I just came back from a nice ride today, Ws cruising at a cool 55mph and she started putting and jerking like she wasnt getting fuel, i pulled the clutch to downshift and she died. I had to pull over and i opened my gas cap to check fuel level, it was about half way, so i tried to start her back up and she wouldnt start. I switched to reserve and tried twice more and bam she fired up. Started riding again and fliped back to on for the petcock about 3 minutes later it happened again and i switched to reserve and she picked back up again. She was fine yesterday i had some seafoam in her but i was forced to fill her back up to make it home. What would cause this to happen out of nowhere.
I believe someone suggested your petcock is bad, clogged, or the wrong one. You may need to clean or replace it. Because only putting in 2 gallons you don't have the proper main. I am not a body man but could there be a dent under the tank or a big dent that is filled in and repainted.
I dont think theres a dent, doesnt look like the tank was every repainted. Still has original decal with clearcoat over it on both sides. How would i go about cleaning the petcock, it could be clogged as it has never done that to me with that much gas in the tank before.
I have never cleaned one. I replace my petcock during the tank mode. I lost it going down the highway.
Did you ever pull the petcock and clean the screen after the carb cleaner problem?
No i have not, i am still running the seafoam to try and clean them out. Only been thru tank with seafoam.
Kinda sounds like the bottom half of your sock is stopped up.
I agree that petcock would be my first attention spot.
Look at the petcock from underneath the tank, you will see it screws into a threaded nipple type setup. Once removed you will see the filter sock and screen.
How do i clean that out.
The screen will come off and you can clean it with a spray can of carb cleaner and an air hose. Be careful when you remove the petcock not to lose or damage the o-ring, they're kind of an odd size, if I remember.
She just did it to me again today after adding more seafoam. Seems as if it only happends when i put sea foam into the tank. I was switching to reserve at about 80 miles before i put in the seafoam now its making me switch at 56 miles and i am very light on the throttle. Did the seafoam cause a block in the fuel filter? why would it all of a suddon start doing that. I dont think the petcock is bad because it wasnt doing this before. If im going to clean the petcock out do i need to drain the gas out of the tank before i do anything? She started up nice and smooth with no throttle needed today. First time so the seafoam is doing some good, i just dont understand why now im having to switch so early.
Forgot to mention the oil hasnt been changed yet and is due for a changing, would this have anything to do with my issue?
One more thing, will riding in reserve till i can track down the problem kill my gas faster and make me have to fill back up sooner?
Not likely on the oil. Have you taken the petcock off yet that is where I would search first the are 2 pipes on it a low one and a high one well you can guess which is which LOL. Also there is no filter so to speak on the 3rd gens except for the screen on the petcock tubes! If that is claen well then we will need to dig deeper !!
Also hate to ask but how fast do you ride. Your hand on the throttle has a lot to do with although 56 miles is way low unless you had it full throttle all the way :shock: :shock: :shock: Oh the Joy LOL
My max speed is about 50-55 and i stay under 4k or just bellow 5k when i ride.
Well you should have no problem with hitting 100 before reserve. What I would do is run it till you get to reserve and then switch and run some more to get it low on fuel unless you have a gas can to hold it then check the petcock filter and the petcock itself. Also you asked about running on reserve it will not hurt anything except when you are out of gas you are OUT :lol:
Yea that wouldnt be very fun to run out with no warning. Has anyone ever tried using the gas tank from a bike that has a gas meter and moding it to fit the magna? I think that would be the most useful mod to us magna owners. Wheres the petcock filter located? im brand new to this bike. My previous bike is a 73 honda cb500 which i still have but havent been able to do carb work on it due to a striped screw and not having an easy out to remove it.
If you look where the petcock is you should see a nut holding it on of course you want to have the fuel out. Loosen the nut and take the petcock out and check it out and clean the screen you will see what I am talking about when you get to it not hard at all just keep an eye on the oring in there as that seals it to the tank!
Im wondering if it is dirty or blocked up then why does it only stop working when the fuel gets to a certain level? when its full it gives no problem just when it gets to about half full is when it makes me switch over.
How much gas gal wise do you add when you hit reserve. I would pull the petcock not hard to do just a pain because of the gas left. Not sure have not been in there in a while but what may be happening is the filter
Here are pics took me 5 minutes tank is half full when you take it off tilt it forward and pull the petcock be careful my filter was kind stuck had to wiggle it but this is what it looks like. Reserve is the half moon shape at the bottom!!!
(http://i181.photobucket.com/albums/x35/roboto65/DSC00058.jpg)
(http://i181.photobucket.com/albums/x35/roboto65/DSC00057.jpg)
(http://i181.photobucket.com/albums/x35/roboto65/DSC00059.jpg)
There ya go thats what yours will look like except maybe dirtier LOL Maybe it might not be that but it should be your first thing to check ..
I've been watching this thread and I believe the seafoam additions are breaking all the junk loose in your fuel system from the tank to the carbs.
Soooooooo...
The screen on the petcock almost has to be loaded with crap. Take the tank off the bike, remove the petcock, clean the screen, petcock and tubes thoroughly. Flush the tank until nothing foreign comes out of it before you put it back on the bike. Find a clear in line fuel filter like the one I get at O'Rileys Auto Parts and install it in place between the petcock and the carbs so you can monitor trash that is getting through the fuel system. Change it everytime it visibly has junk in it. Plan on replacing all of the fuel lines to eliminate any residual trash that might be laying around in them.
Welcome to the NFL rookie :-P
Again, the Seafoam is going to break loose deposits everywhere in the system and it's going to take some time and effort to clean this up.
The more I think about it and after confering with Greg I think you need to check for a fuel leak the only time you would see it if the bike is running because other than that the fuel is cut off so next time you start it up check for fuel under the carbs there are a couple of orings between them and you may have a leak there!!
I havent seen any leaks, just hit reserve at 61 miles last night but the fuel is actualy low this time. I dont know how its eating thru fuel so fast as i just cruise i dont get on the throttle hard and i accelerate nice and smooth. Ive come to the decision that for some reason im getting terrible mileage and hitting reserve at 50 to 60 miles. Its storming here now so when it clears up im gonna run out another tank and see if i get 60 miles again to reserve, if i do i dont know whats wrong as i have looked and never saw any fuel leeking.
If the bike is off you may not see any it would have to be running as the fuel shutoff is vacuum operated but something is not right how do you fill your tank do you fill it all the way to the top or with the nozzle in the tank till it shuts off. I would start the bike and get a flash light and check under the carbs while she is running and see if you notice any leaks. Also where are you located don,t think you have said maybe if you are close one of us could check it out !!!
Is your Air Filter dirty?
You will need to start going thru and eliminating some of these to better analysis what might be the problem. Maybe this weekend you can do some of this.
Keep us posted.
You know i think the airfilter might need replacing, it hasnt been replaced anytime recently that i know of and if i remember correctly the last time i removed the tank it looked dirty to me when i looked at it. Everyone around here only selld k&h air filters though and i think those require rejeting dont they?
Can ya pull a spark plug and take a PIC of the electrode and post it here so we can see how its running??
I seriously think it would not be running well if it were consuming almost twice the amount of fuel on average most Magna's do.
What is your regime for filling up the bike? IE, do you fill it up till the pump pops off then slowing continue to fill until it is completely topped off?
Air filter being dirty will certain effect things, not sure it would drop economy in half though.......
Quote from: roboto65 on July 03, 2008, 12:36:30 PM
how do you fill your tank do you fill it all the way to the top or with the nozzle in the tank till it shuts off.
I got gas a few days ago and the pump nozzle had a vapor recovery so you had to have it all the way in the tank with the recover hose pressed against the tank for the gas to flow. In turn filling it to the neck with a vapor recovery nozzle is impossible.
Unless you hold the recover hose with your other hand pressing the hose against the tank creating the vacuum it needs to let the filler pump work. I will try that if I stop there again.
I have had a couple of those and the trick to those is just lift the vapor recovery part you do not have to create a seal it just needs to be pushed back and it will pump. Guess they did not have Motorcycles in mind when they designed that HMMMMMMMM :???:
Allen is right, just push back the "accordion" and let her rip. There must be a micro-switch in the handle or something. Still a pain though.
Curtis
Quote from: Smoked U on July 02, 2008, 10:08:20 PM
I've been watching this thread and I believe the seafoam additions are breaking all the junk loose in your fuel system from the tank to the carbs.
I'm agreeing with your statement Dave, although it may not be the root cause of the problem here. Reason I think you're on to something...Tina doesn't ride her bike alot, so I decided to run seafoam through it during MM. Well...everything was OK, but when we got back from the trip, she decided she wanted to ride back & forth to work. After a few days, her V30 began to stall while idling and acts starved for fuel. I suspect the flow through the fuel filter has become restricted. I last changed the filter before MM5, although since that time she probably only rode about 500 miles.
Quote from: trapper on July 04, 2008, 05:12:16 PM
Quote from: Smoked U on July 02, 2008, 10:08:20 PM
I've been watching this thread and I believe the seafoam additions are breaking all the junk loose in your fuel system from the tank to the carbs.
I'm agreeing with your statement Dave, although it may not be the root cause of the problem here. Reason I think you're on to something...Tina doesn't ride her bike alot, so I decided to run seafoam through it during MM. Well...everything was OK, but when we got back from the trip, she decided she wanted to ride back & forth to work. After a few days, her V30 began to stall while idling and acts starved for fuel. I suspect the flow through the fuel filter has become restricted. I last changed the filter before MM5, although since that time she probably only rode about 500 miles.
I like me some Seafoam.
It took several months of putting it in the tank of Ms. Vee (V65), but as I have told everyone, it eventually broke down all the crud that I didn't eliminate with flushing, fuel filter/fuel line changing. Saved me a carb job in the short run.
As I stated, I just keep an eye on that clear filter and when I see some junk in it, change it and get on down the highway.
Have we really established that the Mag is really getting low miles per gallon, or just miles per fill-up and miler prior to reserve?
Trent
The only problem I have with the filter being blocked theory is that the reserve sits in the screen along with the on switch so if the screen was that blocked reserve would be blocked also it is something that has me baffled there is no other filter on a 3rd Gen but a leak at the Orings on the crossover tubes may cause what is going on that would make sense. Even a DIRTY Airfilter would not cut the mileage in half that is rather drastic!!! Where are you located Gooch
Com'on guys chime in on this. This thread isn't five pages yet. We're not trying hard enough!
Thanks Allen, good to know.
There is another possibility, but not all your symptoms point this direction. The auto fuel shut off diaphragm when going bad will cause them to act like they ran out of gas (cause it just did hehehe) but have not heard them working when switched to reserve.
Its a possibility, its located under the tank on a bracket mounted between the twin frame rails. Remove it and open it up being careful not to damage the diaphragm and check it for holes, tears, or cracking. IF in doubt replace it..
I would bet this is your problem since not much else is answering your situation.
Sorry it took me so long t get back here, ive been on vacation. I live in sw florida, and dont know any magna ownere near me. Im off tomorrow so i will take those pics of one of my plugs like asked. And ill do some snooping around.