Intermittent spluttering

gspod

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Hi
Over the last 2 days my bike has gone through 4 periods of spluttering.
The first time was just 2 or 3 splutters so I didn’t think much of it. A few hours later it happened again but lasted for 5-10 minutes, getting worse and I thought it might break down but it smoothed out and was okay for the rest of the day. Today it happened again, the first time lasted around 5-10 minutes but the splutters weren’t too bad. Then a little later it got really bad, I rolled into a petrol station and the bike would start but not tick over. Left the petrol station and managed to ride at high revs, riding the clutch, after a few minutes it smoothed out and was back to normal for the last 14 miles.
Bike is a 2011 TC with 80K miles on the clock.

I wouldn’t normally put up a post like this but I’m in Patagonia and I don’t want to get stranded miles from nowhere.

I’ve been using the best fuel available, 97 here in Chile, but someone suggested that in the sticks the locals never use the top grade fuel and it gets stale??? Although we’re running my wife’s Himalayan on the same fuel with no problems.

Very grateful for any help.
D
 
Drain your tank,


could be water in the bottom built up over time
 
I’d suspect the fuel as well and moisture build up over time. If you can, drain your tank, check your fuel filter and pump. Fill it up again and do a TPS reset (dead easy 30 second job).

What else fails in that process, fuel in, goes bang, fumes out - when we’re your spark plugs last changed? Could be build up on them causing poor firing?
 
Hi
Thanks for the replies. Water in the tank is interesting and not something I’ve experienced before, however maybe unlikely, in this case. We have been riding through the Americas for 6 months and only ridden in 2 hours of rain - I know it sounds unbelievable but it’s true.
Perhaps moisture can build up in hot weather? - it’s been very hot and humid, of course but for the last 2 weeks we’ve been in the desert so dry??

As you can probably tell, I’m no engineer 🤣
 
You get moisture build up in your tank through condensation. As the temperature changes air in your tank looses its moisture and it sticks to the walls of your tank then mixes with the fuel. If you’ve been riding that much it’s unlikely through as it’s a very small volume of water so normally will impact a bike that’s left to stand for a while.

Contaminants in the fuel will impact the fuel filter and pump reducing fuel flow and engine performance so that could be worth checking and the spark plugs for wear and build up of contamination.

These are my best guesses, I’m not a mechanic and if I were in your position I’d be trying to find one who I could get to give the bike a full service (although I appreciate that could be very hard to find)!
 
Firstly there is no TPS reset on a 1200TC . There was on the old oilheads.
From the description it sounds to be affecting both cylinders ? if so this Limits the cause considerably.
Fuel filters don't normally cause intermittent faults, fuel pumps can as the brush gear wears out, But this normally affects top speed to start with, my experience is 50K miles service life on a pump.
May well be fuel , bear in mind that the comp ratio on the Himalayan is 9.5 to 1 and your 1200 TC is 12 to 1. also contaminated fuel will affect both cylinders.
Be unusual for ignition to suddenly affect both cylinders unless it is a problem before the BMSK Crankshaft position sensor or wiring.
You say it ran at high revs when operating the clutch to keep going, could the side stand switch be on the way out operating the clutch switch would by pass it.
It is possible to do a simple bodge to by pass the side stand switch.
Keep us posted with more information.
Good luck with your trip.
 
Is it missing on one cylinder or both? If only on one then it could be a coil stick on the way out, swap them over and see if the problem moves to the other cyclinder.

Good luck
 
Thanks everyone.
Had a full 1200 mile service 6000 miles ago so spark plugs should be fine but I will check.
Not missing on 1 cylinder.

Thanks Chris, I did a bit of research last night and the side stand switch came up. Looked at a video about how to disconnect, I’ll take a look and clean but as we’re on rough roads might be worth doing anyway.
Unfortunately I’ve got nearly a full tank of fuel but will top up with lower grade fuel whenever possible.
I’m only 14km from a town with a mechanic so might get him to take a look on Monday. 🤞
 
I've done this trip and always found everyone very helpful and interested to help so,don't be afraid to ask, could you have filled up with contaminated fuel(i.e. water) at some point.Good luck and enjoy it.
 
Maybe try a fuel treatment like Seafoam or similar, if available.

I'm not sure of the Ethanol loading over there. IIRC, Brazil is on E25, but elsewhere E12 maybe?
 
davegs said:
I've done this trip and always found everyone very helpful and interested to help so,don't be afraid to ask, could you have filled up with contaminated fuel(i.e. water) at some point.Good luck and enjoy it.
Click to expand...

Agreed, everyone is helpful. The fuel could be the problem as they’re all diesel vehicles here, I suspect it’s just petrol for chainsaws etc so no one uses high grade fuel 🤔.
Rather than drain the tank - what’s the consensus of topping up as I go?
Thanks
 
squibb34 said:
Maybe try a fuel treatment like Seafoam or similar, if available.

I'm not sure of the Ethanol loading over there. IIRC, Brazil is on E25, but elsewhere E12 maybe?
Click to expand...

Not sure about Ethanol but we filled up with some high ethanol, low grade fuel in the US with no problems so, perhaps, more likely a case of stale fuel from the pump with moisture in it.
Not heard of Seafoam before but treatment sounds good, what should I look for on the container?
Thanks
 
Chris
Checked the clutch switch and appears to be working fine. Looks to me like the SS switch is an enclosed unit so impossible to clean.
Any way of testing it before I do the bypass?
Give it a wiggle, I suppose?
Thanks
 
Is it possible your fuel tank breather is getting blocked, causing a vacuum in the tank ?
 
gspod said:
Not sure about Ethanol but we filled up with some high ethanol, low grade fuel in the US with no problems so, perhaps, more likely a case of stale fuel from the pump with moisture in it.
Not heard of Seafoam before but treatment sounds good, what should I look for on the container?
Thanks
Click to expand...

Seafoam is popular in the US, originally designed as fuel stabiliser for marine use. The idea is to emulsify any contaminates in your fuel system, so lifting any H2O that might have otherwise settled in the bottom of the tank.

It's probably a bit pointless me offering up similar brands from the UK, but it must be a perennial problem across S.America if high ethanol fuels are used in systems designed for no more than E10. Try a local search for fuel cleaner/stabiliser, or check out the shelves when you next visit a decent size fuel station. Names such as Seafoam, Lucas Oil, Motorex, B3C Ethanol Shield, Wynn's, CRC Stor Go, STA-BIL 360.
 
I believe the SS switch is a pot and the only way I have ever tested them is with a GS911 , on real time data you can see if it is working in the different positions.
If the SS springs have gone weak over the bumpy roads you are on the SS can bounce about causing problems.
If you can open the fuel filler it wont be the tank breather the pump creates a large vacuum , enough to suck the sides of the tank in on a GSA when the breather is blocked, or a Muppet main dealer has trapped the breather pipe.:blast
 
So a bit of research says that Chile is not even on the list of ethanol users, apparently they are considering E5.
US is highest (been there, no problem) Brazil is next on the list.
Petrol does not go stale or deteriorate in petrol stations storage (I should have known that).
I’m going to check the air filter (was changed 6K miles ago)
So, hopefully, looking like the SS switch which is an easy fix.
But keep the suggestions coming and thanks for everyone’s input.
 
The easiest on the road temp bodge on the SS switch is to open the outer sleaving on the frame downtube and use a scotch lock to connect the 2 wires that it showed on the video that you said you watched.
I hate scotch locks but in this instance they are handy and it makes it easy to return to stock.
 
Nippy Normans supply Touratech, Wunderlich, Desert Fox and many other makes of accessories.
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