Uh Oh - Whats wrong?

[Guest]

Went to the storage unit to see my bikes and the battery on the 1100 was stone dead. i jumped started it,and it ran but sounded like on only 2 cyls. It backfired whenever i gave it more gas and would hardly respond to any more throttle. Also my lights were brighter at lower rpms. This was a perfect running bike before i parked it for the winter, i put seafoam in the tank and filled it to the top. i cant use a battery tender - storage unit. Im incvlined to think maybe the R/R is bad, or perhaps the stator? Or could these symptoms be from a dead battery? I only jumped it enough to get it going then pulled the cables immediatley, so im sure the battery didnt have much going . Also after i shut it off i turned the key right back on and nothing, no lights etc.. Thanks in advance for any ideas/ suggestions...Will

[Steve]

What did you use to jump start the bike?

Was it running?

You might have blown something, but without a properly-charged battery to do some troubleshooting, it will be hard to guess.

Jump starting, running for just a little bit then shutting it down will not have charged the battery enough to have any lights on. That part sounds normal.

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[will61310]

i used my truck battery - not running

[79FiveFifty]

seafoam makes everything run terribly.. (until it is all completely out of the system) i am unaware of any gas treatment they make but if you just used regular seafoam that is why it is running so poorly.

it only takes a couple oz of the stuff to treat an entire tank of gas.. did you dump the entire can in the tank? did you pour it in first, or last? starting with seafoam once its been sitting will require just you holding the throttle enough to keep it running long enough to run correctly again. Possibly change the spark plugs, it can foul the plugs on occasion. If you did pour the entire can in, you're going to have to dump your fuel tank and re-fill it before you run that bike.

Dead batt is just from sitting I'm sure, take the batteries home with you and keep them on charge at your house. Bring with you when you intent to start / ride bike(s.)

[will61310]

Shoulda used Stabil? Im thinking new gel battery, left in the house with a battery tender, and take the tank off , dump the gas in my truck,and bring indoors as well? I put maybe 1/4 can of seafoam in it..

[Steve]

Shoulda used Stabil? Im thinking new gel battery, left in the house with a battery tender, and take the tank off , dump the gas in my truck,and bring indoors as well? I put maybe 1/4 can of seafoam in it..

I have used Stabil for years, but I usually double the recommended dose for long-term storage. Never had any problem starting a machine back up after storage. Recently, I have switched to Seafoam, as it is also supposed to stabilize the fuel. It would be nice to have just one chemical on the shelf instead of two for off-season storage. When trying to clean out a system, I will double or triple up on the dose and have not noted any problems due to overdosing.

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[Nessism]

1/4 can of Seafoam will not make the bike run terribly. Sounds like need to charge the battery fully and then try again. Bring a voltage meter so you can check the charging system after you get the bike running well enough to reach 5000 rpm.

[koolaid_kid]

You may want to remove the battery and take it with you, then you can use a battery tender.
The gel ones are nice, mine's going on 5+ years. But I keep it charged via the battery tender in the off months.

[pontiacstogo]

You can dump an entire 16oz can of Seafoam in your tank and it wont make your bike run badly. I use it as a stabilizer in the winter and a cleaning agent in the summer and have never had any problems with it.

The bike trying to run on a battery with zero or little charge is probably the culprit here. Either charge that one or just bite the bullet and buy a new AGM.

On a completely different note - I don't run my bikes at all during the winter; it's better to let them sit. 10 minutes of running isn't going to heat the engine enough to remove any condensation in the engine or the pipes so you're probably doing more harm than good.

[79FiveFifty]

You can dump an entire 16oz can of Seafoam in your tank and it wont make your bike run badly.

Go make a video, I will get you the part number for a new head-gasket real quick.

[1948man]

I've heard people say a bike will run on pure seafoam. I don't know if that's true. I only use a couple of ounces per tank.

[pontiacstogo]

Go make a video, I will get you the part number for a new head-gasket real quick.

First it was fouled plugs, now it's going to destroy a head gasket?

From Seafoam's website;

Can mix up to 2 oz. per gallon of gasoline if necessary.

SEA FOAM Motor Treatment is a 100% pure petroleum product that safely and effectively cleans internal fuel and oil system components, helping your gasoline or diesel engine run cleaner and more efficiently. SEA FOAM is an EPA-registered product, and will not harm engine components, seals, gaskets, catalytic converters or oxygen sensors.

http://www.seafoamsales.com/motor-treatment/index.html

Like I said, a 16 oz can in a tank of gas wont cause any starting or running problems (plugs wont foul, gaskets wont leak, tanks wont explode, wheels wont fall off, valves wont bend, plagues wont start).

[Steve]

I have been known to go overboard with the Seafoam when something needs to be cleaned. Yes, I have dumped an entire can in a 5.6 gallon GS tank, I have also put an entire can in my 6.4 gallon Wing tank. No blown head gaskets, and I have not had any reason to pull a spark plug to see what happened to them.

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[tlg1100]

I used to live in central ill,and had to put bike in storage shed once in the winter, agree with pontiacstogo on starting in winter I would take the battery home keep it charged or buy new one like I did in spring or when you start riding again, low battery made my bike run like it was missing on a few cyd before.

[79FiveFifty]

I can also read, but I happen to have personal experience with a head-gasket failure due to what would seem to be the seafoam. This was on a truck, which was in good repair prior to the seafoam in the gas. The tank had only 3 or 4 gallons left when the contents of an entire bottle of seafoam was poured in the gas tank.

The truck was started, and ran fine for a few seconds, then began to sputter at which point the exhaust began to smoke. I shut the truck off, pulled the head and the headgasket had prematurely failed on the 4'th cylinder causing a rather large blowout in the gasket near a coolant passage.

Pulling the spark plugs after many prior uses with seafoam (vacuum inducted) not diluted through the gasoline have sometimes been known to foul spark plugs with carbon deposits after cleaning off some rather gunked up pistons.

I am not stating that seafoam is a bad product, or that you are guaranteed to have some mechanical failure due to the use of this product.

I am however stating my real life experiences after using it on all of my vehicles including my 1997 Toyota Supra, and 2006 Subaru WRX STi. I would not put a product into my beloved cars if I thought it was going to ruin them.

I do warn people about the potential downsides to the product as sometimes hard starting, fouled plugs, and maybe even a gasket failure do occur on occasion.

Any further questions?