical contacts were burned out enough that under certain conditions, the gap was enough to cut off power. Luckily they had a floor model that they were able to rob the part from to get me fixed up without having to wait for parts to arrive.. The bike has been running prime ever since then..

 

One of the ODD symptoms of the dead fuel pump is that my signal light flashers would blink super fast, as if a bulb was out.. It would do it when the bike died, but not when the bike would start again.. it was SO odd. Yamaha tells me it has nothing to do with a bad fuel pump.. but something caused it to do that.. so odd.

 

That's why I thought your fuel filter might be at issue, its just a guess. It certainly wasn't apparent to me at the time.. but that initial incident contributed to the second incident. The pump had to work so hard to suck fuel through that dirty fuel filter that it basically died an early death from over work..

 

That's about all I can tell you.. Let us know what you discover with yours..

[Guest human4m]

I sure hope it's just a fuel filter, or a clogged line, but here's the issue...

 

7:30am Yesterday morning, on the way to work, I starteing running out of gas, and felt the usual lack of power. Switched to reserve, and all was well. Stopped & got a full tank at a known-good station (where I fill up the cage every week) and continued another 20 miles to work.

 

4:30pm I get off work, hop on the bike, start it up, wait about 2 mins for it to warm up, and hit the road... Firing on 2 cylinders. I'll tell ya', this fat V-4 ran like a Honda Rebel 250 with a fat girl on the back. Couldn't break 50mph! It seems like the 2 cylinders on the left side of the motor are maybe starving for gas? They seem to run when I'm idling (pipes getting hot at the same time) but when I twist the throttle more than 1/2 inch the dang thing stops running on the left side... Pop here, pop there... Plugs are good, and they are firing, so I'm pretty sure it's a fuel delivery issue. My oil doesn't smell like gas either.

 

So, not to sound like a complete mechanical idiot, but I have a few questions

 

1) Where is the fuel filter on a 97 Royal Star?

2) I've taken the tank off before, and only remember 4 bolts (2 near saddle, 1 on each side near forks) Am I forgetting something?

3) After I replace the fuel filter, and verify fuel lines are clear, who wants to come clean my carbs???

[Yammer Dan]

Has it had Sea-Foam?

 

If not Sea-Foam. A whole can to 1/4 tank.

[Cougar]

Another little thing to check is your vent tube off the gas tank.

remove it and place another hose on it and try and blow into it,

to make sure it is a clear passage. Mine was clogged and would

make my bike run like your after a while then stop all together.

 

My past problem was my rear coils. (1&3) I sent them to VGoose and found out that it

was just the caps going onto the wires. unscrew them and see what

you can see in them also.

 

Just a thought.

Jeff

[GlennTuc]

Hi Everyone,

 

Just an update to let ya know what's happenin on my bike. When I dropped it off at the Yama Dealer, the Service Manager asked me if it was still under warranty! Raised my eyebrows a little. It's an 08 model, and he asked me if it was still under warranty. I informed him that it was and would be until May 2013. One of the mechanics who happened to be in there also informed him that it was. At least he knew it. After nearly two weeks they've decided the ignition coils on the back two cylinders are bad and they ordered the parts and sent a notice to Yamaha to see if they are covered by the warranty. The service manager said it would take another week to get the parts in.

 

Thanks,

 

Glenn

[sleadhed]

:confused24:WOW coil issues on a second gen. who would have thought.

I,ve had to replace all 4 on my 2007 once already. only 14000 miles.

[GlennTuc]

Got my bike back from the Yama Dealer yesterday. Replaced both rear ignition coils and it runs great. They synced the carbs, filled with gas and didn't charge me a penny. I was worried about them, but they seemed to have done a great job and pitched in a little more for no charge to me. I believe I'll give them another shot if I need service again.

 

Thanks,

 

Glenn

[cecdoo]

Cool beans, glad they got you fixed up:clap2: Craig

[LilBeaver]

Sounds like a good deal! If you have someone nearby that has a carbsync (or equivalent tool) that might be something you'll want to double check. BUT if it is running smooth, smooth acceleration, etc etc then you are probably in good shape.

 

Glad you got 'er all taken care of!!