Didn't start last night / Rough start this morning

[Talon]

ok so usually my bike fires up first try without any problems with a bit of choke on and last night when i went to go out i couldn't get it running at all, it sounded like one of the cylinders would fire occasionally but everything else was dead, now when i was trying to start it last night i could smell gas a bit after a few tries so that leads me to believe that its not a fuel issue.
This morning i got up and went down to the garage to try and figure out what was going on with the bike, and brought my camera and recorded the whole starting procedure. anyway it finally started after some coaxing and when i took the choke off. it seemed to be a bit rougher when a cylinder would fire and when it was running.

so any ideas on whats making it run like crap/not start very well, and can i drive it around if i do manage to get it running without killing anything inside of it?

I'm kinda suspecting bad coils because a couple of the caps that go to the plugs are in not so good condition?



so here's a sound file of me getting the bike to start. the sound quality might be a bit crappy cause it was recorded with my digital camera

http://talon.tttc.ca/StartingBike.mp3

and a sound file of the bike running. i have the camera on the ground on one side of the bike then switch it to the other side of the bike in this file

http://talon.tttc.ca/RunningBike.mp3

[TheCafeKid]

What about just bad caps?? If its the coils, TWO cylinders would be dead. Coils are all or nothing, I'd check the caps first. This of course is assuming your bike was running well the last time you rode it, which was...??

[slowride]

I don't have any suggestions as to what is wrong but I am impressed I did not hear any swearing when you were trying to start it. jk

Good Luck. I joined this site to learn more about my bike. I've learned tons already but not enough yet to offer any advice. sorry.

Ed

[Talon]

last time i rode it it was fine, which was on tuesday. I live in vancouver and it only rains here in the winter so i ride all year round...

so its probably fine to ride around then?

[hampshirehog]

Start simple.

In addition to TheCafeKid's advice:

Check on your exhaust pipes - which one(s) get hot first? Then check your plugs (gaps, clean etc,) may be swap them around and see if the problem clears / goes to another cylinder, may be fit new ones.

If you've got points fitted I'd check them / capacitors next.

(What bike is it we can hear?)

[Talon]

i have a 82 1100 E

[TheCafeKid]

last time i rode it it was fine, which was on tuesday. I live in vancouver and it only rains here in the winter so i ride all year round...

so its probably fine to ride around then?

Thats actually a big clue. Its winter, it wet there, from the sound i listened to of it starting im deducing that you park it in a parking garage, no? Wetness, and a cold, damp garage, would lead me to believe that you need to check your wires and caps, and if you've a points ignition, take a look at those as well. If you've a crack in a plug wire, or cap, its quite possible that moisture got in there and is at very least part of your problem.

Here's a decent way to test in my nonexpert opinion. Try pulling the wires from two and three and swapping them. Conversely, if they'll reach also try doing the same with one and four. If the problem follows the wire/cap you know you've got a winner (or loser in this case) Its tough, for me at least, to hear which cylinder isnt firing on a four cylinder bike, but you may have a better ear. Just a thought. Also take a look at your plugs, just for grins. How do they look? Do you have an idea of which cylinder (s) are the offenders?

[Talon]

yep i park in an underground parking garage, and i probably need new caps as the 2 right ones don't have the rubber on them and the rubber on the other 2 are kinda sketchy.
I pulled out all the plugs and replaced them with a new set that i bought a while ago and it seems to run better now. the old plugs all had good gaps except one that was too small and they where all black brown, which means i'm running a bit lean correct? and my crappy exhaust with holes in it could contribute to this as well right? I'm getting a brand spanking new stock exhaust from a guy next week for $100, it has sat in his garage for years and has no rust or anything on it...

I also felt the order in which the pipes warmed up before and after the plug change and the order in which they heated up the fastest was 2,1,4,3 and after the change they seemed to warm up pretty uniformly.

so yeah the new plugs seemed to make a difference, but we'll see next time i try to start it completely cold

[psyguy]

I'm getting a brand spanking new stock exhaust from a guy next week for $100, it has sat in his garage for years and has no rust or anything on it...

do you understand how lucky you are ? :shock:

[chef1366]

Get a small can of Berrymans and run one ounce per gallon through the fuel tank. Could have some water in the gas and it will clean the carbs.
Replace the plug caps with NGK.
Is the air filter any good?
Charge up the battery after cranking on it like that.

[Talon]

hehe yes i do understand how lucky i am, i have 2 GSs and both of the pipes on them are stock and total garbage. there's another guy in vancouver that i found on craigslist that is trying to sell some stock ceramic coated pipes for $250 that are in decent condition as well. i think those are probably worth it...

anyway back to the bike at hand, so it had a really hard start again when i drove it out tonight and i think its something more than simple stuff, as it has never been hard to start (on bad days when its been outside in the rain it starts on the 2nd try or maybe 3rd)

also a big thing - i did notice pinging after i got it running again tonight and there's a light sort of rattle sound coming from the bike, but that rattle sound seems like its coming from the exhaust, we'll see about that next week.

but this pinging is concerning me, it was pretty sporadic and was coming from the left top side i'm assuming its the valves and i would guess that they would need an adjustment.

I am running just regular gas but thats what i've been running in it since i got it...

valves that are out of adjustment would affect the whole ignition system could they not?

any more ideas? I'll check the air filter next time I'm down at the bike, probably tomorrow morning.

[TheCafeKid]

Valves out of adjustment would lead to hard starting especially when cold. They could also lead to a lil popping in the exhuast which might be the intermitant pinging you hear. Vavle adjustment would definately be in order if you know that its been a while, and THINK that it needs done. At worst you can check them. I am not super familiar with the 1100, is the 82 E a 8v or 16v? Either way the valves are pretty easy to adjust, tho the two different designs are completely different proceedures.

[Talon]

its a 16 valve. it would probably damage it some if i rode it around wouldn't it?
i only ask cause this bike is the only vehicle that i have that is insured...
so can the valve adjustment be done while the engine is still on the bike?

[tkent02]

Easy to fix...

its a 16 valve. it would probably damage it some if i rode it around wouldn't it?

Yes, if the valves are too tight. They usually get tighter with wear.
Especially the exhaust valves will burn up.


so can the valve adjustment be done while the engine is still on the bike?

Yes, very simple DIY job with a feeler guage and a couple wrenches. Buy a valve cover gasket first, and a woodscrew with the little 1/8" square drive to use as an adjustment tool.

There are lots of discussions on this site, do a search for the procedure if you don't have a manual.

[Big T]

its a 16 valve. it would probably damage it some if i rode it around wouldn't it?
i only ask cause this bike is the only vehicle that i have that is insured...
so can the valve adjustment be done while the engine is still on the bike?

Make sure you have the tools you need, takes an hour or two

If they were really out of adjustment, resync your carbs