gen 3 magna problem

[IndianaMatt]

today it was hot and humid. i was sitting in traffic with the clutch completely disengaged... and my rpm dipped to about 700 for a second and came back up to 1200 (when my motor is warmed up thats where its at). i didnt think much of it and i moved on to the next stoplight and it did it again.

  is this the beginning sign that my regulator is going out.. again? was my bike overheating? is my clutch going out?

i have also noticed that my bike putters if i have less than a half tank of gas. i think the fuel filter might be getting gunked up and the pressure of a full tank forces the gas through. maybe its all related somehow.       my bike had several problems with it until i swapped out my reg.

update: bad gas

[TLRam1]

Lots to check, best to eliminate some of the issues you mentioned.

Regulator, check with a volt-ohm meter, looking for 13.5-14.5 volts around 3-5k RPM.

Some of your symptoms sounds like what I had when my fuel shut-off which also acts like a fuel pump went on the blink, unable to locate the hole or vacuum leak but replacing it fixed the problem. When I switched to reserve it would take for ever to switch over unlike normally it switches in 15 seconds.

May have a blockage of some sort, take your pit cock off the tank, check the screen filters and work your way down the supply line.

Your pilot circuit could be partially blocked, many have success with Sea Foam, personally I like to remove and clean manually as I never think a cleaner will fix the issue to the full extent, at least it has not for me.

No fuel filter anywhere else other than the petcock unless an aftermarket filter was installed. 

Could be a sign you are running rich also, no way to know without a carb disassemble.

Could very well be a combination of problems.

What issues did you have before, has the bike set for a period of time, give us a little history.

[Sledge Hammer]

Matt, one easy thing to check is how clean and secure the battery terminal connections are. That has gotten more than a few of us at one time or another.

[IndianaMatt]

since i got this magna in novemeber it hasnt sat for more then 3 or 4 days lol. since march ive been riding it daily.

ok so today i rode it around and did some errands on it, a couple of times when i hit the starter button i heard a click, but if i pressed in harder it started.

      so once again i think all of my problems are related...

when my regulator went out in june i had 4 or 5 people all guessing what the problem(s) was, it wasnt until i started boiling batteries that it really became obvious. one day i rode it 60 miles one way on the highway and the bike wouldnt spin past 3k rpm, i figured i flooded it, i pulled over and let it sit a minute and it ran just fine for another 20 miles and it did it again, i let it sit for an hour and it never happened again, figured it was bad gas.  one guy offered to clean and jet my carbs, one guy wanted to sell me a stator unit for 800 bucks, blah blah blah. eventually it wouldnt start on me and the battery was bone dry and i knew it was the reg. it better not go out again


   and about the fuel line from the petcock, it was kinked bad when i got the bike, but my dad helped me replace a piece of it with a steel braided line.

update: yep, starter switch just needed cleaned

[TLRam1]

The starter switch is know along with the kill switch to need servicing as time goes on, you may be able to spray some contact cleaner or a spray silicone lube to clean the contacts in the switches.