It finaly happened. I broke down.

[IndyXS]

Bike died on the way into work. Spark I think. Ill know more when I get home. First I dropped a cylinder or 2. I moved to the right then it died. I tried to restart but no luck. I still haven't done a thing to this bike that wasn't free so guess I better get the wallet out. Im waiting on the rescue truck. Should be fun my dad threw his back out so I get to shove it up the ramp myself. The best part is a google earth cames just drove by. I may be famous. Here's a pic of the current status.

[MaximPhil]

Hi Indy,
Last time that happened to me ....it needed GAS
Phil

[fredintoon]

Bike died on the way into work. Spark I think. Ill know more when I get home. First I dropped a cylinder or 2. I moved to the right then it died. I tried to restart but no luck. I still haven't done a thing to this bike that wasn't free so guess I better get the wallet out. Im waiting on the rescue truck.

Hi Indy,
there's two types of breakdown, obvious and mysterious.
Obvious breakdowns (like a rod punched out through the crankcase) tend to cost money.
Mysterious breakdowns (like yours) tend to be hard to diagnose.
My latest:- pulled away from a parking lot, got mebbe a 1/4 mile and the engine loses power.
Solution:- turn on the other gas tap.
Happy detective work.

[WMarshy]

Hi Indy,
Last time that happened to me ....it needed GAS
Phil

Last time that happened to me it was one of the wires under the tank. Both orange wires for the coils come together and plug into a double female connector and that had failed.

[DAVINCI]

Last time that happened to me it was one of the wires under the tank. Both orange wires for the coils come together and plug into a double female connector and that had failed.

Nope, there's ONE orange, ONE gray and TWO red/whites. It's the red/whites that are common. Or SHOULD BE unless the PO mucked up the wiring.

[jwhughes3]

Check those pickup coil wires

Bike died on the way into work. Spark I think. Ill know more when I get home. First I dropped a cylinder or 2. I moved to the right then it died. I tried to restart but no luck.

I had that similar symptom happen in Durango at the Rally - lost 2 cylinders and couldn't maintain rpm...

Check under left timing cover for continuity.

Luck,
John

[TopCatGr58]

A slow electrical failure makes me think more along the lines of the battery! I would check the battery voltage. If found low, recharge and then see if bike starts. If so, then check the charging voltage. If necessary, jump the battery with a car battery to start the bike. You may find it not charging, so it would drain the battery when running until it dropped below the 10.5 volts the TCI uses/needs, and then no more spark!

T.C.

[Ken Talbot]

SWMBO's 'H died like this a while back. Only took a few minutes to trace it to pickup coil wires, but not in the expected place. This time, it was a bit further back where the wire bundle runs along the left side frame tube, just inside of the exhaust header. Over time, the insulation as well at the outer wrapper had become cooked and brittle, and finally shorted out. After a bit of time on the side of the road with a knife and some electrical tape, I was able to cut out the fused section, twist and tape it all back together, and we were able to continue the remaining hour and a half to home.

I replaced the entire wire set from the pick-up coils to the plug connector behind the fuse panel and there have been no more problems.

[IndyXS]

Ifd only it was gas. I had been getting a cylinder drop after a stop when starting to accelerate. Pull clutch wiggle right outside wire and it came back. I was going to replace wires this week. Now that the whole bike is dead I "think" it might be something else. I have zero spark. That's all I know. I was to pissed to mess with it yesterday. Worst part is my mom's birthday was yesterday and she really wanted a ride. Grrrrr. The bike dropped 2 cylinders I had trouble holding speed. Good thing its an 1100 ;-) I moves to right lane. Fiddled with wire but no luck. It sputtered for a millisecond then just went dead. Bike cranks hard. Im off tomorrow and will see what I can find out. I have the pdf service manual. Dot to be coils pick up (more likely) or wiring (most likely as it is PO "repaired"). I soloed it could be kill switch on bars or the level kill switch. I don't know.

[cywelchjr]

As was mentioned check battery voltage FIRST. Then check the pickup coil wires as it does indeed sound like either low voltage or pickup coils (although it could be other things, but those are the first things to check). The tipover switch is an all or nothing, it wouldn't cause a loss of two and then all, but it's an easy thing to check, just unplug it from the harness to test, if it DOES get triggered it can stick in the triggered position. This can be fixed, you can open it up and clean it up and make sure everything moves easily and put it back together, just don't put it back together upside down, it won't work right that way (the bike will only run upside down in that configuration ).

[IndyXS]

Go out to garage today to work on bike. Pull out the trusty (cheap) DVOM. Broken. Call my best friend who isn't busy and has a fancy one. His leads are bad and he hasn't replaced them yet. Called dad. He can't find his. Payday is tomorrow. Did dishes instead of testing bike. Grrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrr!!!!!!!! I miss my Yamie! Sniffle.

[TopCatGr58]

Hey Indy,

Hate to see that you had to throw in the "dish" towel... but just wondering, did you check the battery in the DVOM, or the fuse ? Even though it's payday, a AA or AAA, or 9V battery should still be cheaper than a whole new meter?!

T.C.

[Winterhawk]

SWMBO's 'H died like this a while back. Only took a few minutes to trace it to pickup coil wires, but not in the expected place. This time, it was a bit further back where the wire bundle runs along the left side frame tube, just inside of the exhaust header. Over time, the insulation as well at the outer wrapper had become cooked and brittle, and finally shorted out. After a bit of time on the side of the road with a knife and some electrical tape, I was able to cut out the fused section, twist and tape it all back together, and we were able to continue the remaining hour and a half to home.

I replaced the entire wire set from the pick-up coils to the plug connector behind the fuse panel and there have been no more problems.

This is what I was thinking. Could be your old fuse block assy if you or the P/O haven't restored this item yet.

They make a plug and play fuse assy you can find on this site somewhere.